We live in a world with unreal expectations. Add to that peer pressure, bullying tactics and the stress of job or school and we get a teen suicide rate that is alarming. Fortunately for this young lady – there was an alternate escape.
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I’ve paraphrased Pam’s words:
Life is just overwhelming and sometimes I feel like going to sleep and never waking up. Sleep is an escape where I feel nothing. No worries or sadness or anxiety just good feelings of nothingness, and sometimes you get to dream too which is fun. I was often picked on through public school & high school. People hurt me to the point where if I could sleep forever, I would. For some reason people can be hateful and find it funny to tell someone to kill themselves, or say I look like a bull dog. For me, sleeping is a way to avoid them, step out of reality, the drama, the fighting, the hate.
To remind me of my escape, I chose this tattoo design because the birds represent the freedom I thrive and the tree because when I get depressed I also to the woods where I enjoy the peace and tranquility of nature.
Since getting the tattoo I’ve left school behind and with it many of the problems but I still select my friends carefully and choose very few. I am stronger but remain on antidepressants, but they're are days where I do still escape by just sleeping.
In my sleep and dreams I don't see negativity, I see everyone getting along & being drama free.
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NOTE: Teen depression can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, self-loathing and self-mutilation, pregnancy, violence, and even suicide. To recognize the signs and understand what to do here is a starting point:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen.htm