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Kristel Andal
Professor Mariana Abuan
Writing 001-36
28 October 2014
Rhetorical Essay
Suicide is a Powerful Disease
Suicide seems to be such a sensitive issue when brought up in any conversation. Its definition is someone who intentionally takes his or her own life (Merriam-Webster 1). This word is generally seen as having a negative connotation, therefore, suicide comes off as such a tragedy when it happens to occur. Since suicide directly connects with death, most people view the act of suicide as morally wrong, or just something that should be prevented or avoided any way possible.
Today one can identify that suicide significantly correlates with depression. Basically, depression is one of the main causes of suicide. Depression is a disease that attacks someone and slowly leads the person to his or her own death through suicide.
What is depression? “Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest” states Mayo Clinic Staff in “Diseases and Conditions Depression”
(1). Therefore being on this depressed state of mind, he or she is affect by how he or she feels, thinks, acts, etc. In the end, the person then risk in obtaining physical and emotional problems in the future, such as no longer thinking clearly and positively, and doing any physical or recreational activities.
Although, what truly causes someone to become depressed? According to “What causes depression?” by beyondblue, the three main factors of why someone becomes depressed are due to life events, personal factors, and changes in the brain. In life events depression can occur in the

Andal 2 time of long-term unemployment, loneliness, stress, and abusive relationship. Usually a combination of these is more likely to trigger depression. For personal factors, they may be a family history of depression, meaning it is in the genes, serious medical illness, drug or alcohol use, or personality, like having low self-esteem, thinking negatively, and being a perfectionist.
Lastly, brain changes in the levels or activity of chemicals like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine contribute to depression as well. According to Émile Durkheim’s book,
Suicide, a Study in Sociology , “sometimes men who kill themselves have had family sorrow or disappointments to their pride, sometimes they have had to suffer poverty or sickness” (279). Here, Durkheim presents and states some of the other causes of why people are affected by depression. Which again includes life events (family sorrows), personal factors (pride), and changes in the brain (sickness), coincidence?
What is a disease? According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary a disease is “a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally” (1). Depression is a disease like any other, due to the fact that it prevents the body from acting normally, and changing a person’s mood or behavior; a person’s views or even his or her thoughts on life is easily changed. For example, in the film Girl Interrupted by James Mangold, the protagonist Susanna speaks to one of the patients at the mental institution. After learning more about the institutions rehabilitation programs, she exclaims “How the hell am I supposed to recover when I don't even understand my disease?” (
Girl, Interrupted ). Susanna states this because like most individuals who are depressed, she cannot pinpoint the main reason for her depression. Like most diseases, depression will strike those with a weaker will to fight, and will also seem to be able to spread from person to person, or from one person to another. Some solutions or ways to avoid this disease is by finding a sense of purpose, exercising regularly, and attaining enough sleep or a good night’s rest.

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Some people may say that people who commit suicide themselves do it by choice, but this statement cannot be any more false. People who die by suicide are not making a choice; they are losing a fight to pain, emotion, and loss of hope (Grohol 1). This can be seen by analyzing one common scenario of teen suicide. Some of teen suicides consist of teenagers with backgrounds of parental abuse and troubled house lives. As an adolescent I was once on the verge of suicide. It certainly was not just by choice, but by loneliness I felt in my life throughout that point in time. I was not given sufficient attention from my parents, nor my two older sisters due to their hectic schedules of work and school. On top of that, there were days when I was left alone at home, and when my parents had constant fights about how they were going to pay the house rent and the bills since it seemed money was almost always too short. At one point, I believed that the best way to get rid of my troubles was through my own death. I was convinced until to the point where I told myself that there will be a much better life ahead of me; life can get better. All in all, it was not my choice to seek suicide as the answer to all my problems, but it was one of the few choices I had available to me. Suicide at that time seemed like the only way to make my life less painful, lonely, and unloved.
Depression is a powerful disease that slowly weakens a person until he or she meets with death. This being the main source of why there are so many people who commit suicide shows that there are so many people who struggle in everyday life. Causes of depression ranges and varies, but either way, it is because of how much he or she has let this feeling affect him or her. In order to turn one way’s life around is to make an effort in changing one’s lifestyle. Instead of drowning and stressing in the problem that caused one to be depressed, one should distract himself or herself, such as spending time with family and friends, or finding a mental or physical hobby.
Depression is challenging to overcome, which is why so many stay affected by it; although, with

Andal 4 a little perseverance, support, and a positive attitude, one may be able to find a way out.

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Works Cited
Beyondblue. "What Causes Depression?" Beyondblue. Beyondblue, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014
Durkheim, Émile. Suicide, a Study in Sociology. Glencoe, IL: Free, 1951. Print.
Girl, Interrupted. Dir. James Mangold. Perf. Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. Columbia
Pictures, 1999. Netflix.
Grohol, John M. "Is Suicide a Free Choice or a False Choice?" World Of Psychology. Psych
Central, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
Mayo Clinic. "Diseases and Conditions Depression." Depression (major Depression) Definition.
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Merriam-Webster. "Disease." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
Merriam-Webster. "Suicide." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.