Living with Depression and Anxiety Disorders
In the United States, about 14.8 million people over the age of eighteen suffer from major depressive disorder. Millions of others suffer from different types of depression and anxiety disorders. Depression and anxiety disorders are clearly major issues in America. So many people have shared their personal stories of what they have gone through and how they have dealt with it. Many organizations provide aid to those suffering and to the families of the victims.
To begin with, in A Personal Story of Living through Depression, John Folk-Williams told his story of going through depression. He began suffering from depression at age eight. As a child, he did not get help because nobody really worried about him since he was great in school, self-contained, and he impressed teachers. During this time, Williams’ mother suffered from what she called knockophasia, a sleep disorder. He began getting migraines and missing school. During his high school years, he had little reaction to anything and always hid all emotion. After reaching his twenties, his feelings came out. He saw a psychiatrist who helped him, yet he never went back after the one session. Years later, Williams was put on medication and continued therapy. Eventually, when therapy was not working, his wife made him get more help. Medications were given to him, but they did not help him. He felt “fine”, but life was still too hard. He researched what depression really was and tried to find out what kind of depression he had. It seemed as though he needed medicine and doctors to cure him, but that failed. After that Williams was hopeless, but he did not give up. Instead, he tried to get more help. One of the most important things was that he wrote about his depression and posted it to a blog. People online gave him support he never had before. He also quit his high stress job which helped him. After all he had worked through, Williams finally began to recover. Although he continued to have struggles, his quality of life was still much better.
In addition, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America is an organization first founded as Phobia Society of America in 1980. It was then renamed Anxiety Disorders Association of America and 1990. Finally, it became Anxiety and Depression Association of America, also referred to as ADAA, in 2012. The decision to change the name to ADAA was made because, for many, depression and anxiety go hand-in-hand. ADAA’s mission is to improve the lives of people suffering from mental disorders, educate patients and their families about the disorders, and help find treatments, resources, and support. To help support the organization, people are encouraged to spread awareness about ADAA and that treatment is available and/or donate.
To conclude, depression and anxiety disorders are major issues in the United States and around the world. Organizations such as Anxiety and Depression Association of America help people like John Folk-Williams to find treatments and live through depression and anxiety disorders. It is crucial that people learn more about depression and anxiety disorders so that they are able to see when the symptoms are present in someone they know. When the symptoms are seen, there is a much greater possibility of a chance for treatment.
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Works Cited
"Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Mission | Anxiety and Depression
Association of America, ADAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2016
.Folks-Williams, John. "A Personal Story of Living through Depression." Mental Help A Personal
Story of Living through Depression Comments. N.p., 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.