Cover Story: Mental Health and Why it Matters by Amanda Awad
I have been living with recurrent major depression and anxiety for over 9 years. At age 12, as I was just beginning my first year in middle school, I experienced my first depressive episode. For most days of the next two worst years of my life, I was irritable, constantly fatigued, unbearably sad, frustrated and angry with myself, hopeless, distressed, and alone. Every single day was a battle with my illnesses. I became self-destructive and suicidal. I was incredibly sick, and I desperately needed professional help. But, because of a lack of visible resources and the general state of education on mental health, I never received that help. I managed to have made it through this and many more episodes of depression – I am now healthier than ever since I finally started counseling and medication last year – but there are so many people who have not been able to. Too many people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in 2014 found that suicide is the tenth leading cause of death overall in the U.S., and the second leading cause of death of people between ages 10 and 34 in the U.S., killing twice as many people as from homicides. In 2014, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimated that 43.6 million U.S. adults – an entire 18.1% of the U.S. population – had some mental illness in the past year. It is important to remember that there are many other mental illnesses and struggles aside from depression and anxiety that are also painful, debilitating, and significant. The topic of mental health means so much to me. It affects every part of our lives; it affects our physical health, emotional health, relationships, hopes, dreams, drives. It affects our ability to live our best possible lives. It is so tremendously important that everyone is able to get the help and care that they need, but that is not the current situation. Mental health as a 3