A friend of yours is depressed,
Cutting, binging, purging, drugging,
Suffering suicidal thoughts,
And you don’t know what to do.
You’re not supposed to fix this,
But you also can’t dismiss it.
You have ears,
I know you do,
I’ve seen them attached
To your hairdo.
I know you’re able to listen,
It’s so easy to do!
You can encourage that peer
To tell an adult that she holds dear.
It might just be a mother,
A sister or a brother,
A teacher or a preacher,
Or the aunt with a hair transplant.
Then there’s always cousin Ed
who wears those crazy socks,
He’s the one that always chants
And does yoga in orange pants.
You gotta be sick of stigma
Where’s it come from anyway?
What a truly sorry tradition
That is so yesterday.
I’m challenging all of you
And yes that means you, too
To make mental illness stigma a social taboo.
Teens and Young Adults: How to help your friend with depression?
