Anxiety and Depression. The Harsh Realities.

Recently I've connected with my old school, which is sadly going to be closed at the end of this term. On the group Facebook page, where people are sharing memories and reconnecting, there was also a conversation happening about a funeral for a young man and former student who took his own life. This reminded that my high school teacher's son, who was a bit younger than myself, also took his own life a few years ago.

It's a brutal reminder of the harsh realities of how many people deal with depression and anxiety in their life. In recent years, it seems to have become rather more common than it used to be. I don't think that there is any one reason for this, but rather a multitude of reasons which come with come our modern lifestyles.

Mental health often begins to take a downturn in our teen years. It's a fact that hormone changes have huge affects on us. Bodies can take quite a while to adjust to different levels of hormones to the ones it's used to and puberty is one of the times of life which bring the biggest changes. Add to that the fact that society has put all the pressures of school exams and decisions for your adult future on top of those physical and mental changes and it's no wonder teenagers struggle.

Then we come out of school and any community and background support we had there is gone. The realities of the world hit home. The stresses of finding a job, which, if you do find one, is stressful and often high pressured in itself.

Evidence is coming in that environmental toxins also play a part in depression and anxiety. People who have detoxed heavy metals have been finding that their mental health has improved with it. Today it's incredibly hard to avoid heavy metal toxicity in our environment. It's in the food we eat and the air we breathe. Even growing organic won't stop a certain amount of pollution absorption from the plants. In cities, many gardens still have lead in the soils from the time when it was used in the petrol being burnt in our vehicles.

Then there is the fact that some people are just more prone to depression and anxiety than others. We all have our moments, our ups and downs in life and our grief to deal with, but some brains are less able to produce as much of those uplifting hormones than others.

Haley French writes about what it is like for her when her anxiety and depression hits. It helps for those who have loved ones who struggle with this to have an idea of what is happening and it helps for them to have an idea of what, exactly, they can do to help.

Friends and family don't want to make things worse and they do want to help, but often don't know how. So if you struggle depression and/or anxiety, when you have time where you feel able to, write down what it feels like when you're at your worst, what they should avoid doing or saying which makes things even worse and what they can do to help. Sometimes it can be as simple as them being there physically for you, but not saying anything. Haley says that at her lowest point she will stay in bed and withdraw from everyone, but she knows that being alone is not in her best interests. At this point having someone who cares about her just lying next to on the bed is enough to help remind her that they really do care and she doesn't have to do this alone.

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