Let Us Talk About Depression

By Julia B.

 

 

Dylan Buckner. An 18-year-old kid who had a 4.7 GPA. A quarterback on his school football team. It was January 3rd, 2021, when Dylan's friends informed his parents that he might be in trouble. Dylan was in a hotel about five miles away from their home in Illinois. His father, Chris, was racing to get to the hotel before his son took his own life. He realized he was too late. Dylan had a great future ahead of him, but because of his depression, he killed himself.

            As you can see, depression is serious. Teens and children are battling depression. Why do the cases of depression keep rising? Well, children who grow up are more common to have depression if there was violence, alcohol, physical or sexual abuse, or disagreements and arguments at home, but Dylan wasn't experiencing any of these.  Dylan killed himself because of his social life; he couldn't do any extracurricular activities; he was so upset that he couldn't see people and interact with anyone that he killed himself. Many more have killed themselves. A 12-year-old in Texas, a 16-year-old in Maine, and a 13-year-old in Washington, all because they couldn't interact with anyone and they were struggling with depression.

Did you know that according to Yale, 3.2% of children and young teens in the U.S. have depression? But that’s not all of it. Many children and teens are too scared to speak up or talk to someone about what they're dealing with; they are afraid, afraid of being judged by their peers, or afraid to be shut down by their parents. There's no real reason for their child to be upset about anything.

           The majority of teens and children who have depression lose interest in school and after-school activities. That can cause children to fail school and possibly not get an education. Having no education can cause the child to have fewer job opportunities, which can greatly affect their life. Another study said that 3% of children and 8% of young teens in the U.S. have depression.  That might not seem like much, but if you really think about it, according to The Children's Defense Fund (CDF), there are 73 million children in the United States, and 11 percent of that is 8,030,000 children.  Many more children have depression without knowing it or are too scared say anything.

Kids who have depression experience mood swings, fatigue, decreased social interaction and increased sensitivity. In 2018-2019, a study made by the CDC said young teens aged 12-17 years reported the following: 15.1% had a major depressive episode, 36.7% had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 18.8% seriously considered attempting suicide, 15.7% made a suicide plan, 8.9% attempted suicide, and 2.5% made a suicide attempt requiring medical treatment.

“Suicide is not a desire to die. It is a desire to end intense emotional pain. It is a problem that they truly believe is unsolvable,” said Susan Tellone, clinical director of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide, and that is 100% true. Most teens don't want to die. They just want to end the pain and suffering. Children shouldn’t be experiencing suicidal thoughts at such a young age. Did you know that the youngest child to purposefully kill themselves was six years old? She and her mother got into multiple arguments, which caused the six-year-old to storm into her room, grab a belt, and hang herself from her bed. Kids at that age shouldn't be killing themselves; they should be out there, living their best life with no anger or sadness. It's not fair for children to be experiencing this.

If you know someone who is struggling with depression,you should talk to them about it. Share links to people or therapists who can help them. Even if you are struggling with depression, you should get a therapist to help you clear your thoughts. Never let a permanent solution solve a temporary problem. Suicide is permanent, depression is not.