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Defeating Depression
"When they told me medication was the only way to maintain focus and mental stability, I pushed aside the pills and opted for methods of self-evaluation. "
By Jasmine Gallman
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Depression is a disease that affects thousands of Americans daily. For those that have been diagnosed with the illness, there are several suggested treatments. Youth Radio’s Jasmine Gallman discusses her battle with depression and how she took personal responsibility for her own treatment.
I could have been swallowed up by somebody else’s perspective on my depression. I could have let the doctors guess at who I am on the inside, take a back seat to their diagnosis. But I didn’t put my fate in the hands of others. I simply refused. When they told me medication was the only way to maintain focus and mental stability, I pushed aside the pills and opted for methods of self-evaluation.
I began voicing, not closing off, my fears and doubts to the people I trusted and who in turn offered me their support and understanding. I treated my self-damaging habits as barriers to my growth and experimented with healthy habits like art, music and literature. I read books about depression and prepared myself for challenging obstacles that may have seemed simple to anyone else. For instance I am now working to respond better to criticism and I am tackling schoolwork that I had neglected before. Slowly, I could accept who I was more clearly and I reached new heights of self-esteem rather than falling into the depths of depression.
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