“BE BRAVE AND FACE LIFE”- Charlie Chaplin (Depression & Life)

By Dalitso Chaona

Hey there, wherever you are I hope you’ll read this and keep it in mind.

It’s now quite some time that some individuals out there are being too judgmental about people who commit suicide due to depression. Depression is not an easy thing as it may seem to be. People who have been there or studied much about it can agree with me.

Depression possibly arise when people are stressed out due to different life circumstances or traumas. (E.g. relationship & family problems, death of a loved one, social isolation etc.)

When people are in this state it’s easy for them to get mad unreasonably, and behaviour change is inevitable. Depression makes people to lose hope in everything, and all they think of is committing suicide or stay away from family and friends. Depression aggressively kills the little love and peace which one has inside, and it’s not easy for them to do something developmental.

Depression is not easy to overcome like a mere stress but it can be dealt with just like any other problem.

Here are some helpful life saving tips I’ve tried to draft:

1. You need to stay away from life threatening circumstances, stop having so much trust and expectation. Accept that things happen differently than how we wanted them to be, and that’s life.

2. You should often associate with people who understand and accept who you are to avoid being let down and create more room for happiness & peace. This is anything which one can do socially as long as they get to bury your mental problems.

3. Stop having great desire for things you cannot have so soon cause your friends accessed them. Understand that you’ll have a chance one day to have them.

4. Meet a Therapist. Some problems can be solved by people who understands mental problems better thus those who can see through and help you to revive with guidance and some other words of encouragement.

5. Believe in a purpose. Father of Logo therapy who also happened to be a Holocaust survivor in his ‘Man’s search for meaning’ said “An active life serves the purpose of giving man the opportunity to realize values in creative work, while a passive life of enjoyment affords him the opportunity to obtain fulfillment in experiencing beauty, art, or nature.” Face whatever is mentally affecting you now and believe you have a purpose to live for. Let life treat you the way it want. Never give up, be brave and face it.

Overall, you should love something which you can control, and that’s you. Being mad at the world won’t help you, it will only hurt you (On my Block #Netflix). Think of those who are fighting to live on a hospital bed, think of those friends and family you have.

The above tips might not work to others, and it’s not right to call names or insult souls of those who have committed suicide. Remember we all and will die differently. You don’t know exactly what they faced inside.

Let’s support those in need and be there for them when they lose hope of living.