“My
(bouts with) depression started
in the seventh grade, but I
didn’t know what it was,” 23‑year‑old
Lachmiller said in a telephone
interview. “I didn’t know enough
to ask about it, because depression
wasn’t something people talked
about. I felt sad all the time,
was anxious, and felt worthless.”
A
National Institutes of Health
website reports that a person
has major depression when showing,
for at least two weeks, five
or more symptoms, which may
include feelings of hopelessness,
fatigue, dramatic appetite change,
sleep difficulties, agitation,
and withdrawal from activities.
Its exact cause isn’t known.
Major depression affects perhaps
18 million Americans annually,
and increases a person’s suicide
risk.
Lachmiller’s
first realization of what was
happening internally came in
the ninth grade, when she attended
a school presentation by a suicide
prevention group. “I was able
to go down this card the group
handed out and check off a number
of the symptoms of depression
I had,” she said. “I knew I
needed help, but my friends
were making fun (of the presentation).
It was such a serious topic,
and they didn’t know how to
deal with it. They were joking
and laughing, and I didn't want
to come forward and be made
fun of.”
Symptoms
worsened her freshman year at
Bethany Lutheran College. She
was away from home and had added
schoolwork stress. Then a friend
figured things out and took
her to a college counselor.
The counselor was a person she
could trust.
“There’s
still a huge social stigma
(about having depression and
suicidal thoughts),” Lachmiller
said. “Some people will think
it’s all in your head or you
are trying to get attention.
But it’s an illness like anything
else, and it’s all right to
ask for help. You don’t have
to wait, and you don’t have
to be afraid to ask. There’s
help out there today.”
Presently,
Lachmiller works for a nonprofit
organization, Yellow Ribbon
Suicide Prevention. Now she
is the one visiting local schools
to talk with students.
