I've created my own tumblr to help me deal with my depression.

I can't give you the link though because it is really personal and it basically my deepest thoughts but I made it for this project as my RSS feed/ Creation Activites.

I hope that you will respect my privacy and not make me show it to you. Just believe me that I have one.

Examples that deal with my topic

There are many different websites that someone can go to in need of some help with their depression. They can go to tumblr and read other peoples stories and thoughts so they don't feel so alone, go to message boards too if they feel that desire, and then there are books to read and movies to watch to show people that they are not alone.

Here are some examples:
Tumblr.com
Google.com-----> search "Depression message boards" and find one that works for you
Any books by Ellen Hopkins, Sylvia Path, or the book Prozac Nation.
Movies such as Virgin Suicides, Girl, Interrupted and so many more.

Memes!

Mid Research Review

Depression affects everyone at some point in their lives. Whether it is one of their family members, friends, or even them, it’s there and people need to know the facts on depression. They don’t understand that it is a disease and you can’t just “snap out of it”. Being depressed isn’t just feeling sad for a few days; it’s a chemical in balance in your brain that is preventing serotonin to move about.  My research for this project has been difficult and very interesting.

                There are many different types of depression and researching just “depression” into Google brings out hundreds of different websites, people’s personal blogs, books, and so much more. In other words my topic was very broad. I didn’t really know what I was getting into until I was already in the middle of it all. Given that though I’ve collected a lot of information and narrowing it down has been the hardest part. I think that my information is kind of broad I could definitely narrow it down some more it’s just difficult because there are so many different types of depression.  The information I have collected so far is all on the blog I created for this project. I found out that depression can run in your family, treating depression can be very difficult and there is no known cure for it, suicide attempts are sad but a common issue with depression, and that people cope with their depression in many different ways. Those are the key items that I’ve learned while researching this.

                All of the different articles, movies, and books that I’ve read fit together because they are all regular people talking about their battle with their depression. They have been dealing with this for years now and are trying to help others by talking about it and informing people about what depression is. I started out this project just trying to research depression but after reading all of these people’s stories and seeing that a lot of people struggle with this disease I thought a better fit was trying to inform the people of this disease so maybe then it won’t be such a taboo subject. Mental illness is out there and people need to be more open about it and not treat it like you’re insane or like it’s a joke.

                In the future I believe that people will be more informed on mental illness and it won’t be such an uncomfortable subject for people. I mean yeah it is scary but that doesn’t mean you can just bash it and pretend that it’s nothing. Denial doesn’t get people very far in life and denying depression could potentially be the worst thing you could ever do to yourself. I think for me I need to read more people’s stories to see who they were and what happened to them. Depression affects anyone doesn’t matter their age, race, or gender. At some point someone you know or even yourself will experience depression.

                In this research project I learned a lot that I didn’t know before. I didn’t know that there were so many different types of depression.  I didn’t know that it not curable it’s just treatable, but for some people the treatments can be very different. I think that by doing this project I can help inform those who know nothing about this disease and hopefully help a little by opening the eyes of those who don’t understand this. That’s what I hope people will get out of my project.

So I created this survey and these are the results.

Out of 14 people who took it 10 said that they knew someone with depression and 2 said that they didn't understand what depression is.

Message boards

So for this project I've been reading message boards all over the interent. I have a tumblr and I found that that is the best in my opinion. It shows pictures and text posts describing what depression is and what other people are struggling with as well. I think that if someone is looking for a way to vent their feelings or frustrations with their illness tumblr is a great place to do it.

Also if someone just goes to google and types is "depression message boards" it'll bring you up to a lot of different types and from there on you can find the one that you feel will help you the best. This way though is not the same as going and talking with a therapist if someone is feeling really low I still suggest seeking help but these message boards can help you get advice from those also suffering, that way you don't feel so alone.

I found all of these quite helpful and like I said above tumblr is my favorite.

Annotated Bibliography

Nonfiction book
Willis, Laurie. Depression. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008. Print.

This source was really helpful to me because it showed real people and their struggles with depression and other mental illnesses. It gives a lot of examples of people living in different situations so I believe that this was unbiased. It showed how they lived, their struggles, treatments options, and recovery. It was real life stories and it was quite helpful being that. This information will help me with my research because it gives me a better understanding of what it's like for others to live with depression.

Fiction Movie
Girl, Interrupted. Dir. James Mangold. Perf. Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoppie Goldberg. Columbia Pictures, 1999. DVD.

This source was helpful to me because it shows treatment in a mental hospital. It can be scary being in there and this movie had a lot of uncomfortable moments but I still think it was very helpful. It gave examples of a lot of teenage girls with mental illnesses and how they get treatment. So this movie wasn't just about depression but it dealt a lot with depression. The main character had it and was hospitalized after a suicide attempt, so this movie also shows the tragic that depression can turn into. This information will help me with my research because it shows how mental hospitals have changed between the 1950s to now.

