Depression: 20’s and 30’s

Hi Lori Miller and I'm Bernie Dake. Welcome to the Salvation Army's wonderful words of life. Welcome back everybody and hello again Lori, hi Bernie, you know this week is a special week for me because my mom is having a birthday shout out to Bernie's mom. Happy birthday.

I would tell you her age, but I fear – okay that's right what you think about the series were doing a mental health. Oh my goodness, I think it's so important, and I'm so excited that were actually kind of bringing a topic that often happens in the dark out to the light. I think it's so valuable yeah and the statistics are staggering in our production team gave us a bunch of information arrives as they were preparing just to read is humbling to assure serious depression among people in their 20s.

Lori, this is what the statistics that we've been given say the prevalence of adults with a major depressive episode was highest among individuals aged 18 to 25 that is almost hard to believe for me it is what I'm seeing there's so much pressure on hard bar teenagers ask twentysomethings particular with social media apps that they're going through their college years.

Now they're transitioning into jobs and adult thing is they say it's right and adult tomorrow looks a little different than adults in dead yeah when we kind of went through the state of their own lives and sell what was shocking to me was that 35% of adults with a major depressive episode did not receive treatment and data. I wonder if that has anything to do with the stigma or what they see on Instagram and that their fearful nests in regard to showing weakness or showing something other than perfect now. It's really interesting. It has been it's been humbling for me to remember your transition from dependence or living with your parents to your independence. I do remember as a matter fact I moved home for just a little while and left really quick and it all had to do with that. Going from child to adult and finding my place and my independence and self postcollege was really tough when I was that age there was a singer, this Stephanie to date me as a singer named Michael W Smith law Yasmin without a song called the looking for a reason roaming through this world to find my place in this world and I think that's where young people are for sure that can cause a lot of consternation absolutely and you know I'm walking through this with my own kids right now and it's a challenge. We are very encouraged by the feedback you've already been giving us from the series and it's truly our prayer that the series is impacting countless people who need to hear that they are not alone and again if you or someone you love is battling depression.

I want to encourage you please to reach out to someone if you don't have a church home. Feel free to reach out to your local Salvation Army. But if you need to talk to someone immediately. Please call 1-800-273-8255. That's one 802 73 talk TAL K.

There are people who care about you want to help accomplish my mom's. My eyes where my car all we've got our new friend.

All the other documents who's come from Washington DC area. I worked for the Salvation Army there and is here to talk to us about mental health over the past few weeks we talked about different categories or age groups. Today we want to cut a focus on the twentysomethings and make sure that whoever might be listening. Whether you're a parent or guardian, or you are a twentysomething yourself or maybe your teenager who has someone in your life who is battling a different mode 12 episode depression in particular. Maybe you hear something today that can be helpful to you but welcome back Ali. Thank you. Great, thanks. I have me were glad that you're here and I wonder, why is it important for us to talk about twentysomethings as is depression real amongst that age group and why absolutely for the majority of the twentysomethings we think about when we were daddy needs you know just coming into ourselves having to transitioning ownership of allies for my parents to ourselves trying to figure out exactly how am I going to manage a new household or live with a roommate. Perhaps you're in college and is just a variety of things that are happening as you shift from one phase of your life until another insult from most people day can make those shifts very easily. Those are those who are generally tied in with their families or had other family members who've gone to college or had other life experiences to support them during that transition, but for others when you don't have that support system you're trying to figure out what it is you are doing and how to do it in. Where do I major well I have a job. I'm not necessarily comprehending what it is I'm supposed to do with my life. Depression can set in, but sickly. If you are a teen who has some depressive episodes and you figure just a change of pace so you her desk. Just the change of pace would do a you a world of good.

Most twentysomething thirtysomethings find themselves combat experiencing no sayings has in Lowe's and you become significantly more significantly greater because now we probably need to seek out some additional assistance through some talk therapy a clinician or maybe in a psychologist in terms of helping us to get some medication temp to stabilize those moves that were having, but just like any issue. If we don't address it. It tends to get bigger. I'm so when you think of someone who's entering an adult hood dealing with depression without support on whether that's medication or therapy they end up in a state of being overweight and is those pressures of house how to handle adulthood, how I handle this transition. What I do in my finances and then relationships tend to change than you might not have the same relationship she had in high school you may have difficulty meeting new people and now you are actively you are gainfully employed as a 20 or 30 something also does a lot of transitions that can bring about depressive episodes. Traditionally, when were in our 20s and 30s. We probably experience our first significant loss with the grandparent or are on and sometimes we don't have the ability to process that grief because were always in that state of that state of goal in get over it. Society tells us that there is a point in time by which we should be sad and after those five days or five minutes are up, and we need to move on and by a combination of all those things and all of those pressures and society, and then again I have to keep bringing in social media, comparing yourself to where your friends might be. Perhaps their life is already figured out, and you believe that you should be there too, but you still haven't found your the passion that you need. So those are the things that 20 and thirtysomethings face in our society today.

And so if your 20 or 30 something who have maybe experienced depression at some point in your life. I encourage you to reach out to a local therapist, a friend, even your parents to get some additional help on everybody doesn't have it together at 20 or even at 30 and so I'm just understand that your life trajectory is that is your life and you shouldn't really compare it to anyone else.

You know I like to kind of tag data onto people say we always look for validation others. And if God is cause you to do a specific thing you want somebody else to validate it, but that's a private conversation between you and the Lord and so no one will really ever have the particular what to do and how to do it but you and that's what I believe 20 and thirtysomethings should do whatever trajectory you feel like your life should go down.

If you are slowly making steps towards that path is okay if you're not able to make steps and you know what you want to do. Dan, you should really reach out and get some help. I like the idea of chipping away. I always with our staff. I like to say you don't wait to the last minute to work on this project can chip away at a little bit of time and I am not a mental health expert at all. The audit is someone who has had a lot of experience with helping people and some of the biggest things we've learned in this show has have been things like you're not alone. It's okay, don't worry about the stigma.

If you're twentysomething you know if you're some of the just needs a breath, take that break you deserve it. That's okay. We all need to do. Breathe deep inhale, exhale. It's a perfectly natural thing may be to slow down the speed of life in a moment and give you some perspective regarding your hero Liotta glove you joined us, and if you want to find out more about mental health and go back and listen to the previous episodes or join us next week on wonderful works of the Salvation Army's mission doing the most good means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army visit Salvation Army USA.org to offer your support and we would love to hear from you.

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