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Kaylie Lively
English 101
Professor Bolton
November 17, 2014
The Blues and The Butterflies

Depression and anxiety disorders are two mental disorders that have plagued
people for centuries. And, as we turn to the present day, there is a notable rise in the
number of people and, to go even further, students within the United States diagnosed
with these disorders. But, what is depression and anxiety? Both depression and anxiety
are very complex mental illnesses with varying degrees of severity and symptoms; because
of their complexity, they are hard to define. However, depression can generally be
summarized as an intense feeling of despair or sadness, whilst anxiety is usually varying
degrees of above-average nervousness. The effects of depressive and anxiety disorders
on the average person can range from them feeling a little sad to suicidal tendencies to
panic attacks. Because of the more serious symptoms of such disorders, those who have
carried the burden of depression/anxiety in the past, such as Edgar Allen Poe and Van
Gogh, have been deemed crazy and insane because of the way their symptoms
wrought havoc on their behavior and lives. This reputation of these mental disorders has
stuck around to the present day, creating a certain stigma for those brave enough to admit
to having a depressive and/or anxiety illness. This prejudice makes it harder for students
today to admit to and recognize these disorders, leaving the effects of depression and
anxiety to wreck havoc on their lives. Because depressive and anxiety can be so taxing,
there has been talk of allowing leniency for those diagnosed in work and school

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environments; or, at the very least, recognize the persons condition. Some say that
depressive and anxiety orders simply do not exist and that those who claim to have such
disorders are merely looking for excuses. However, scientific studies have come to
contradict such notions; the seed of depression and anxiety has been traced back to many
causes, most interestingly chemical imbalances in the brain and genetic predisposition
(DePaulo 80). The extraordinary impact depressive and anxiety disorders have on peoples
lives should be recognized within work and, more specifically, school environments.
There are some who believe that depressive and anxiety disorders are not a force to
be reckoned with. Some simply believe that these mental illnesses do not exist, defending
themselves by saying something along the lines of There wasnt any depression or anxiety
talk in my day, or My parents said that lazy people just use it as an excuse to get away
with not doing anything. Well, in the past couple of decades, science has greatly
improved, allowing experts to further study depression and anxiety. And, indeed, they
came to the conclusion that the disorders do in fact exist. Those who claim that it doesnt
exist set their opinions against scientific studies and statistics, which will be discussed
later. Then, there are some who argue that depressive/anxiety disorders are a normal
thing to experience, and therefore no big deal. That theory goes not only against the
definition of depression and anxiety (extraordinary degrees of despair and nervousness),
but against recent statistics as well. DePaulo states that depression alone in the United
States affects about 6 to 12 percent of the population at any given time. Although
roughly one-tenth of the population is affected with this illness, depression is not a
widespread mental disorder. Lastly, there are those who do not believe that taking

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medications as treatment for depression and anxiety.

Once while explaining my troubles

with depression to a close friend of mine and how I was going to try medication, my friend
turned and looked at me with the sourest expression and said, I dont believe in taking
pills. I immediately knew that she could not possibly fathom the misery I was in; taking a
pill once a day in exchange for some ease in my symptoms seemed like a more than fair
trade to me. In fact, when some people with these disorders, particularly depression, do
not receive the aid of medication, they will self medicate with street substances such as
marijuana, heroin, and alcohol. An example of such tendencies would be something
posted by user be-gauche on tumblr.com. In regards to depression, she posted this
Charles Bukowski quote: Something else is hurting you thats why you need pot or
whiskey, or whips and rubber suits, or screaming music turned soloud you cant think.
The depression, the anxiety, thats whats hurting, and thats what makes the afflicted
reach for the weed and booze. They are self medicating, trying to get rid of their troubles
through blunts and bottles. In fact, depressed teens are twice as likely to use drugs as
their non-depressed counterparts (Depressed Teens). This self medication can lead to
many things, most notably addiction and death due to overdose, which is why being
prescribed medications can make a world of difference for someone having to cope with
mental illness. Some may say that these disorders are not a real problem, but the facts
prove differently.
Depressive and anxiety disorders are complex, hard to understand disorders that
come with a variety of challenges. Understanding those with depression and anxiety starts
by learning about the disorders themselves. However, both illnesses are fickle creatures

