The following is an essay that I wrote in middle school with a class partner. It got an A+. I hope that it makes you realize how bad depression really is.

Depression, also known as dysthymia, is a mental illness that many people suffer from. There are at least nine different types of depression and as of 2016, 44,965 people commited suicide because of depression. The highest suicide rate was in people ages 45 through 54. This means that adults are more likely to commit suicide due to depression than kids are.

No one knows exactly what causes depression. Some things that can cause depression are abuse, death or loss of a loved one, certain medications, conflict, genetics, substance abuse, major event, serious illnesses, or other personal problems.

Abuse can include physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. This can make can increase your vulnerability to clinical depression later in life.

Sadness or grief of the death or loss of a loved one, although naturally, can make you more likely to have depression.

Certain medications can also cause depression. Such medications include, isotretinoin, a medication used to treat acne, the antiviral drug interferon-alpha, and corticosteroids.

According to, webmd.com, " Depression in someone who has the biological vulnerability to develop depression may result from personal conflicts or disputes with family members or friends."

Genetics can also cause depression because it is thought to be a complex trait. This means that there are probably many different genes that exert small effects. The genetics of depression, like most psychiatric diseases, are not as simple or straightforward as purely genetic diseases are.

Nearly 30% of people with substance abuse also have major or clinical depression.

Major events such as moving, a divorce, or getting divorced can cause depression. Happy things can cause depression also. This is because the syndrome of clinical depression is not a "normal" response to stressful life.

Sometimes depression can be caused or triggered by serious a serious medical condition.

Personal problems such as social isolation or being cast out of a family or social group can contribute to the risk of developing clinical depression.

There are also chemicals that can make you happy. Lack of these chemicals can cause depression. These chemicals include, endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine.

According to, , " , which means they are produced by the central nervous system to help us deal with physical pain. They also make us feel lightheaded, and even giddy at times. One non-painful (well, not too painful) way to induce endorphins is exercise. Endorphins are released after both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. , as little as 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill for 10 days in a row was sufficient to produce a significant reduction in depression among clinically depressed subjects."

"Serotonin may be the best-known happiness chemical because it's the one that antidepressant medication primarily addresses. .

Exposure to bright light, especially sunshine, is one way to increase serotonin. Exercise and happy thoughts also stimulate production of this chemical. Some research has found that a higher intake of tryptophan-heavy foods, relative to other foods in the diet, may do the trick as well." Also according to, .

" When you score a goal, hit a target, or accomplish a task, you receive a pleasurable hit of dopamine in your brain that tells you you've done a good job. But you can also get a natural dose of dopamine when you perform acts of kindness toward others.

has been shown to increase dopamine as well as have other long-term health benefits. And some research has even found that it only takes thoughts of loving kindness to bring on the dopamine high." Also according to, .

If there is a lack of these chemicals in your body, it can cause you to be depressed. This is because these chemicals make you happy, if you don't have them they can't make you happy. If you aren't happy you will probably get depressed.

Some side effects of depression include, self harm, thoughts of suicide or homicide, and death. Self harm includes things like cutting yourself, snapping your wrists with rubber bands, alcohol and drug abuse, severely scratching or itching your arms or legs, banging or punching different objects, ripping or tearing your skin, carving words or symbols into your skin, interfering with healing, burning yourself, pulling your hair and rubbing sharp objects into your skin. These are just some of the ways that people self harm.

Antidepressants were initially developed in the 1950s. Some people take antidepressants to help their depression. However, the antidepressants can increase the risk of depression. Antidepressants are psychiatric medications that are given to patients with depressive disorders. The antidepressants are supposed to help reduce the symptoms. They correct imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain that cause changes in mood and behavior. Antidepressants are used to treat a variety of different things. These include, social anxiety disorder, anxiety disorders, and, of course, dysthymia.

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are a kind of antidepressant that inhibit the action of a brain enzyme called, monoamine oxidase. Monoamine oxidase helps break down helps break down neurotransmitters such as serotonin. If less serotonin is broken down, the patient will hopefully have more stabilized moods and less anxiety.

Noradrenaline and Specific Serotonergic, (NASSAs), are a class of compounds that are used to treat anxiety disorders, some personality disorders, and depression. NASSAs have side effects that include dry mouth, weight gain, drowsiness, blurred vision, dizziness, and constipation.

There are also many different types of depression. Such types include bipolar I and II disorders, cyclothymic, persistent depressive disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Bipolar disorders I and II include mood swings that range from from highs to lows. It is hard to differentiate between bipolar and depression because people only see their doctors when they are in a low depressive mood, not when they are in high or elated moods.
Cyclothymic disorder involves slightly milder highs and lows than bipolar I and II.

Persistent depressive disorder is a long-term but less severe type of dysthymia. This depressive disorder can be chronic and keep you from living your life normally.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is triggered by hormonal changes.

Other types of depression are caused by using recreational drugs, certain types of prescribed medication, and other medical conditions.

As of 2011, according to World Health Organization, (WHO), approximately one million people commit suicide each year, worldwide. That is about one death every 40 seconds or 3,000 per day. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of of death globally. In the US there are two suicides per one homicide. Many of these suicides are caused by alcohol or drug abuse.

In 2016 suicide was still the tenth leading cause of death in the US. Each year, 44,965 people commit suicide. The highest suicide rate was 19.7. It occurred among adults between 45 and 54 years of age. The second highest rate was 19.0 which occurred among people 85 years or older. People of ages 15-24 had a suicide rate of 12.5. Firearms were most commonly used to commit suicide accounting for a little more than half of all suicidal deaths, (51%). The second most common methods were suffocation (including hangings) at a 25.9% and poisoning at a 14.9%.

Depression is a very serious mental illness. Most people leave it untreated, but that only makes it worse. People self harm and sometimes it leads to people killing themselves. Antidepressants can help, but even then, your depression can get worse.

Bibliography

"Causes of Depression." WebMD, WebMD, .

What Is Depression?, .

"Facts & Statistics." Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA, adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics#.

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Nordqvist, Christian. "What Are Antidepressants? How Do Antidepressants Work?" Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 15 Dec. 2015, .

Nordqvist, Christian. "One Million People Commit Suicide Each Year - World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10th, 2011." Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 10 Sept. 2011, .

Thinkstock. "9 Different Types of Depression." EverydayHealth.com, 5 Jan. 2018, .

https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/

Small note: this essay says that most people who commit suicide are adults and it is because of drug and alcohol abuse, but that doesn't mean kids aren't depressed too. Always remember to think before you speak. Also remember, that not everyone is as happy as they might seem... 

Peace for now. Stay alive.