I once lost a dear friend to depression. Turns out he was heavily depressed and being my younger self then, I didnt notice the signs. I still blame myself till this day because maybe if we all had paid Patrick more attention, perhaps he would not have committed suicide. Today marks the 7th anniversary of his death and we missed the tell tale signs because of ignorance.
Patrick dad lost his job and well he lost his mum to cancer some years back. His dad started drinking and eventually Patrick started losing focus in school. He wanted an avenue to make legal cash, how I wish steemit.com was in existence then, maybe he would still be alive. Long and short, I remember that faithful day we were told in school that Patrick was dead,it was like a dream. He was distracted (obviously thinking as usual) and got knocked down by a vehicle(hit and run) a few days prior to his death. He overdosed on his pills and he died without achieving his dreams. He may be nothing more than a memory but he'll forever remain in our hearts.
The symptoms of depression are:
- low mood, feeling sad, irritable or angry,
- less energy and feeling less able to do things,
- losing interest in activities you used to enjoy,
- loss of concentration,
- becoming tired easily,
- sleeping and eating less or eating more,
- feeling less good about yourself (loss of confidence),
- feeling guilty or worthless,
- losing interest in sex, and
- thoughts of self-harm or suicide, and making suicide attempts.
(https://www.rethink.org/diagnosis-treatment/conditions/depression/diagnosis?gclid=CLen7e7e09MCFZEK0wodmEwHSg)
Please pass on this message to save those we love.