

October 26, 2009

National Depression Awareness Month

Bryce-Mackie-Picture.JPGOctober isn't just National Breast Cancer Awareness month, it's also National Depression Awareness month. We caught up with Bryce Mackie, who at 17 created his award-winning film, Eternal High, based off of his own experience with depression. Bryce now travels the US and Canada screening his film and talking to teens, trying to raise awareness about depression and encourage teens not to be embarrassed about getting help. The recent winner of the 2009 Welcome Back Award for Destigmatization chatted with us about his experience and how to help a friend.

Why did you want to make this film? How much of it is derived directly from your own experiences?

I wanted to make Eternal High because I love making films and wanted to create a movie that showed a kid who had so many amazing things in his life, yet he felt numb to everything and didn't care if he lived or not. The film is almost one hundred percent derived from personal experience. At age 16 I began to feel like there was nothing in life that sparked my interest. I had supportive parents, good grades, a great girlfriend, and was popular in school. Yet I didn't really see a point to anything. At the time I had no clue what depression was or that I was even depressed. Many people don't know or think they're suffering from clinical depression. There's a line in the film that says, "Maybe I'm depressed and don't know it." That didn't really hit me until after I got help.

What was the turning point for you in your own depression? How did you get help?

The turning point for me was when my parents forced me to see a counselor about 4 months after I finished my film. The movie depicts mild depression, which is still a very miserable and sad way to go through life, but things got much worse for me with time. After I made the film, I showed it to my friends and family and they cried and thought it was sad, but didn't think it was how I was actually feeling. It was just supposed to be another character in a movie that I made.

What do you hope viewers will take away from your film? What was the most important message to you?

I hope viewers will be able to connect to my experience. People with depression need to see that they are not the only one in the world feeling the way they do and that there's hope. No one talks about depression, yet it's everywhere! I hope the film opens up the topic for discussion so people don't have to feel ashamed or embarrassed that they are feeling the way they do. What advice do you have for teens who are suffering from depression? My advice for teens is to know that you are not alone. Statistics say 10-20 percent of teens are suffering from clinical depression. It's more than just being sad all the time; it's an actual chemical imbalance in the brain. Like any other illness such as diabetes, it's not your fault you have it: you just got unlucky. Don't be afraid to see a counselor! Anti-depressants can change and/or save your life. Keep talking to someone until you can get help.

What are some of the red flags that someone you know may be suffering? What is the best way to approach a friend who may be in trouble?

Some alerts that someone may be suffering from depression is if they start to withdraw from society or stop doing things that they used to love to do. The scariest part is that that a lot of the time people are really good at covering up how bad they feel. The number one way to begin the healing process is through true heart-to-heart conversations. The best way to approach a friend who may be in trouble would be to simply ask them how they are feeling. Ask them if there is anything you can do to help.