Overcoming Depression: A Persuasive Case for Action

“Kendrea's cry The story of 6-year-old Kendrea Johnson from Minnesota, who hung herself with a jump rope 2 days after Christmas, was heart stopping”. People around the clock are suffering from depression all over, and we need to come together and solve this issue affecting everyone. This is persuasive essay about depression in which this topic will be discussed. 

Depression is a widely spreading issue, taking hold of not only America, but the world as a whole is being affected. Depression has always been a problem, or at least existing, but now it is really having it’s hold on people. Depression is a rising crisis among teens all throughout the globe; furthermore, noticing the signs or getting the help needed can be a challenge, putting many teens lives in jeopardy. Families and Healthcare Professionals must come together in order to create a solution.

Technology seems to be apparently along with this sudden increase of depression, “A new study found that teenagers are increasingly depressed. They feel hopeless, and they are more likely to consider suicide”. This seems to be portrayed everywhere, but there are other causes like living environments and peer pressure also have a hold on young adults “Monitor. Settle the child at night, sit with the child while he falls asleep, and try to address the worries. Try to provide the food they like. Look at other symptoms of depression and act accordingly”. This is raising the suicide rates in young adults across the nation, and ruining families as well. You may not know but Africa has high depression and suicide rates, for the terrible living conditions. Johannesburg-based child and adolescent psychiatrist Helen Clark said while there were varied statistics for the incidence of depression among children in South Africa, the overall statistic was 1% to 2%, compared to 5% in adolescents”. America is seen as the haven for suicide, but other countries have this issue as well. People sometimes don’t understand depression, as this has different effects on different situations and the severity of the depression from person to person. We need to take action and help our loved ones in others through this difficult time, and we need to keep more care for each other and with the rise of technology, there seems to be a lack of care from parents and friends from behind a screen which boosts this rise. People are usually the roots of the issue, and people now have to come together and fight this.

One solution that many seem to be avoiding, is to be more aware of the appearance of depression in their child. Parents a lot of the time don’t spend any time with their child and depression can develop from neglect, but also depression can be genetic,“Children can inherit a genetic predisposition to depression from parents. This is frequently exacerbated by the presence of depression in the parent”. So, how can the parents, a child’s roots, be the best help for a child? Many steps can be taken to prevent depression in a child, as children can develop depression at a very early age,”Recent data show that suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young persons aged 10 to 24 years--approximately 4600 lives lost each year. Over 3400% more than that number attempt suicide and survive”. Seeing the signs in early ages can be difficult, but there are ways to help. Monitor. Settle the child at night, sit with the child while he falls asleep, and try to address the worries. Try to provide the food they like. Look at other symptoms of depression and act accordingly”. Parents are supposed to be the one a child trusts, and when you can support them and even save their life, every parent should be there to help their child. A child isn’t going to tell you that they are depressed, you have to be there, be integrated into their lives. Parents, they brought their child into this world, and should be their to help them through it, and other than this, there are other options. Some children don’t have parents in their lives, or they are young adults and have moved out, how can we support them?

Solutions for depression are difficult, but there is one that seems to be making big strides today. Ketamine, something that is becoming more popular and should due to it actually seeming to help. Ketamine seems like a “Miracle Solution” but actually is helping young adults struggling,”Preliminary evidence indicates that a single dose of a drug called ketamine rapidly quells symptoms of major depression for up to 1 week in patients who don’t benefit from standard antidepressant medications”. Ketamine is working for people with terrible depression, and is going to keep being in the limelight and improved. Antidepressants are out there, and seem to work for some and not for others. Issue with the pill, is it seems more like it’s trying to display itself as an exit, instead of a cure, but Ketamine is really helping and showing in a study that 5/12 people that were suffering, were no longer declared depressed,”The day after an infusion, ketamine produced marked mood improvements in 12 volunteers, compared with reactions to the saline placebo, the researchers report in the August Archives of General Psychiatry. Of the 12, 5 no longer qualified as depressed”. Ketamine is not 100% gonna work, but it can help so many people suffering and should be shown more as a place for people to turn to for help. Ketamine treatment clinics are now opening up and are now being approved by the FDA to treat depression,”Pacific Ketamine Institute has opened a new clinic in Beverly Hills. The June 6 opening comes on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration's approval of a ketamine nasal spray to treat depression”. Ketamine is a great solution and should become prevalent in the near future;although, what if you have no access to either? Solutions exist to this unsettling epidemic, but not everyone has access.

Finally, a solution that doesn’t require any sort of family issues to be brought up, or money into the question, a feasible option for someone to turn towards. Religion, with this can arise issues, but it has been proven to help people struggling, and this was true for Maria Cecilia,”The only thing that kept me from killing myself was the one question: How can I do this to God who has been so good to me? Faith can be a great outlet for people who are deeply struggling, as Maria was,”My fourth episode was pretty bad. I went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed major depressive disorder and prescribed medication. My religious community was a great source of support”. Not everyone has the same belief, but if you can focus on your belief, you can do great things and help yourself. Finding an outlet is what is really big for some people, and can lead to recovery. One issue, is what your perception of god is, because if your belief of god is sort of satanic, or evil, they could enhance depression in somebody,”Religion that promotes a distorted image of God as punishing or distant can aggravate depression”. Faith can be a viable solution, and really should be more thought about for a solution for depression.

Conclusively, depression is a worldwide epidemic, and needs to be brought to our attention. Solutions exist, and if we all came together, we would be able to combat depression. Parenting, ketamine, and religion, what do they all have in common? Different ways that we as people could come together and work towards healing those who are suffering.