Speech+AJ215


 * How my optimism will help me press on to greater achievements in the future:**


 * Every 1.1 seconds a teenager commits suicide. Every 1.1 seconds somebody is suffering so much, that they decide to take there own life. Since 1950 the suicide rate for teens has tripled. Last year 400,000 teens committed suicide just in the US, and that is only the successful suicides. Over the past few years, male suicide and self harm has grown to be five times the amount of female suicides and self harm. Today i'm going to use my optimism to help those who are struggling with depression, self-harm, and other mental disorders.**


 * Many people have asked before, "what is depression like?", or they have said "I don't understand depression". Well, I want you to close you eyes and picture yourself like this. You feel like your drowning, and you're watching every one around you swimming. It feels like you're not even alive, you're just breathing, you feel dead, worthless, useless, hopeless, the list goes on. Your sitting in the corner of your room with your door locked, blinds drawn, and the lights off, it's pitch black. Your crying, you have been for the past two hours, you want everything to stop. You don't see a reason for smiling, walking, talking, trying, or even breathing, you feel scared, confused, worthless, ugly, and you have red and white scars down your arms and thighs, your alone and you want to end it, everything. You pick up the phone and call 911, you say to them "when you get here, i'll be dead" you hang up, and proceed with ending your life, suffering, and sadness. Open your eyes, scary to think about right, and that's only a little view, of what depression is really like.**


 * Suicide, depression, self harm, and other mental disorders are a huge issue in the United States. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teens in the US, and it will only get worse over the years. You are probably sitting here thinking, oh yeah suicide, whatever that's not that big of an issue. Well stop telling yourself that because it is a huge issue. I want my optimism to help those who struggle with suicidal thoughts, self harm, or depression. I want to be the reason someone didn't hurt themselves today or the reason someone is still alive. We all know someone who self harms or is depressed, but we don't do anything about it, we just tell them, "Hey, don't do that" and expect them to stop, but they don't, and they wont stop because self harm isn't just another thing teenagers do because it "cool" or "fun. It is an addiction, just like drugs or smoking or alcohol, when you start, you cant stop. We all have the power to use our optimism to make these people get better, we just need to use that power instead of ignoring it. People think depression and self harm is a cry for attention, but its not, it is a mental disorder just like ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or any other mental disorder, and it can be diagnosed by a doctor just like the other disorders can, because it is a real and serious thing. If we all try and work together though, we can change that, we can help people get better, we just need to put our minds to it.**


 * I believe my optimism can make a huge impact on people with mental disorders. One way my optimism can make a difference is by sitting down with someone who has a mental disorder and instead of telling them what to do and making them feel bad, I can ask them why they feel that way. i can actually have a conversation with them. Never tell a person with depression that they are "messed up", or "your just over reacting" because that is the kind of stuff that makes people with depression shut everyone out. When I talk to people with problems, I will give them optimistic advice, If they self-harm, I could try and convince them to flush there blades, but I will never force anyone into doing something they don't want to do. I can put together support groups, and when I'm older I can volunteer at a suicide hotline or a mental hospital to help talk those that want to kill them selves into fighting through the pain. I will let these people know that there are better days ahead. They just need to be strong, and find something or someone that makes you happy. Without support and love, these people that are struggling, will never get better. You never know what people are struggling with at home, outside of school, or even in school, and you calling someone dumb, or ugly, may be the last triggering word they hear that will drive them to end their life.**


 * My optimism can do so much for these people, a little happiness can go a long way. I try my best every day to be as positive as I can. You never know if your talking to someone who struggles with a mental disorder. I want to be an optimist, a good person, someone who can help others stay strong an get through what they are going through. I know that someway, somehow, my optimism can press onto greater achievements in the future. I can make a difference and I can be positive as long as I believe in myself and others. This is how my optimism can press onto the greater achievements of the future, how can yours?**