It is amazing how a young professional, enterprising 30-year-old woman, did not free herself from the silent clutches of depression, so it happened last January 30 with Cheslíe Kryst. A successful woman of many talents.
She had earned a law degree, a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in business from Carolina University where she was a track athlete. Cheslie Kryst, a beautiful 30-year-old became known in the United States for being the winner of the Miss USA pageant in 2019. When she handed over her reign she was hired to work as a correspondent on a television show called "Extra". For her work as a correspondent, she was nominated in two consecutive years for Emmy Awards. She also worked as a backstage entertainer for the past two Miss Universe pageants. In addition to working in her profession as a lawyer, Cheslíe Kryst had a fashion blog called "White Collar Glam". As she commented on her blog, she said, "someday I will have a line of work clothes".
That "someday" never will come because her body was found lifeless after she jumped from a Manhattan apartment building and was pronounced dead at the scene Sunday morning. Hours earlier she posted a message on her instagram account, "May this day bring you rest and peace."
Depression is disguised as happiness, laughter, triumph, many things that people want to show to the outside world, giving a false image that everything is going well, but, what about the inner being? what is not seen, what happens to the mind? that is only known and felt by the people who suffer from it, suffer internally, fall into a strong depression in their solitude, behind closed doors in their room. That could very well be the case of Cheslíe Kryst, taking into account the artistic and professional world in which she operates. The depression she suffered hid it from the outside world, disguised it as joy and triumph.
The only emotional state that people generally try to overcome is sadness. Most people are more inventive when it comes to freeing themselves from a prolonged period of sadness. Melancholy like any other mood has its benefits. Sadness reinforces a kind of reflective withdrawal from life's activities, especially when faced with the loss or closure of a cycle or stage of life. It leaves us in a state of suspense to mourn the loss, makes us reflect on what happened and finally make the necessary adjustments, both psychological and new plans, in moving forward in our life. We try to go out, distract ourselves, dance, sing, walk. Grief is useful, genuine depression is not. With depression, mental health measures must be taken.
Depression has various frightening manifestations that the sufferer may hide from the outside world. Many people may feel self-hatred, the feeling that they are worthless as a person, a sadness that pervades their whole being, a strong sense of fear of situations around them, and above all a suffocating anxiety. They can also manifest themselves intellectually with a strong confusion in the areas of work, low mental concentration, and memory failures, all these manifestations erase any pleasant sensation of the outside world. There are also the physical effects: insomnia, extreme apathy, a kind of daze, but more extreme a strange fragility, a lot of restlessness. There is also the loss of pleasure, everything seems insipid, as well as meals. Finally, there is the fading of all hope, which will become as palpable as physical pain. A so unbearable pain, that the solution seems to be suicide.
In a depression as important as the one described, the sufferer's life is paralyzed, as if it were in a waiting period. Nothing matters anymore.
We must be attentive to these symptoms that could manifest in a relative, a loved one, a friend, even ourselves. We are the eyes and senses, alert to any strong, constant, and profound change in emotional health because, as in the case of today's story of young Cheslíe Kryst, depression is a silent killer, depression disguised as happiness and success. It is up to us to support by detecting any manifestation of depression in time to avoid a tragedy.
In some countries, such as the USA, there are foundations for suicide prevention. According to data researched for this article, suicide is one of every ten deaths in the world. While depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. And according to the World Health Organization, it will be the leading health problem by 2050. In 2019 alone, when Cheslíe Kryst won her crown in the USA, in that country 47,500 people took their own lives.
When faced with any need for support and help never hesitate to seek it, life is only one and irreplaceable, let's take care of our mental health and that of our family and friends.
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Awareness. That's what we need these days when mental health issues are becoming more prevalent in our society. Awareness about others around us. Self-awareness. And pray that the mental health stigma is erased so people will not hesitate to seek help or to admit what they are going through. Let us also be sensitive about what people are telling us, instead of dismissing what they are feeling.