Project Semicolon: The Cause Of Depression

In the essay, “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs uses humorous diction and a positive tone to educate people about life as a cripple and struggles of people with disabilities. She does this to show how hard it is to be disabled and how it differs from the life of someone without a disability. She talks about the struggles and the fears that disabled people must deal with on a daily basis. Mairs use of rhetoric creates a strong sense of connection and understanding for the reader. Nancy Mairs is successful in using detailed imagery, diction, and tone to educate her readers about the difficulties of living with a disability.

Jim Valvano is a legend in the sports community for his coaching ability as well as his unmatched perseverance. Valvano fought many battles on the basketball court, but none were as challenging as his battle with cancer. His perseverance earned him the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the first ever ESPY’s where he delivered one of the greatest and most inspirational speeches of all time. There are examples of all three of the rhetorical devices in this speech, but it is clear that pathos stands out the most amongst all of them. This was a very emotional speech that ultimately resulted in the unveiling of his brand new cancer research foundation, The Jimmy V Foundation. Valvano made this speech while he was in the late stages of terminal cancer

Throughout the nation and our world people are suffering from this disease. Depression effects people of both genders, all ages, and any background. The history of mental illness, specifically depression were extremely helpful in today’s treatment and diagnosis. We know that all individuals are different and because of this, we can assume that each case of mental illness, more specifically depression, is unique in its own way as well. One treatment that is very effective for one person may not be equally as effective in a similar case simply because of the differences in patients. History, types of depression, symptoms, and treatments are all equally important in finding ways to help one who is suffering from depression.

Depression is an illness which involves the body, thoughts and mood; this can have an effect on normal functioning daily. There are emotional, motivational, cognitive and physical symptoms which are linked in with depression. There are two types of explanations of depression one is biological and the other is psychological.

Anderson also interviews the author, Winifred Gallagher, the author of Rapt, a book about the power of attention, who wrote the book while fighting a severe form of breast cancer. She mentions that her diagnosis can be viewed as an internal struggle of focus, due to the gravity of her situation. Anderson mentions that she realized attention was ‘ “not just a latent ability, it was something you could marshal and use as a tool” ’ (3). Anderson consults Gallagher on distraction and suggests that attentional self-control, is the focal point of whether one will invest their time productively or become distracted. I concur with this argument, because a majority of instances where I was unable to finish my assignments or work was when I allowed or continued to be distracted by technology. I felt Anderson’s use of pathos for this source was effective because it creates a sense of empathy for Gallagher and her situation; also, it’s inspiring to see someone with cancer continue to live a productive life. I am sure many readers of the article feel motivated to focus and prevent technological distractions from hindering their success.

Reading an autobiography can supply valuable information about a person by revealing their narrative of personal challenges and successes. Michael J Fox wrote an autobiography about his challenges, including life with Parkinson’s disease. He fought a hard battle with alcoholism, depression, and family turmoil before and during the midst of his Parkinson’s diagnosis. In the beginning, he solely found solace in the bathtub trying to forget about his malady. However, he became an advocate; by embracing his diagnosis through representing his diagnosis, he slowly healed from the past, revealing his true identity.

The article “I Will Not Be Pinkwashed”, on ButterBeliever.com website on October 22, 2011, Emily Benfit discusses her feelings behind “Breast Cancer Awareness Month.” Benfit is a health researcher and writer. She has strong views on eating only natural, organic, and healthy foods; and is a firm believer that most doctors and government agencies have no business telling people what they should or shouldn’t be eating. Although Benfit blog is focused on nutritional foods and facts, this particular article is targeted towards those who support the breast cancer awareness movement. Directly at the beginning of the article Benfit argues very clearly that she is totally against Susan’s G. breast cancer awareness organization and there she states:

Depression is a mental illness that carries a negative stigma. Thus, no one wants to talk about depression, and as a result, the people who suffer from depression often do not receive the help that they need in the way they need to be helped. In his speech “Confessions of a Depressed Comic”, Kevin Breel discusses his own depression and the fact that depression is not discussed enough in today’s society. Breel believes that depression needs to be talked about more as it has become a more major problem nowadays. He also feels that the negative stereotype attached to depressed individuals needs to disappear. Through his unique point of view and clever diction, Breel gets this point across in a clear and meaningful manner.

Care givers: caring for a family member or friend with a physical or mental illness can be stressful, exhausting, both mentally and physically, and creates a physical and psychological strain for the care giver over a period of time. The psychological well-being such as depression and stress, are frequent consequences of caregiving. The age, socioeconomic status, and the availability of informal support that caregivers have access to greatly affect their own health and well being.

Hope is one of the may things that leads people to having one of the best lives they can ever imagine.Out of all the things you can do to make your life better, hoping is one of the best ways. When Ben Carson had hope, that helped him through school, college, and his job at John Hopkins Hospital. That also means if I have hope like Ben Carson I can succeed in many things. Even society can have hope like Ben Carson, and do many great things in their lives.

Living with chronic illness and pain is something that isn’t easily understood by people who are not going through the same thing. Moreover, the effects of illness are an emotional and personal daily battle. All of us with Fibromyalgia are not the same!! Not one of us has the exact same symptoms. We have a lot of the same, some are worse, some are less, but no two are exactly alike!

A. Attention Getter- I will never forget the day my mom called me and told me that she had found a lump in her breast. She immediately went to get a mammogram, and sure enough, it was breast cancer.

In the view of the World Health Organization (WHO), one in 5 people is clinically depressed and it describes depression as the biggest epidemic that the world has ever known. The levels of depressions are far higher than a hundred years ago, even though life today is easier and more comfortable than ever, and despite more psychotherapists being game fully employed than ever!

It’s unreasonable to define something so arbitrary as depression in just a few sentences. For me, depression is a vacuum, something that pulls up everything: it takes away the good, bad, joy, sorrow, anger, etc. It affects the way you function and takes control of you. Professionals may define it by a set of symptoms and feelings. But for patients suffering with depression, it is more than just the symptoms; it can become an absence of self worth and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness despite the surprising amount of people who have it as well. These people typically blame him or herself and use the illness to define them as a whole. Depression is an illness of the mind, or a mood disorder; although it can affect a

Depression can be a monster and destroy the lives of people, but in my case it help me express my emotions better by helping me be more honest with myself. Depression has never been alien to me. Since middle school I have danced with the devil. I do not know what triggered it then, but it was mostly likely hormones. Despite that ever looming sadness over my head, I was still doing well in school, at least as best as I could do, I still hung out with people and I was still social when I had to be.