Mental health awareness- Unipolar depression

So this week is mental health awareness week, Sifu Behringer put it out there to the school to raise awareness. I chose unipolar depression because it has directly affected my life. Someone close to me suffers from this form of depression. Unfortunately there is a stigma attached to mental health disorders (hence mental health awareness week) and most people who know him other than close family and friends don't know that he has struggled with this for years. He worries that if people knew it would change how they look at him, or that he wouldn't be able to get work. He has always seen this struggle as a weakness on his part. Unipolar as opposed to bipolar, is someone who suffers from depression lows rather than the highs and lows of bipolar. People with unipolar depression will have a regular day to day life but will have depressive episodes that disrupt their normal life. These episodes can range from mild to severe and affect work, relationships, eating and sleeping habits and general health. During a depressive episode there are feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt and regret, self loathing, and hopelessness. Seeing someone you love struggle through one of these episodes is scary. When someone suffers from depression, the usual hey it's ok, you'll get through it doesn't work. I think it's hard for most people to grasp the idea of not being able to just snap out of it. The worst part is a lot of times you don't know if they are having an episode as withdrawal from normal activities and communication is common.
Over the last year I have learned a lot about depression. I've realized that having a mental illness is just the same as someone suffering from a physical disability, but that most people don't see it that way. You wouldn't tell someone who was in a wheelchair to just get over it and start walking, but that is how a lot of people see depression, as something that they have control over. I hope that we can change the way people see mental illness and the way that people who live with them are treated. There is a ton of information out there about depression and it is very common. Educating ourselves is a step in the right direction to make positive changes.