EL Blogging Homework - 09 Chan Jing Jie

What are your thoughts and feelings about being depression, loneliness, heartbreaks, being different from your peers, and having to put up a front? How do/would you deal with some of these issues.

Teenagers often face many different problems, with respect to physical changes, psychological and mental well-being and personal relations with people. 

Talking about being depressed, this relates to the psychological and mental well-being of a person. Depression is the state whereby one is under extreme pressures from the surroundings with severe conditions, resulting in mental breakdowns. The state of depression usually lasts for a certain period of time, causing the person to have negative feelings, eg. hopelessness, dejected. People suffering from depression tend to close themselves up, which makes it hard for their friends and family to help them.

Depression can trigger due to the current problems that teenagers are facing. A wide range of factors, from heartbreaks to loneliness. Heartbreaks happens, with regards to tangling issues among teenagers. Usually, this issue arises, relevant to the emotional well-being of teens. Heartbreaks among teenage couples, heartbreaks among friendships, heartbreaks among family members. It covers a wide variety of relationships and interaction among people.

Those heartbreaks that leads to depressions are commonly the ones between teenage couples. Actually, Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. Hence, when teenage couples experience a rocky relationship, both parties would be greatly affected. These set-backs are times where couples would think, if they have made the right choice in going into a relationship. The person who can make you the happiest, can hurt you most deeply too. This is the irony.

Couples are meant to meet challenges. When the circumstances are too great for them to handle, there are only two options. If their relationship is strong enough, they will hold each other tightly to brave through the hurricanes, droughts. However if they are not, that would be the time their relationship ends. One may be thinking "Let's go back, back to the beginning, back to when the earth, the sun, the stars are all aligned." But then again, is it worth it? At such a young age, going into a relationship may not just be the right choice.

In this point of time, heartbreaks are then inevitable. Therefore, it is time to take a break, and let time heal the pain. Don’t hover on the relationship. When it is time to move on, just do. Time will make you strong, so just let the rain fall down, and wash all the memories away, although you want to hold the memories of the past tightly in your arms. “True Love burns the brightest, But the brightest flames leave the deepest scars.” So, if you are afraid being hurt, don’t go into a relationship. It can lead you to a depression.

Loneliness, is another psychological issue. Walking alone down an endless pathway, with only pain and emotional suffering as you continue the search for happiness and comfort that you hope to find with friends. There are many people in this world that are outcast, meaning that they are often left out, unwanted. Hence, this group of teenagers becomes emotionally affected. When they witness their peers hanging out together, loneliness made them depressed as they were jealous of the people around them who weren’t lonely, and therefore, affecting their own personal confidence. Which is why, Loneliness could lead to depressions too.

There are often times, when you are needed to put up a front, around your friends. But the question posed is, why is there a need to? Often, there are things that are meant to be kept a secret, kept concealed. Hence, teenagers put a painted mask, trying to cover their feelings and emotions. No one will know how you feel inside, and as time moves along the mask becomes a part of you. The artificial, and fake you. That is no pleasant feeling. Most people think that they are able to master the art of masking, and learn to control their feelings. But there is always one thing to remember. One day, everything will break down inside.

With reference to Sue Lun’s statement “Hiding behind a delicately painted mask is a sign of weakness and lack of self-assurance. Within these shadows of quivering souls lies a common belief- that they have failed in life.” Sometimes you have to show your bad side so that you can sort out who can accept you at your worst. Hiding behind a mask is a bad thing indeed, but it gives you a form of protection around yourself. Inside the delicately painted mask, is a fragile person. Being afraid to be hurt, having a fear of betrayal, may just be the reasons of having a mask. In conclusion, having a flawless facade that masks emotions is not a bad thing afterall. However, it shouldn’t reach to an extent that it becomes a masquerade, a disguise, that is fake and pretense.

Dealing with these issues, the main person is you. People around you could provide you with moral support and cheer you on, giving you advices here and then, providing you with guidance. At the end, it is still up to the person, himself/herself. Overcome all odds, as long as you have the willpower. Delete the negative, Accentuate the positive. Never bow down to the challenges met, keep going strong but level-headed. Only then, the brighter days would be seen and a bright future awaits.