*WARNING*

Although these are signs of people who are going through depression, it does not mean that a person exhibiting them is necessarily depressed

By: Octavio Gallardo & Victor Patino

High School can be a very harsh environment for many individuals and the complete opposite for others. Although Animo Pat Brown isn’t the typical High School you would expect there is still a lot of pressure on students and occasionally the “dumb” high school drama. It may seem absurd to believe students in our school might be feeling depressed because of our small and very friendly environment, but one can never really know what’s going on through someone’s mind and how they may react to such negative vibes.

A student does not always need to verbally state (s)he needs helps or is feeling depressed to get acknowledge by his/her peers. It is up to the APB community to recognize the warning signs (cries for help) that are most often not direct verbal statements. They may not admit to needing help, or that they can do just fine by themselves, but deep down they just need someone to hug them and tell them everything will be okay. They need someone to talk to; they need a friend.

There are common symptoms that will stand out from someone who is feeling really low or is in a funk. Some of the signs include:

• Very bad sleeping habits such as sleeping too much or too little.
• Becoming very anti-social and choosing to let go of past hobbies they found fun.
• Participating in dangerous activities (having a death wish) including but not limited to:reckless driving, increased use of alcohol or drugs, etc.
• Letting oneself go such as not caring about grades or appearance.
• Constantly talking about being hopeless, worthless, a disgrace to the world, a waste of space, better off gone, should have been aborted, wanting the big sleep, a mistake, trash, garbage, an embarrassment, etc.
• Self Harm or talking about how hurting themselves relieves them.
• Breaking out of regular eating habits such as eating too much or too little.

“Honestly I think I’ll try to be a good friend, listen to his/her problems, try to discuss it because talking it out is the best way to feel better about yourself” (Joseph Perez a senior)

“First I would consider their personality, we are all very different and I know some of us could respond to the same action differently when depressed, some people need space and some people can use the attention” (Mr. Villa)

The Animo Pat Brown community should follow Joseph and Mr. Villa’s example when deciding to approach someone in need.

Therefore many people tackle depression in their own personal ways in order to overcome it. Human
beings are very complex creatures with numerous variables that will make people fall into depression, making high school that much more difficult. But there are always people who are willing to help and advocate asking for help which is the Animo Pat Brown way.