Lessons from which...

Oh verily so! This strength is depleting and this emotional combat is nearing its end; which side will win?

Depression is something.

It is not just a name, but a feeling. The feeling of spiraling downwards, being dragged into an abyss of darkness, being crushed down into the pavement, that feeling of shivering cold, that feeling of being alone and yet still feeling fear.

And it just doesn't go away. No matter what I do, it doesn't go away.

People would never guess that someone has depression.

They might look happy, always filled with laughter and jokes.

They are the ones who are so empathetic and always there with a helping hand.

They are probably someone with so many aspirations and motivation.

They might be someone pious.

They look like everyone else.

I'll take Robin Williams as an example. In 2014, we lost a great comedian and celebrity. No one ever thought that he was facing depression. You should look at all his interviews, so merry, glee, full of laughter and jokes. No one could second guess. When the news of him passing away, people began to shine light on the issue of depression. Believe me, when I said shine light, it shone really bright.

Sadly, that light didn't last long because there were not many people talking about mental health at that time. We expressed our most deepest empathy, but it died young. We began to forget about the importance of acknowledging depression, especially in men.

Then there was Kim Jonghyun, a lead singer in the K-Pop group, Shinee, who, sadly, took his own life in 2017 after sending a suicide note to his sister. He struggled with depression even though he was famous and looked so filled with life with his humility and energy performing together with his group. In the letter, he highlighted his struggle with his depression, stating about how he hated himself and feeling broken, most common feeling for people who have depression.

Remember Kate Spade? She was a well-respected person with her famous brand in the fashion world, so who ever thought of someone who's on a higher status could fall victim to the monsters of her mental health? No one never knows. This was in 2018.

And in 2017, we also lost Chester Bennington. A great loss and this was a mass grief session. People felt a shift in their system as Chester was (and always) a huge part of our life with his singing and personality. There was a video of him singing and joking around with his friends a few days before his death. None of the members of Linkin Park knew of how much he really was hurting. We lost a great person.

These are the people who made headlines about mental health. They planted this seed of awareness about depression as that depression was the only mental illness that was brought into light with all these issues. At those time, they weren't many resources about mental health, but now mental health is spoken openly and daily and people are becoming more aware of its importance.

My point here is...

Depression can sometimes lead to suicide BUT we can help them see that suicide isn't the right choice. We have so many services now, especially in Malaysia. We have this network of mutual understanding now and we are beginning to talk.

Depression isn't contagious nor it is infectious. No one can be excluded. Even probably your own psychiatrist might have one without anyone knowing. But, now that depression is being talked around, there are still those who play around with the word willy nilly.

Don't self diagnose, btw. No one wants to get depression. Having depression is painful. It is a pain in the ass. You will find it hard to shake off the feeling as it is attached to you like a parasite. If you still want one, take mine. I don't mind getting depression off my chest!

Anyway.

Let us talk about depression.

Talk about suicide.