2010…
“That means, are you mad?” they slowly asked trying not to offend her. She faintly smiled and nodded her head in a no. She couldn’t blame her friends.
Which 12 year old would know what depression is?
“People who consult psychologists or psychiatrists aren’t mad”, she said remembering how stupid she was to believe that, just like her friends did, until a few months ago.
What changed in a few months?
3 months ago…
“Why am I crying?” she asked herself in between her sobs. She neither knew the reason nor the way to stop the hysteria. Barely 12 years old, she was in a state of confusion. No! Fear it is. The reason is unknown to her.
She stopped going to school. Almost everything like eating, playing, talking and laughing. The once outgoing, talkative, bubbly and adventurous girl is now gone!
All this while, her parents understood that their princess needed help. Yes, they took her to the doctors who made her feel better through medicines. Her brother talked and talked until she replied. Her friends tried every trick and joke to make her laugh while she’s with them. She saw her parents cry in dark, saw her brother being worried behind that smiling mask he wore around her. She was blessed.
There are people who cared for her, who wanted to see her smile. Many out there don’t know why a person behaves like that. Yet, something’s wrong. She shut herself from the world as if in a cocoon. She acted cranky. But no, she wasn’t MAD. She was DEPRESSED. Depression is not an aunt of yours who would wait at the railway station and ask if it’s okay to come home. It just barges into your life without you knowing it.
You can still kick it out of your life only if you talk. If you find someone like that, just don’t ignore. Now, Make a soul smile by helping that person. I’m sure, that very person will have so much to say about you just like she did. Spread about the Mental Health Awareness!
If you are still thinking about the girl whom you were reading a few seconds earlier…Well, she is now an 18 year old writing her experience with a smile on her face knowing how blessed she is. You got that right. Yeah, it’s me!
