Firstly, let me not mislead you. I won't be listing out misconceptions but I will be discussing depression in Jamaica, based on my own experiences.Is it wrong to say, "I am depressed"? It often feels that way. As young people, what should we really have to be depressed about? I can truthfully say that I have struggled with depression on and off from my childhood but due to the stigma attached to depression, especially in young people, I kept quiet. I suffered in silence until it became unbearable. Then, I opened up. When I started to open up, I was mocked, told I was too weak, and that I wasn't trying hard enough to make my life better. Speaking up, could send you into an even deeper depression.  What happens? We become even more withdrawn or in some cases it manifests itself into anger and we damage relationships and friendships. What about family? Ideally family should be the first source of comfort and understanding but that often isn't the case. Parents

There are days when I just look back and think to myself are people really as happy as they claim to be or is it just about making it seem like they are. In recent times I've noticed that suicide has been on the increase especially amongst young people. People who we would consider to seem to have it all together and were enjoying life. Before spending so much money to attend events,go to expensive restaurants and hotels you should think about the reasons for which you are doing it. Clearly people are just spending so much money to convince others that their life is perfect when behind all the social media hype their lives are filled with sadness. If people could see through the images you post what would they really see? Many of us do our best to ensure that we have the best equipment to capture the moments in our lives while we allow the essence of the moments to pass us by. After a long vacation the first thing some of us do is ensure that we post all the pictures for people to