One of the five Articles
 Carey, Benedict. "Study Questions Effectiveness of Therapy for Suicidal Teenagers." Study Questions Effectiveness of Therapy for Suicidal Teenagers [New York] 09 June 2013: n. pag. Print.

This source was extremely helpful to me because it the article is saying how
therapy alone is not enough sometimes for suicidal teenagers. When they have a mental illness mixed with an eating disorder or a behavior problem it caused a lot of trouble for that person causing treatment to be very difficult. Depression in teenagers is getting incredibly hard to treat. This article says that one in 8 teenagers have persistent suicidal thoughts. About a third of these teenagers had made plans and attempted those usually within a year of having those thoughts. This information will help me because it's more information on this topic that helps me understand how complicated this illness is.

A good movie that deals with Depression

Is Girl, Interrupted.
It deals with a lot of mental health issues and covers them all quite nicely.
 Here's a cite of it.
Girl, Interrupted. Dir. James Mangold. Perf. Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoppie Goldberg. Columbia Pictures, 1999. DVD.

 

Tv Show cited

"Freddie". Skins. By Jamie Brittain. Bryan Elsley. "Skins" E4. 25 February 2010 (2010-02-25)....

Skins

There's a tv show that captures a lot of issues. It's called Skins. My favorite season in the 4th one and my favorite episode is the 4th one with Freddy and Effy.
Here are some good quotes from that season that kind of have to deal with depression.

Effy: But they know now! And they’re hungry. Really fucking hungry. Because for as long as I’ve known, they’ve been chasing me and now they’re ready, now they’re strong enough to break through. And I can’t fight them. I used to be able to when I was strong but… you’ve made me weak. And now I can’t, I can’t!

I chose this quote because it shows that Effy is unhealthy in her thinking and that over time she has let her guard down making her powerless to her mental illness.

Cook: Nothing good every stays with me. Absolutely nothing.

This is a good quote because it shows the mindset of someone with depression. It shows you that they struggle with the good and bad in their lives just like everyone else.

Katie: I don’t know who I am anymore

When you have a mental illness like depression you tend to loose yourself in that. You lose who you are and just become depression.

Emily: I could be dead in a second

This is a good one too because it shows that when people are feeling that low about life they realize just how fragile they really are and that dealth is always lurking around them.

“We’re all lonely, and all we want is for someone to pay attention and tell us we’re beautiful.” Skins Series 4 Episode 2.

Most of the time when people are depressed they just want someone to help them out and tell them that they care about them. So this a good qoute showing that.

New Thesis

Depression is a disease that some way or another affects every single person at some point in their life. Saying that I think it's about time that people try and understand this disease instead of making fun of something they don't like or understand.

Depression

It affects us all some way or another and yet people still don't truly know what it is. It's time to inform people that depression isn't just being down and being lazy. It's so much more than that and it's time for people to understand that. People who are depressed aren't choosing to act or feel like that. That is how they have to be because of this disease.

Works

Documentary Cited
The Depression Project. Dir. Grace Owen. Grace Owen, 10 Mar. 2011. Web

Nonfiction Book Cited
Willis, Laurie. Depression. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008. Print.
 

5 Articles on Depression

Articles

1.       20 Tips to Tame Your Stress

 By Lynn Ponton, MD

In this article it’s saying how some stress in your life is good because it keeps people motivated and on top of things, but if you have too much stress it will lead people to turn to drugs, alcohol, or eating too much food. There are many different ways to deal with stress but some people don’t know all the different ways.

                What it comes down to is taking a small amount of time out of a busy day and just sitting down and taking some deep breathes. Then go on to do something that will just free your mind for a little bit whether that be a hobby, exercising, or just writing out a list of things that need to get done. Dealing with stress can be done as long as you don’t let it get too bad. Nothing is worse than being paralyzed with stress.

Ponton, Lynn. "20 Tips to Tame Your Stress." 20 Tips to Tame Your Stress (2013): n. pag. Web.

2.       Choosing the Best SSRI

By Regina Bussing, MD

                This article is about how antidepressants have gotten better throughout the years. Now doctors are seeing their patient and deciding which medication will work best for them because there are so many new choices. Back in the 1980’s there wasn’t much to choose from so doctors had a very limited amount. Now however they can talk to the patient see what they’re symptoms are and can match that patient with the best antidepressant for them. If that one doesn’t work or the side effects are too intense then they can just prescribe a different one.

                In this article a man who’s had depression ever since he got out of college in the 80’s was prescribed an antidepressant that the side effects were too awful for him. He decided to go off of them and just live with his depression, but a few years later he went to the doctor again and they told him there are a whole bunch now that are more effective than before and if he doesn’t like how this one makes him feel then they can try a different kind.

