This article placed second in the public school features division of the 2016 Hawaii High School Journalism Awards Contest.

Scars, tears, pain, regret and in some cases, death. These are just some of the things a person can inflict on themselves while going through depression.

Depression. It’s a topic that isn’t discussed easily. Try talking about it at the dinner table and you will know why. It makes people feel uneasy, but sometimes it’s necessary to talk about difficult topics. Depression and suicidal thoughts can affect anyone at anytime, read about those statistics at healthy children.org. 

A few McKinley students have been interviewed and have told their experience with depression and thoughts of suicide. 

Sophomore Sara Vu witnessed someone close to her contemplate suicide. Vu would go to events and talk with that colleague. As the two conversed, Vu would notice that her colleague would be touchy, but very introvertive because she would be bullied by people because she was different.  At one point, Vu’s colleague would tell her that she thought about taking pills to ultimately end her suffering.

This statement shook Vu.

“When she told me that, I was really scared and I would think about her three times every day,” Vu said.

Vu learned many things from that experience. Vu’s colleague went through therapy and is recovered now. Vu and her colleague are still close.

Senior Clare Ronquillo has also witnessed close friends go through depression and contemplate suicide. Ronquillo said she felt she had to be the voice of reason. It was hard for her because these people who were close to her were going through something different.

“One of them was going through a family issue and the other was going through a relationship issue,” Ronquillo said.

Ronquillo had a hard time trying to keep up and in result, her education was at jeopardy. She couldn’t concentrate on school work or extracurricular activities because in the back of her mind she was always thinking about them and what she could do to help them. In a way she felt helpless and that every piece of advice she gave was wasted breathe.

“I would offer them advice, but they wouldn’t see it as much,” Ronquillo said.

Ronquillo tried to give the people close to her alternatives like therapy, but the two would never go for it. The two would take pills and avert to cutting their wrists. Throughout this whole situation, Ronquillo would find herself slowly moving to depression as well. To counteract that, she would talk to close teachers and other friends for advice. She would also go online to search for articles published by psychiatrists to help understand her situation.

At one point, Ronquillo would fake her personality when talking to teachers and reword the advice so it would relate to the people close to her.

“In reality, my friends were the ones going through depression, but I faked that I was the one going through depression to get information from people and I can then give that information to them,” Ronquillo said.

In the end, Ronquillo helped her friends and herself. All three of them are in a better condition than before and are still good friends.

Senior Kyle Ginoza is someone who has gone through depression and has seen people close to him go through depression and suicidal episodes as well. Ginoza said he considers himself an introvert. He said he is an introvert because he doesn’t like to bother people with his problems so he keeps them to himself. He loves seeing people being happy, but he said he never felt genuinely loved by his parents.  “My parents never showed me love. They acted like it because they were taking care of me because I’m their child. She was the only person who made me feel acknowledged,” Ginoza said.

Ginoza had his peak of depression while in middle school. This happened due to the things Ginoza would say while with those friends. The end result was Ginoza being left alone with no friends during his middle school life.

“I say a lot of dumb and stupid stuff which kind of annoys people and the people who I thought were my friends ended up leaving because they couldn’t take it,” Ginoza said.

At the same time, when Ginoza lost his friends he thought of ending his life.

“Maybe if I ended my life, it wouldn’t impact or bother anyone,” Ginoza said.

Today, Ginoza is better and is more stable. He has managed to make many friends who always wish him the best. He wishes that everyone in the world would be happy.

“When you are depressed, you want to shut people out, but do not do that. It does not help your situation … You may think that no one cares and no one will be affected, but believe me people care for you and do not want to see you like that,” Ginoza said. “Never make a permanent decision from a temporary situation, “ said Ginoza.

If you or someone close to you is depressed or considering suicide, there are many sources of help. You could recommend a therapist or talk to them yourself. Just make sure they know that someone is there for them. The last thing that the person wants to think is that they are completely alone. Some things that you should look for would be if someone shows that they seem not to care about anyone or anything. Avoid saying things like- “It’s all in your head,” “We all go through stuff like this,” “You have so much to live for” or “Why do you want to die?” 

Next month is suicide awareness month. Depression and thoughts of suicide is a serious subject with serious consequences. It can hit any individual at any moment and age. When someone openly tells you that they are depressed, please do not take it lightly. Instead of just saying hollow remarks and giving them airy advice point them into the direction of a counselor or a therapist. You could possibly save a life. For more information visit http://www.mvhc.org/news/april-suicide-awareness-month/. Call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/helping-a-depressed-person.htm