Round1

DylanRound
ProfessorGlover
English114B
23March2015
SilenceofDepression
MillionsofpeopleinAmericastrugglewithsometypeofdepressionintheirlives.This
depressionmayormaynotbetakenseriously.InMarjaneSatrapisnovel,
Persepolis,
Marjane
isthemaincharacterwhostruggleswithadeepdepressionwhichshemanagestocomeoutof.
Sometimespeoplewithdepressiondon'tgetthehelpthattheymayneedwhentryingtofightit.
Depressionisjustasseriousasanyotherdisability,butforsomereasonpeopledon'ttakeitas
serious.Someindividualsmaysaythatifitisn'tphysicallydamagingitisntserious.Depression
isinfactseriousbecauseItputsaholdonpeopleslives,affectssurroundingrelationships,and
hasapotentialofsuiciderisks.

Theseverityofdepressionoutweighsthephysicalityofit,especiallywhenitcanmean
lifeordeathforthevictim.Peopleareignoringfactsbysayingemotionsarelessimportantthan
physicaldisabilities.Millionsofpeoplestrugglewithdepressionthatlastsforyearsandinsome
casesendsindeaths.Marjanewasoneofthosepeoplethatdiscountedthetoughnessof
depression,eventhoughshealsoexplainedhowshewouldgothroughepisodesofnotbeingable
tobreathewhichprovidesevidencethatitaffectsyouinaphysicalway.Depressionbegins
emotionally,andeventuallycanleadtoveryphysicalevents.Theseeventscanbecomevery
severe,leadingtodeath.In,
TheAmericanJournalofNursing
articletitledDepression
,
WilliamG.CraryandGeraldC.Crarytalkextensivelyontheeffectofdepression.They

Round2

exemplifyhowphysicalsignsandsymptomsarethemostprominentincluding,sleepingpatterns,
weightgainorloss,andalsophysicaldrive.Theymakeverygoodpointsabouthowdepression
isnotonlyemotional,butalsophysical.

Emotionsarewhatgiveuseitherthecouragetomove
forwardthatdayorthesadnesstostayhomeandsulk,eitherway,emotionalorphysicalsigns
bothplayahugeroleindepression.
Depressioncanputsomeoneslifeonhold,leavingthemlostintheworldwithouta
simpledirectionorpath.Manypeoplelosetheirjobs,friends,andlovedonesduetothisillness.
Theseproblemsalsoleadtofurtherissuessuchasalcohol/substanceabuse.Somepeoplewith
depressioncanselfmedicatetofeelbetter,howevermostfallintotheterriblepathofaddiction.
AftermovingbacktoTehran,Marjanewashavingaroughtime,smokingherdaysawayinher
depressedhome.Inthearticle,7WaysMajorDepressionAffectsYourLife,expertsexplain
thatalcoholanddrugsarecommonoutletsfordepressionvictims,butinthelongrunturninto
worseproblems.Thisarticlevoicesthisissuebystating,"Drinkingortakingillegaldrugsmay
haveashorttermeffectoffeelingbetter,butthereisgoodevidencethatitworsens
depression"(1).Drugandalcoholabuseenhancethefeelingsyouhaveanddrasticallychange
thewayyouexpressthosefeelings.Peoplewithdepressionthatdrinkorusesubstancesare
morelikelytoexperiencemajorbreakdownsandpotentialaccidents.
Depressionalsohasaseriouseffectonrelationships.WhileMarjanedoesnthavetrouble
makingfriends,shehasaveryhardtimekeepingthemduetoherowninsecuritiesandobvious
issueswithdepression.Depressionaffectsrelationshipsinmanywayswhichcanbeexpressed
inthearticle,
HowDoesClinicalDepressionAffectThePeopleAroundYou.
BillMorrison
states,
Depressioncanputarealstressonfriendships.Sincepartoftherelationshipis

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enjoymentofoneanotherscompany,whenthatismissing,thefriendshipcanbreakdown.The
friendshipcanquicklyturnintoacycleofdumpingyourproblemsonyourf
riendinaoneway
fashionthatdrainsallthelifeoutoftherelationship(1).Depressionmayalsohaveamajor
impactontherelationshipsonehaswiththoseclosetothem.Itbecomesalmostimpossibleto
maintainasteadyfriendshipwithouttryingtocureoraidthedepressionaswellasstrengthenthe
relationship.Withhelpfromoutsidesourcessuchascounseling,onecanhelpaidthesymptoms
andfurthermorestrengthentheirrelationshipswithfriendsandfamily.
Depressionisaseriousillnessbecauseinmanycasesitendsinfatalsuicides.As
depressionisdiggingatmarjane,sheresortstocuttingherselfaswellasoverdosing.Thiswasa
directattemptofsuicide.Inthearticle,Suicideclaimsmorelivesthanwar,murder,andnatural
disasterscombined
TheAmericanFoundationForSuicide
explainsthat,Over50percentofall
peoplewhodiebysuicidesufferfrommajordepression.Ifoneincludesalcoholicswhoare
depressed,thisfigurerisestoover75percent(1).Obviouslydepressionhasahugeimpacton
individualslivinginAmerica,with50%ofsuicidescausedbythepresenceofdepression.With
havingsuchhighfatalitiesintheU.S.isunbelievablyignorantthatpeoplestillsomehowthinkof
depressionasalessseriousillnesscomparedtoothers.50percentiswaytoomanyfatalitiesfor
mosttoevenimagine.Inordertolessenthefatalitiespeoplewillhavetoseriouslyconsider
changingtheirviewsondepressionanditsseverityonthelivesinAmerica.

Depressionisnotjustafeelingthatlastsforalittlebitandthenfadesaway,anditsnot
somethingthatdoesn'tmatter.AfterMarjanesneardeathexperience,sherealizedhowtotake
controlofherlife.Sheturnedtoteachingclassesinfitnesstohelpaidandeventuallyconquer
herdeepdepression.Depressionmaybeseenasanonphysicalillnessthatdoesn'tmattertothe

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public,howeveritisimportantbecauseitseffectsqualityoflife,relationships,andthechanceof
suicide.SoeventhoughMarjanegotherselfoutofadeepdepression,othersmaynothavethat
strengthordrive.Ifpeopledonttakedepressionmoreseriouslynow,wecouldeventuallyend
upwithaworldofpeoplewithnodriveforabetterfuture.Depressionissomethingthatwiththe
righthelpcanend,andpeoplecangrowintoabetter,strongerpersonlikeMarjaneherself.

Round5

WorksCited
Crary,WilliamG."Depression."
TheAmericanJournalofNursing
73.3(1973):47275.
JSTOR
.
Web.01Mar.2015.
"DepressionComplicationsCanAffectManyFacetsofYourLife."
WebMD
.WebMD.Web.19
Feb.2015.
"HowDoesClinicalDepressionAffectthePeopleAroundYou..."
HowDoesClinical
DepressionAffectthePeopleAroundYou...
.,.Web.22Feb.2015.
Satrapi,Marjane.
Persepolis
.NewYork,NY:Pantheon,2003.Print.
"SuicideFactsandFiguresOvernightWalk."
AmericanFoundationforSuicidePrevention
.
.Web.19Feb.2015.
"7WaysMajorDepressionAffectsYourLife."
Alcohol,SubstanceAbuse,Relationships,&
Loneliness
.Web.22Mar.2015.