What comes to your mind when you hear the word, 'depression'? Sadness, psychos, cutting, terror. Whatever it is, it usually isn't something positive. It is a mental disorder that progressively worsens over time.

I know that people at my school make fun of people who are depressed. They don't know who these people are. They make fun of the idea of depression. They don't know if people who are depressed are listening. They laugh at this issue, as if it is comedy. But it is not.

Depression is a serious problem. Approximately 1 out of every 8 kids have depression symptoms. This number is increasing. If you have a friend who is like this, showing symptoms such as mood fluctuations, suicidal thoughts, constant sadness, low self esteem, etc, you need to tell her to get help immediately. We can’t afford to lose more teenagers and childrens to suicide. If you know that she has been bullied, or is being bullied, you have to let a counselor or teacher know ASAP. This will lead to severe depression if not prevented or stopped.

I had a friend once. She never let me know she was being bullied. On the bus, she’d be laughing and talking and having fun. She told me this one day that she was transferring schools. I asked, “Why?” She didn’t answer. Couple days later, when my table was talking about why she was not there. Turns out, she transferred because she was being severely bullied. She was going to commit suicide. I hadn’t known. Thanks to bullying, one of my oldest friends was going to kill herself, if she stayed at this school.

This example proves that we need to raise awareness that this is not something to laugh at. It is not to be made fun of. Each year, there is 4,600 youth suicides. This is usually due to bullying. Bullying and suicide are a common connection. If the rate of bullying drops, the rate of youth depression and suicide will as well.