by Bethenielin

Created on: January 07, 2010   Last Updated: February 10, 2010

 Many children have a misunderstanding of many concepts and problems. When I was younger my misconception was on depression. I viewed depression as something magical, and it was something that could be written about with beauty and innocence. But as with fairy tales and dreams I was hit hard with the reality of depression, and its devastating impact on ordinary people every day. My family was severely impacted by depression; it has torn my family apart.

Depression effects about 19 million Americans annually (www.emedicinehealth.com), and my father is one of those statistics. He committed suicide three years ago in July, the day after the fourth of July to be precise. According to emedicehealth.com you must have had at least five symptoms. 

My father had the following symptoms: feeling sad, loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities, significant decrease in appetite, significant weight loss, inability to sleep, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, and thoughts of death and suicide. It can be caused by a single source or multiple sources.

 The three main causes of depression are genetic, biological, and environmental. Another factor or something that is sometimes misused while you are depressed is alcohol. My father tried to drink his problems away with beer, and at one time he even went to the store after he had drunk several beers. My father was alright, but the risk was dangerous, and he could have ended up in serious condition or even killed.

 There are chances that you can have increased risks if you have or fit the following descriptions: female sex, advanced age, lower socioeconomic status, recent stressful life experience, chronic medical condition, underlying emotional or personality disorder, substance abuse, family history of depression, and a lack of social support.

Of those my father had a very stressful divorce, and also had peripheral artery disease. This disease caused him to have clogged arteries, and his smoking habits only increased his risk as well as having extremely high cholesterol.

 Depression can develop at any age, but it most commonly develops over the age of 18 years old, and about 9.9 million people in the United States have major depression (www.indepression.com). My father was one of the people that received the treatment, but then discontinued it. He was one out the many that got the help he needed, but the help was meaningless towards him or anyone. He never got healthier, so he

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