You get hurt badly, but don't know how to do basic first aid. You have seen everyone ignore cuts and bruises like these, so you ignore it too, thinking it would heal on its own.
Maybe if you ignore it, or distract yourself, it will go away on its own.
But it doesn't. Instead, it becomes worse, it gets infected. The pain becomes intense.
You take courage to tell your friends or close ones that it is hurting a lot, but they tell you to be positive. Have courage, it will be fine, just keep yourself busy. They tell you - maybe you think about the pain too much just because you have nothing interesting in your life.
So you try to keep yourself even more busy. Even when the constant pain makes you feel weak and low in energy, you try to stay optimistic. You cant sleep due to the pain, but you force yourself to carry on.
You think that's how every brave person handles their pain, and you are a fighter too.
So instead of getting medical help, you carry on, you ignore the pain, you 'just keep swimming' like Dory.
But soon no matter what you do, the wound and its torment is getting worse. Your appetite, sleep, mood, libido, concentration, everything is shadowed by it.
Everyday, you try to get up to carry on with your routine - some days you can, while other days you can't even get out of the bed.
Everyone asks you why aren't you regular at school/college/office/parties etc anymore.
When you try to communicate the intensity of your pain, they again tell you to be strong.
You feel the sarcasm in their tone and you feel humiliated since can't be strong enough.
And yet, you tell yourself I will be fine one day.
But eventually it doesn't become fine.
It comes to a point where you are absolutely debilitated from the pain.
You are profusely bleeding from the wound, which has now turned into a deep gash in your heart.
First you are crying in silence because you know they won't understand even if you share with them.
But you can't bear the pain, so you cry for help. You implore somebody to help you, to at least help you to get up.
Your friends, your family, if and when they look at you - they see you sitting on floor in pain, but they do not see the blood. They do not notice the deep gash.
Some ignore you, others try to help you by telling you - get up, you can do it, don't be a baby, it isn't that difficult. We have been telling you for so long, why are you so sensitive?
Everyone has a life which is full of problems. You just have to learn to look at the bright side, look at the big picture.
We also got up when we bumped ourselves, we also got up on our own when we fell down, and so can you!
You are sick with the sight of blood and the excruciating pain isn't allowing you to even move.
But they keep trying to motivate you to push yourself more.
You feel guilt, you try more and more to ignore the wound and the bloody mess which you are in, so that you can prove to your loved ones that you aren't weak.
But the bleeding has taken a toll on your senses, it clouds your vision, it makes you fumble and you realize you can't move at all.
Eventually, you give up. And the ugly lies of Depression take over:
You feel like a failure, you think you deserve to die because nobody understands you, nobody can help you.
You are a burden on everyone, you cant do what everyone else can do - you are a disgrace to your parents and those who love you.
Nobody even knows how to help you since they have no clue what you are going through.
Everybody will be better off without you. Nobody deserves to be around so much negativity and it is best to end your life.
They will judge you even after you are dead.
Oh! She was so rich, so talented, so popular, so good-looking, so loved by her family/friends! Why did she have to kill herself!! Couldn't even recover from a minor setback, and we thought she was stronger than that.
What a waste. She should have at least thought about her parents/children!! How will they bear such a terrible loss!
But the true extent of your pain, the real nature of your wound, the amount of blood you lost, the way you felt helpless in trying to get help - will remain invisible to them.
Too many people go through this, if not worse, when they suffer from a mental illness.
The guilt, the loneliness, the hopelessness, the intense psychological trauma, the humiliation they go through! You won't even wish it for your enemies if only you knew how they suffer mentally.
The invisible illness is taking its toll on too many bright, talented and strong people.
We need first aid and emergency treatment training for mental health too. There is simply no time to lose.
I implore all my fellow psychology students to spread the word, and I request my friends to read up about common mental health diseases such as Depression, Anxiety, OCD among others.
If anyone wishes to learn about the biological aspect of Depression, I would recommend this lecture which explains the way changes in the brain of a Depression patient effects his/her sleep pattern, energy levels, mood, libido, and appetite, thus making even the daily mundane tasks difficult to complete.
This lecture was given by Dr. Robert Sapolsky, the renowned neuro-endocrinologist and author who is currently a professor of biology, neurosurgery, neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University.
Link of the lecture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc
Maybe if you ignore it, or distract yourself, it will go away on its own.
But it doesn't. Instead, it becomes worse, it gets infected. The pain becomes intense.
You take courage to tell your friends or close ones that it is hurting a lot, but they tell you to be positive. Have courage, it will be fine, just keep yourself busy. They tell you - maybe you think about the pain too much just because you have nothing interesting in your life.
