Medicating Sadness

What is depression? It's a psychological disorder, that is clinically diagnosed and treated. When a person experiences extreme sadness and other symptoms of depression, they might go to the doctor and get "checked out." Here's the problem though....... in today's "Bell Let's Talk"   "Raise awareness about mental health" (which is great- don't get me wrong...) society, we are beginning to believe that our sadness is depression. People who have next to no medical issues are digging around, trying to find what's wrong in their life and searching for diagnoses. Well newsflash to all people of the human species: sadness is a natural human emotion. The modern epidemic of medicating sadness, in my eyes, is on the rise and is completely un-necessary in many many people. 

I've observed people who are going through a rough time in life. I really feel for them in today's day and age because as they are going through a "season of sorrow or sadness," media is bombarding them with messages telling us to talk about our mental health. "Don't be ashamed!"  "Depression hurts."  "Talk about it." blah blah blah.... This leads these innocent teenagers and even adults to believe that they are in fact in a state that needs medical attention. It's great that we as a nation are trying to stomp out stigma, however the (un)healthiness of our mental state for a certain period of our life is not equivalent to a mental disorder. I am not doubting the existence of the clinical condition, and the affects it has on many people.... I am, however, questioning the validity of the rising number of depressed people... and their "illness." Is it something that needed to be medicated? Or is it just a sad time in their life.

"The leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.3Affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year." (adaa.org)

I don't intend to bash doctors and those with depression. I really don't even know my opinion on this. It's just something that's been floating around my brain over the past several years as I've watched people "become clinically depressed." Perhaps they really are, and perhaps medication is necessary.... but on the other hand.... maybe they are fine. Maybe they are just sad. I would hate to see anyone go through a horrible health process, relying on medication so young, when the reality is they are just sad.

My deep desire is that people of all ages would begin to understand the normality of sadness. Though it isn't something that is EASY, for we were created for HAPPINESS,  it is an inevitable human emotion. We can't just medicate all of our problems, and my strong hope is that we as a society would learn that it is not necessary to medicate every negative thing that comes our way.