Bussing, Regina. "Choosing the Best SSRI." Choosing the Best SSRI (2006): n. pag. Psychcentral.com. John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Web.

3.       Study Questions Effectiveness of Therapy for Suicidal Teenagers

Benedict Carey

                This article is saying how therapy along is not enough sometimes for suicidal teenagers. When they have a mental illness mixed with an eating disorder or a behavior problem it caused a lot of trouble for that person causing treatment to be very difficult. Depression in teenagers is getting incredibly hard to treat. This article says that one in 8 teenagers have persistent suicidal thoughts. About a third of these teenagers had made plans and attempted those usually within a year of having those thoughts.

                Researchers surveyed 6,483 adolescents from the ages of 13 to 18 and found that 9 percent of male teenagers and 15 percent of female teenagers experienced some stretch of having persistent suicidal thoughts. Among girls, 5 percent made suicide plans and 6 percent made at least one attempt (some were unplanned). This is a big issue now and it’s getting worse. Doctors are feeling confused by what to do to help these teenagers.

                Carey, Benedict. "Study Questions Effectiveness of Therapy for Suicidal Teenagers." Study Questions Effectiveness of Therapy for Suicidal Teenagers [New York] 09 June 2013: n. pag. Print.

4.       Are You Hiding Depression Behind a Smile?

Lisa Mayoh

                This article is about how people in Australia and everywhere else are hiding their depression behind a smile. They are pretending that everything is fine so people don’t notice but once they’re alone they let it all out. When celebrities come out and say that they suffer from a mental illness it tends to help other people say oh maybe I can get help too and not try and cover this up anymore.

                On average, one in four Australian women and one in six Australian men will have depression at some point in their lives. Many of these people are not getting the treatment they could be causing them to suffer in silence more. Australians are trying to help this problem as much as they can.

Mayoh, Lisa. "Are You Hiding Depression Behind a Smile?" Nationwide News [Australia] 30 Oct. 2011: n. pag. Print.

5.       Young and Carefree? Not So, Stress Survey Shows

Sharon Jayson

                People called “Millennials” are more stressed than anyone else at this time. Millennials are young adults from 18 years old to 33 years old. They are mainly stressed because of these reasons: 76% work 73% money, 59% relationships, 56% family responsibilities, and 55% the economy. Doctors are saying that because they have so much school debt and can’t get a job after they graduate college their stress levels increase immensely. These people though are trying to get rid of their stress whether that be hanging out with family/friends, going out and exercising, eating, listening to music, or in some cases turning to drugs and alcohol.

                For these people their stress is about 5.4 on a scale of 1-10. 1 is little to no stress and 10 is a great deal of stress. They say that these people are growing up in tough time were a lot of pressure was put on them to work hard and achieve greatness so when they graduate from college and can’t get a job it just goes against everything they were brought up to do and they feel like failures.

Jayson, Sharon. "Young and Carefree? No So, Stress Survey Shows." USA Today 07 Feb. 2013: n. pag. Print.

Thesis statement

Why do people think that depression is just someone being sad and whiny? People just don't understand depression and I think it's about time we inform more people that depression is more than just being "sad".

Something interesting

http://www.depressedtest.com/
Here's a link to a depression test. I'm not saying that this is at all accurate I'm just providing something that might help you go and talk to a doctor and get help. I'm not trying to diagnose anyone.

Prezi

This is my prezi I created about depression. It's really just basic but I think it is still kind of informative.
http://prezi.com/0esmngdm5b96/untitled-prezi/?kw=view-0esmngdm5b96&rc=ref-33730969

Something Interesting

http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/natural-treatments

This is a website about natural treatments for depression. I disagree with the whole set a routine idea because I feel like it would make things worse for you but I'm not a doctor so I don't really know

People seem to be very uncomfortable with Mental Illness.

Nonfiction Book

1.                   A summary of your text (or chapters/articles you read from your text). This should be at least 3-5 solid paragraphs.

My nonfiction book is about depression. In the book it describes what can make you depressed, how people handle their depression, and how to treat it. Many people suffer from depression but they don’t even know it. They think that it is just normal to feel that way. They believe that it is just part of aging and that you’ll “snap out of it”. People don’t like to get help because they think that it’s a weakness, people won’t understand, or they will call them lazy and tell them to just get over it.

Things that can make people depressed could be a chemical inbalance in your brain, or something traumatic that has happened in your life such as a close person dying. There are many different reasons for depression and doctors still aren’t quite sure all the different causes of depression. Sometimes it just slowly creeps up on you, you try to ignore it and blow it off as you just being sad or something but that’s probably the worst thing you could do. People need to know that this is a disease and it can be controlled if you get help. No one has to suffer through this just because other people around them don’t understand this disease.

