EDITORIAL
The Editors of The Breather
“Why don’t you come out to karaoke tonight?” you ask your roommate one Thursday afternoon. They groggily lift their head from their pillow, declining your offer before lying back down. You make nothing of it, but it’s strange. They love karaoke. They don’t seem to have left your room in weeks, save for going to class. They are sleeping excessively, are uncharacteristically irritable, and come to think of it, you haven’t seen them eating a meal in a while. But you ignore all the warning signs buzzing in your head and head out to karaoke with some friends, because you aren’t adding up the red flags right in front of you. The red flags indicate that your roommate might be depressed. They might be crying out for help without even saying a word. What if you stayed in that Thursday night and helped your roommate through the difficult time they were having? What if you simply asked them if they were alright? These small acts can impact their existence.
Recognizing the signs of depression in those you love can be transformative. Depression is a common mood disorder, but it can thoroughly uproot someone’s daily life. It can become all-encompassing and almost parasitical, feeding off of all happiness, energy, and feelings of worth. The reason many of us don’t stop to ask when we see the signs of depression is related to the stigmas associated with mental illness. These stigmas run deep, infiltrating even the closest of bonds between friends and family. Stigmatizing a mental illness as common and debilitating as depression, leads to misinformation about the illness and a deep-rooted fear of reaching out for help.
If one believes that their depression will prohibit them from finding a life partner, succeeding in their career, or growing religiously, they will refuse to share their depressive feelings with others, and will be less likely to attend therapy sessions.
However, depression can be regulated. It does not have to be debilitating. Only by accepting its impact on our communities, can we formulate a plan for combating it. Depression makes its sufferer feel completely alone. Their depression subjugates them to an unacceptable and unnecessary loneliness. Depression can hit anyone. It does not discriminate. We are not better or worse than another because they happen to be dealing with crippling depression. Only through unity and recognition can the Yeshiva University community battle depression and its destructive effects. As J.K. Rowling once said, “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.” If we refuse to name depression and if we refuse to acknowledge its influence on our community members, we are damaging the future of the Jewish people. Only when the Jewish people are healthy, can they thrive within their own communities and the broader world. That health fundamentally includes mental health. We can only accomplish our goals of achieving a mentally well community if we dedicate our time and effort to seeing depression for what it really is – an illness just like any other, that can be alleviated with the proper treatment and addressed with the correct steps.
“Why don’t you come out to karaoke tonight?” you ask your roommate one Thursday afternoon. They groggily lift their head from their pillow, declining your offer before lying back down. You make nothing of it, but it’s strange. They love karaoke. They don’t seem to have left your room in weeks, save for going to class. They are sleeping excessively, are uncharacteristically irritable, and come to think of it, you haven’t seen them eating a meal in a while. But you ignore all the warning signs buzzing in your head and head out to karaoke with some friends, because you aren’t adding up the red flags right in front of you. The red flags indicate that your roommate might be depressed. They might be crying out for help without even saying a word. What if you stayed in that Thursday night and helped your roommate through the difficult time they were having? What if you simply asked them if they were alright? These small acts can impact their existence.
Recognizing the signs of depression in those you love can be transformative. Depression is a common mood disorder, but it can thoroughly uproot someone’s daily life. It can become all-encompassing and almost parasitical, feeding off of all happiness, energy, and feelings of worth. The reason many of us don’t stop to ask when we see the signs of depression is related to the stigmas associated with mental illness. These stigmas run deep, infiltrating even the closest of bonds between friends and family. Stigmatizing a mental illness as common and debilitating as depression, leads to misinformation about the illness and a deep-rooted fear of reaching out for help.
If one believes that their depression will prohibit them from finding a life partner, succeeding in their career, or growing religiously, they will refuse to share their depressive feelings with others, and will be less likely to attend therapy sessions.
However, depression can be regulated. It does not have to be debilitating. Only by accepting its impact on our communities, can we formulate a plan for combating it. Depression makes its sufferer feel completely alone. Their depression subjugates them to an unacceptable and unnecessary loneliness. Depression can hit anyone. It does not discriminate. We are not better or worse than another because they happen to be dealing with crippling depression. Only through unity and recognition can the Yeshiva University community battle depression and its destructive effects. As J.K. Rowling once said, “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.” If we refuse to name depression and if we refuse to acknowledge its influence on our community members, we are damaging the future of the Jewish people. Only when the Jewish people are healthy, can they thrive within their own communities and the broader world. That health fundamentally includes mental health. We can only accomplish our goals of achieving a mentally well community if we dedicate our time and effort to seeing depression for what it really is – an illness just like any other, that can be alleviated with the proper treatment and addressed with the correct steps.
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