So you try to keep yourself even more busy. Even when the constant pain makes you feel weak and low in energy, you try to stay optimistic. You cant sleep due to the pain, but you force yourself to carry on.
You think that's how every brave person handles their pain, and you are a fighter too.
So instead of getting medical help, you carry on, you ignore the pain, you 'just keep swimming' like Dory.
But soon no matter what you do, the wound and its torment is getting worse. Your appetite, sleep, mood, libido, concentration, everything is shadowed by it.
Everyday, you try to get up to carry on with your routine - some days you can, while other days you can't even get out of the bed.
Everyone asks you why aren't you regular at school/college/office/parties etc anymore.
When you try to communicate the intensity of your pain, they again tell you to be strong.
You feel the sarcasm in their tone and you feel humiliated since can't be strong enough.
And yet, you tell yourself I will be fine one day.
But eventually it doesn't become fine.
It comes to a point where you are absolutely debilitated from the pain.
You are profusely bleeding from the wound, which has now turned into a deep gash in your heart.
Soon, you see blood everywhere around you.
You are sick with gut-wrenching pain, you aren't able to move, you can't breathe.
You start weeping in sheer agony.
You panic because you don't know why this is even happening to you.
You wonder if you will get better again.
First you are crying in silence because you know they won't understand even if you share with them.
But you can't bear the pain, so you cry for help. You implore somebody to help you, to at least help you to get up.
Your friends, your family, if and when they look at you - they see you sitting on floor in pain, but they do not see the blood. They do not notice the deep gash.
Some ignore you, others try to help you by telling you - get up, you can do it, don't be a baby, it isn't that difficult. We have been telling you for so long, why are you so sensitive?
Everyone has a life which is full of problems. You just have to learn to look at the bright side, look at the big picture.
We also got up when we bumped ourselves, we also got up on our own when we fell down, and so can you!
You try to tell them that you can't get up, even though you are trying your best.
They pity you since you can't get up on your own.
You are sick with the sight of blood and the excruciating pain isn't allowing you to even move.
But they keep trying to motivate you to push yourself more.
You feel guilt, you try more and more to ignore the wound and the bloody mess which you are in, so that you can prove to your loved ones that you aren't weak.
But the bleeding has taken a toll on your senses, it clouds your vision, it makes you fumble and you realize you can't move at all.
Eventually, you give up. And the ugly lies of Depression take over:
You feel like a failure, you think you deserve to die because nobody understands you, nobody can help you.
You are a burden on everyone, you cant do what everyone else can do - you are a disgrace to your parents and those who love you.
Nobody even knows how to help you since they have no clue what you are going through.
Everybody will be better off without you. Nobody deserves to be around so much negativity and it is best to end your life.
You feel alone.
Now you don't even feel the pain just a dull ache in your heart.
You feel numb with hopelessness and loneliness.
You decide you will just stab your wound to make a quick kill.
To save yourself from further pointless suffering.
Just like you would put down a suffering dog from his misery.
Just like you would put down a suffering dog from his misery.
Nobody can help you.
Nobody knows how to.
Fuck! Nobody even knows how much you bled.
They might never see the blood even after you die.
They will judge you even after you are dead.
Oh! She was so rich, so talented, so popular, so good-looking, so loved by her family/friends! Why did she have to kill herself!! Couldn't even recover from a minor setback, and we thought she was stronger than that.
What a waste. She should have at least thought about her parents/children!! How will they bear such a terrible loss!
But the true extent of your pain, the real nature of your wound, the amount of blood you lost, the way you felt helpless in trying to get help - will remain invisible to them.
-----
This is what describes a mental illness and how it leads to suicide.
-----
Too many people go through this, if not worse, when they suffer from a mental illness.
The guilt, the loneliness, the hopelessness, the intense psychological trauma, the humiliation they go through! You won't even wish it for your enemies if only you knew how they suffer mentally.
The invisible illness is taking its toll on too many bright, talented and strong people.
Depression is a disorder/disease - not a decision
We need first aid and emergency treatment training for mental health too. There is simply no time to lose.
I implore all my fellow psychology students to spread the word, and I request my friends to read up about common mental health diseases such as Depression, Anxiety, OCD among others.
If anyone wishes to learn about the biological aspect of Depression, I would recommend this lecture which explains the way changes in the brain of a Depression patient effects his/her sleep pattern, energy levels, mood, libido, and appetite, thus making even the daily mundane tasks difficult to complete.
This lecture was given by Dr. Robert Sapolsky, the renowned neuro-endocrinologist and author who is currently a professor of biology, neurosurgery, neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University.
Link of the lecture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc
