...This Topic of Depression

"If you're depressed, talk to someone".

This statement, no matter how condoling or how empathic it may sound to the person who utters it or the people who think it makes sense, it really would take a great deal of energy and positivity, for someone who's depressed to come running to another person, to talk about their depression. People are fickle, it's sad, but it is what it is. Come out with your problems and watch people throw them back at you for one slip you innocently took. Then there are people who do not have the faintest idea of how depression works. It comes at them sometimes and they pass it off as "sadness". I believe the featured picture for this post is a perfect illustration for representing this class of people. 

Someone's dead from suicide, after being declared missing for days and there are up to five topics on the Nigerian twitter trend table about this. Several 'hot takes' are seen littering the streets of twitter. People talk about these things like it's some easy topic you read in a handbook: like there's some manual on how everyone should react to it, and I'm no expert either, but sometimes, when I picture myself in certain situations, I realize there are things that are almost impossible. Someone might really be going through things that money can't fix, or a trauma  they can't speak about for fear of reliving the memories, defence mechanism or unbelief. It would take a great deal of patience and willingness to handle that sort of situation. 

Reaching out to your friends is cool and supposedly an important step to help check this issue of depression. The issue lies with your discussions with them. Do you take their words for it? People say "I'm fine" way easier than they gulp water. How do you intend finding out their true feelings when they're used to bottling up emotions or if they feel you're not on a level to help them? How do you crack the surface and reach within?

Like I stated earlier, I'm no expert on emotional topics, or topics that concern the human psyche, which is why, like my bio states on the homepage, these are solely my opinions: If you're reaching out to a friend with the sole intention of making sure they are truly fine, I would suggest bringing up discussions that touch life challenges, and with real examples too, so they see how they're not alone. Reactions may be relative, but if they're comfortable enough to see there's some sort of hope and that their problems, even when they seem unsolvable, could be worked around, I feel it could be an effective step to achieving good results... 

I really don't have much to say on this, I rather just felt I could lend my two cents on a few things I find unhelpful and less helpful when the topic of depression arises. 

I hope this meets you well and I'm open for better suggestions as regards this topic. 

With Love and everything Nice. 

TEG.