In today’s society, mental health has become an acknowledged issue among adults. Several forms of mental issues have been discovered and treatments have been created to support patients. You might say: “Then, what’s the issue?” Indeed if mental health is finally supported, then none of us should be concerned about it. And although the subject has been covered by several important firms like the BBC and even Le Monde, a French newspaper, where the issue lies is how it can be supported but most mental illnesses, such as depression, remain misunderstood and stigmatized, especially in non-medical specialists circles.
Non-medical specialists, or the average everyday person, this article will take a closer look into them— the immersed part of the iceberg that really drives society forward: teenagers. Why them? In 2014 , Le Monde published an article explaining that depression is one of the main health issues that teenagers face. Additionally, Le Monde used a report from the OMS explaining that several teen deaths are due to mental illnesses that cause suicide. Thus, there is a need to cover this issue and to try to understand why teenagers do not seek more help.
It is fairly known that depression is a tough subject, especially when you face it. Talking about it is hard because you don’t want to appear weak or desperate. Many specialists will tell you that seeking help is brave but it is not that easy. Many people fear rejection and appearing as attention seekers, but most of all, they fear that they won’t be taken seriously. As mental illnesses are new to the medical area, it is, even more now, new to our everyday society. Plenty of people are misinformed on the matter and this results in a misunderstanding that can harm others such as relatives facing depression. Therefore, people who do not understand mental issues might deny the illness’ existence in their relatives’ lives or worse, as part of their child’s everyday life. This is one of the main reasons why teenagers do not seek help. They simply think that their depression is not real because its existence is denied by their parents. It appears to them as a phase, something that will end, sooner or later, but how?
Depression must not be compared to a simple mental breakdown; it is completely different from feeling a bit under the weather. Most commonly, depression has been described as a feeling of emptiness, as if your body and mind are on completely different pages and as if nothing matters anymore.
This short description is nothing compared to the actual feeling itself obviously, but it should at least help people understand the severity of the illness that can lead people to suicide.
Therefore, as a parent, you must learn more about mental illnesses, not only for your child’s sake but also for your own.
This leads us to another factor that is preventing teenagers from seeking help. They simply don’t understand it themselves. Who’s to blame for this case, you may ask? School would be my first answer. As a former French high schooler, I have never heard the word depression during class. No one ever came to teach us about it. This is ironic when you know that in France, around 9 million people have faced depression at least once in their life and 3 million are currently under medical surveillance because of it (Bême). Still, nothing is taught in school. It’s not that France is the only country lacking this type of education. As mentioned before, it seems that even though depression has been accepted as an issue in the medical area, it remains a taboo in societies like school.
As a result, teenagers simply don’t understand the dangers of depression. School has failed to teach them how dangerous it can be. It is time to face the truth, depression is dangerous and can kill. It seems to me that the educational system may have not read the OMS report because if it had, then something would have been done. School is where teenagers spend most of their days and that’s exactly why school must be an all-in-one. It is indeed great to teach sciences, it is great to teach them that sport is good for your body but where is the mental health awareness that we need? Adults can easily go see a therapist, they have the financial freedom that it takes and the ability to make decisions for themselves when it comes to health because they know more about it than teenagers. The issue is that school, most of the time, is the only solution for teenagers, or it could be a solution but if the school fails to protect teenagers and help them by teaching them about mental health, then what do teenagers have left?
Now, I would like to share my own story. When I was in high school, I went through a very dark phase. I did not feel like learning anymore, I had nothing to talk about with my parents, and my passions were not putting a smile on my face anymore…
I will never have the words to describe how I felt, but I wish that I had the knowledge that I have today to help me. I wish that school would have supported me when I did not know what I was facing. People who have not been through depression have no idea of how scary it is. There are highs and lows with every time you get lower, the low state lasts longer. You watch yourself drown and suffocate and so, when you feel slightly better, you just sit there and wonder when you are going to fall again because it can happen at any time.
I am grateful that I found the strength to keep going. It took me almost two years to free myself from the constant feeling of emptiness and fear. Those two years have left a deep scar that I will never forget, and that is exactly why I felt like I had to share my story and raise awareness with this article. No article will ever be able to cover the complexity of depression but I wish that deep in you I have unlocked something, I hope that I taught you something and that you will from now on be fully aware of your mental health state. I wish you the very best.
Written by Joshua Roulin
— French writer Joshua can be reached at joshua.roulin@gmail.com. Follow him on Instagram @josh.rln.
Edited by Sirichada Wattanasiritanawong
— Editor Sirichada can be reached at sirichada.w@gmail.com
Follow them on Instagram @sirisaysnya
Works Cited
Bême, David. “Dépression De L’ado : Mieux La Repérer Pour Mieux La Traiter.” Doctissimo, 4 Oct. 2018, www.doctissimo.fr/psychologie/news/depression-de-l-ado-mieux-la-reperer-pour-mieux-la-traiter.
Le Monde. “La Dépression, Première Maladie Des Adolescents.” Le Monde.fr, Le Monde, 14 May 2014, www.lemonde.fr/sante/article/2014/05/14/la-depression-premiere-maladie-des-adolescents_4416619_1651302.html.
Lewis, Elinor Cross & Craig. “Mental Health: Anxiety, Depression and Self-Harm on Rise among Teens.” BBC News, BBC, 18 Nov. 2021, www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-59261963.
Mary, Catherine. “La Dépression, Un Mal Flou à Redéfinir.” Le Monde.fr, Le Monde, 19 Mar. 2018, www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2018/03/19/la-depression-un-mal-flou-a-redefinir_5273267_1650684.html.
“Santé Mentale Des Adolescents.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/fr/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health.
