Street on 67' Ep: 2

The podcast "Street On 67," hosted by India Heath and created by the Horner Tribune, discusses depression and its impact on individuals. Depression is a common and serious medical illness that affects how a person feels, thinks, and acts. It can cause sadness, loss of interest, changes in appetite, trouble sleeping, and other physical and emotional problems. Depression affects 1 in 15 adults each year and can occur at any time. However, it is treatable and there are resources available to help. The host shares her personal experience with depression and explains how therapy, talking to friends, and having a routine can help manage depressive episodes. She emphasizes the importance of mental health and encourages listeners to take care of themselves. The episode concludes with a reminder that everyone can get through depression and that they have survived all their previous days. Street On 67, hosted by India Heath and created by the Horner Tribune, is in affiliation with Alabama State University. Hello everyone and welcome to Street On 67. Street On 67 is a podcast where we talk about what you want to hear. I'm your host India Heath and let's see what's the word on the street this week. Okay before we get into this episode, I do want to clarify something. I am not a fibber, however, I did say that we were going to have a guest this weekend but it has been a very long week and some plans might be delayed, so this week we won't be having a guest and all you have is me, but I know that you guys will be okay because it's me we're talking about, so let's get into the episode. Have you ever felt sad for long extended periods of time? Have there ever been a couple of days where you don't want to get out of bed? Have there been times where you've lost your appetite or not want to do your daily routine? Well my friends, you might have a cute little friend next to you called depression, but on a serious note, according to the American Psychiatric Association, depression, major depressive disorder, is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and or a loss of interest in activity you once enjoyed. This can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home. Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include feeling sad or having a depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, changes in appetite, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, loss of energy or increased fatigue, increase in purposeless physical activity, feeling worthless or guilty, difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions, and thoughts of death or suicide. So some little fun facts about our little friend depression is that depression affects an estimated 1 in 15 adults in any given year, and 1 in 6 people will experience depression at some point in their life. Depression can occur at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid 20s. Now, the way that that sounds does sound a little daunting, however, depression can happen to anyone. It can happen to the happiest person or the saddest person. It can happen to you when you have your life all figured out and it can happen to you when you don't have anything going on. But just because you are experiencing depression or symptoms of depression doesn't mean that you can't get through it. You have lived 100% of your days and you will continue to live them. And the best way to get through it is having the right resources. So that is what we are going to talk about today. I've had my fair share of depression. I have been diagnosed with clinical depression and that is more so of a long term depression. And luckily with the resources that I have to help me, I have been able to do a no-down my depressive episodes, but my depression has affected me for many years. But just because it affects me doesn't mean that I'm not able to live my life completely normally. The way that I've more so combated is going to therapy, talking to my friends, and finding a routine for when I have those low energy days or when I know that I'm about to experience a depressive episode. But depression can affect everyone in different ways. Some people have more high functioning depression where they might not have depressive episodes and they can genuinely find a way out of it very quickly. And some people have very high strong depression where it is so bad that they can't get out of bed some days. Again, your experience with depression is completely valid. Mental health is just as important as physical health and I feel like that needs to be strongly advocated, especially in the black community coming to where mental health is seen as a stigma. And it's either you're crazy or there's something wrong with you. And just because you have these problems does not characterize you as crazy. So for people with depression like me, we can usually catch when we're about to have a depressive episode. So let's talk about some ways where you can maybe catch if you're going to be going through something. One for sure sign that I might be going through a depressive episode soon is that it gets very hard for me to get out of bed. I'm constantly tired. I'm constantly fatigued. So I try to take more time out of my day to rest and have time to myself. Another way that I can catch if I have a depressive episode is if I lose appetite. I love to eat. I love food. And if I catch myself, I don't want that. I don't want to eat that meal. I don't really want to eat the next meal either. I'm not really hungry right now. I don't have an appetite. I can probably tell when something's kind of wrong. And the best ways for me to counteract my depressive episodes are of course therapy. I have an absolute lovely therapist. I love that woman. We are kind of best friends. She's been my therapist for a couple of years now. And I hope that you guys find a therapist like that someday. I got really lucky and she was the first therapist that I came across. And for some people, you might need to test the waters of who you choose as your therapist. Your therapist should be somebody that you feel comfortable with, that you feel like you can talk to. And for me, having a therapist that I feel like is my friend, so it's just more like a, oh, just having a girl talk kind of day, just telling each other about our day, really does help me. Another thing that I do to combat my depressive episodes is I try to stay on top of my self-care. My self-care can include me watching a movie or taking some time out of my day to just listen to music and read a book, but it's mostly me staying on top of my skin care. I'm one of those people where if I look good, I'm going to feel good. So my skin care routine consists of cleanser, toner, the whole entire thing. And I try to stay on top of that so that I feel more better about myself. Lastly, before we go, I do want to reiterate the importance of mental health. Mental health is just as important as your physical. And it is okay if you are experiencing bouts of depression. It does not make you crazy. It does not mean that something is wrong with you. You are going through a very natural and completely understandable process, depending on what you're going through. And it doesn't mean that you can't get out of it. Take your time, breathe, take some time for yourself, and I promise you, everything will be okay in the long run. Again, you have survived 100% of your days. You will survive the next one. And now, everyone, that is all that we have for our episode today, but I do want to sincerely thank you guys for tuning in and watching this episode, especially this one. Mental health is such an important thing that I would like to talk about, and I will probably have more episodes regarding mental health, but I hope that you guys had a wonderful day. Stay safe, eat all of your meals, drink plenty of water, and I will see you guys on the streets next week. Shootout 67 is hosted by India Heath and created by the Hornet Tribune, in association with Alabama State University. Thank you to everyone who helped with this podcast, including our editor, Cesara Speecy. We will see you next week.