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because they occur in the context of a persons life and can be camouflaged by the
natural twist and turns of life (DePaulo 57). So, in our journey to better understand
depression and anxiety, lets start by looking at the first thing taken into account when
someone is being tested for either one or both of the illnesses: symptoms. To give a few
examples of depressive and anxiety symptoms, I will pull those which I have experienced in
my experiences with these mental illnesses. Such symptoms include, but are not limited
to: attention deficit disorder (ADD), insomnia, oversleeping, moodiness, intense sadness
or feelings of despair, suicidal thoughts, feeling of nothingness, panic attacks,
obsessive compulsive tendencies, and loss of appetite. Another symptom that I have not
personally experienced is eating disorders (Bristow 45). Now that we have the symptoms
down, lets go a little farther and examine the brain, where studies are beginning to divulge
the cause(s) of depression and anxiety. Studies have shown that depression may result
in depletion of norepinephrine, and that a substantial fraction of patients with severe
forms of depression overproduce cortisol (DePaulo 98). Norepinephrine and cortisol are
chemical in the brain, and these studies are suggesting that the levels of such chemicals
in the brain have effects on depression and anxiety. Not only has science suggested that
the two disorders may be a simple result of chemical imbalances in the brain, studies
[also] support the theory that the risk of depressionis genetically linked (DePaulo 88).
From the symptoms to the science, depressive and anxiety disorders are full of
complexities, thus making them hard to decipher.

Depression and anxiety are vicious, time demanding illnesses that can greatly
reduce peoples productivity in the workplace and school. To understand how the illnesses

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can sap a persons ability to work well, perhaps it would be helpful to have some inkling of
an idea as to what its like to be afflicted with depression and anxiety. Imagine that youve
been given a book to read for class. You take home the book and set it on your
nightstand, and there it lies for days. Soon, you forget about it because that small book is
nothing compared to the war you feel within yourself. Most of the time, you lie in your bed
without feeling. You are empty, and if you do feel something, its only this intense,
wretched despair that feels as if its going to pull your soul out through your chest. Sleep
is only achievable with the help of exhaustion and medication, and even then you only get
a few rough hours before waking up again. Eventually, the day before the report on the
book you were supposed to read two weeks ago is due, and that night you finally sit down
to read the book itself. Your efforts are in vain, of course, because from the moment you
crack open the book, your throat is beginning to tighten and your stomach starts to twist
itself into knots. You stare at the page, desperately trying to read, except the words are
just scribbled lines on paper. Your eyes move through the lines, the paragraphs, the
pages, without comprehending any of it. Its all gibberish. You try and try to read until
your brain finally short circuits and pretty soon, you find yourself sobbing and
hyperventilating, feeling like youre about to explode as a panic attack sets in. And that is
one example of what its like to experience depression and anxiety. Your motivation, your
self control, your ability to comprehendit all goes down the drain until youre just a frail
replica of your former self. Yes, treatment is available. You can go see a doctor or a
counselor, and you can start therapy and medicationsif youre brave enough, that is.
However, most people do not have the courage or the education to go seek help, and
soon enough things like school lose out to the onslaught of the illnesses.

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Despite the daunting effects of depression and anxiety, there are ways for us to
improve the school environment for students afflicted with these disorders. The first step
would be education. Teachers and academic staff should have a basic understanding and
depression and anxiety, and know that teenagers are experiencing more depression and
anxiety than they did a decade or more ago (Anxiety par.1). The next step would be to
remove the negative stigma that comes along with the words depression and anxiety.
When students suspect they have one of these disorders, they may not speak out for fear
of their fellow peers deeming them to be suicidal freaks. The fix to this stigma is simple:
educate. Show people that just because someone is diagnosed with depression and/or
anxiety, it doesnt mean theyre crazy. Lastly, dont be afraid to lighten the load off of the
shoulders of those afflicted. They are already struggling to make it day to day, without the
ten extra sheets of homework or senseless drama.

In conclusion, depression and anxiety are quite the forces to be reckoned with.
Their symptoms lists are long and varying, sometimes making the disorders hard to
recognize. The causes of the illnesses are not definitively known, but science has traced
some of the causes to chemical imbalances in the brain and genetic predisposition.
Because of the effects of the disorders, those afflicted will generally have a harder time
performing well in work, and more specifically, school environments, which is why we
should take these disorders into account whenever we step on campus or into the office.
If we do this, it will help those afflicted with depression and anxiety not only to recover, but
grow from their experiences with these mental disorders.

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Works Cited
"Anxiety, depression rising among teens." Sydney Morning Herald [Sydney, Australia] 12
July 2014: 6. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Bristow, Michelle, and Benamin Avres. Anxiety In College Students. New York: Nova
Biomedical Books, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOHOST). Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
DePaulo, J. Raymond, Jr. Understanding Depression: What We Know And What You Can

Do About It. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2002. Print.

Depressed Teens are Twice as Likely to Use Drugs. Teen Drug Abuse. David E. Nelson.
Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2014

Tumblr. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.