Everyone is different when it comes to handling their depression. Everyone is different in general. Some people turn to God when the going gets tough and others just try and get through it the best they can on their own. The best thing people can do if they think that their depressed is go and see a doctor. They can then tell you you need antidepressants, to talk to a therapist, or both. Most of the time it will probably be both. There is another thing such as sending shock waved through your brain to make it “work the right way” some people believe in this technique and some don’t either way if someone is desperate and looking for anything they will try anything.

Depression can never really be “treated”. It can be helped and contained but it might never really go away. In my book I read there were people who had it for almost 40 years. 10 of which went undiagnosed. Depression hits hard and affects everyone differently according to my nonfiction book.

2.                   At least 3 key passages from your text (cited by page number).

“Form of mental illness I have is called Bipolar 2, which means I’m more likely to suffer from depression than from Mania, it’s frenzied opposite” Pg. 21.

 

“I began to have certain experiences that were very strange and puzzling to me. For example, one day, I was talking to someone at work about close colleague of mine and I just burst into tears. I remember thinking how odd that was. It wasn’t the sort of behavior that was characteristic of me at all” Pg. 31.

 

“I spend about a week in the hospital, where I sank into a kind of oblivion while my doctor experimented with various antidepressant drugs. He explained that with mental illness, you can’t just draw a blood sample and say, “Ah-ha! You need this, or you need that” Pg. 37.

 

3.                   At least 5 thought-provoking questions that allow readers of your page to think about the topic you have chosen in relation to your nonfiction book and the world around us.    

1.       What is depression to you?

2.       Have you ever experienced it yourself?

3.       Has anyone close to you been diagnosed with any kind of depression?

4.       In your opinion, is depression something you can just “snap out of” or is it something serious like a disease?

5.       How do you think people can overcome depression?                                                                                                                                                                 

4.                   A citation for your nonfiction book. Use Easybib.com if necessary.

Willis, Laurie. Depression. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008. Print.

 

5.            Include a picture(s) (one that you created or composed) on the page that relates to the book you have chosen.

 

6.       Finally, include a section on how this particular book has guided or fits in with the issue you have chosen to work with for this project.

This book fits in with my issue because it is all about me issue. It has people’s personal stories of how they dealt with their depression, how they got diagnosed, and how they got treatment. It has a wide variety of the different types of depression out there and shows many examples.

Documentary Assignment

1.       Provide a summary of your chosen documentary. Synthesize key ideas, concepts, or experiences explored throughout the film. Include a thorough summary (if written, at least three paragraphs.  (5 points)

My documentary is about depression. It goes around and talks to student who are in college and how they deal with their depression. It also looks at other people’s point of view of depression and tries to figure out why mental illness is such a taboo subject.

In this film even though it’s only 15 minutes long it explores a lot. The girl who created it goes and talks to a psychologist who tells us what it expected from someone with depression and then talks about medicine.

In another part of the documentary the girl talks to two people who suffer from a mental illness one has depression and another has Bipolar Disorder. Both of them say how people without the disease don’t understand what it’s like. You can’t just “snap out of it”. They talk about their struggles with the disease and how they cope with it.

               

2.       Which storytelling techniques are used in the documentary you viewed? Does the film follow one person’s story or many? Does the film use footage from other broadcasts/shows or its own footage? Does the film use statistics, experience, or both? Describe in detail about the variety of techniques used. (5 points)

This film uses its’ own footage. It used statistics and experiences to give the watcher information. This documentary follows only about two people’s stories, and it’s only a small part of their story that we are able to see. In this film it’s put on by a college student in the UK she goes around the psychologists, college students, and then to the college mental illness help center. She talks with all of these people about why depression and other mental illnesses are so taboo.

3.       What are some elements of the media that are brought into the story (i.e. news articles, news programs, etc.)? (5 points)

In this story there really weren’t any media items that were brought into the film.

4.       What types of other sources are provided by the documentary (i.e. interviews, experiences, etc.)? (5 points)

We hear about her own struggles with depression and then we hear two other college students’ stories, and how they coped with their illness. We also hear from a psychologist and a mental help center.

5.       Is there any bias in this film? Describe in detail why or why not. (5 points)

Well in this film you only really hear from those who have worked with mental illness or from those who have suffered from it so I guess in a way it could be biased. They don’t talk to other people who don’t have a mental illness but there is still information on what they think. So all in all I don’t really think that this film was too biased.

6.       What information can you take away from your documentary to include in your research? In other words, how does this connect to your research? (5 points)

This film connects to my research because it covers what I was looking into. It tells us how people with mental illness are just like everybody else you can’t just look at them and see that they’re sick, that’s why mental illness is so hard to understand for some. I took away that in college there are still places for you to get help if you feel like you might be depressed or something else. There is help out there for people if they are willing to go to it.