By Theresa Tayler, Calgary Herald
“It’s all in your head.”
These are words Nayely Trujillo became accustomed to hearing from friends and family as the then 14-year-old started to spin into a deep and debilitating state of depression.
Once a happy and outgoing little girl, the teen began to change just months after her great-grandmother and primary caregiver passed away. She became angry, confused and isolated.
Trujillo’s parents wondered how their once effervescent and academically proficient little girl came to be such a “problem child.”
Born in Mexico, the now 20-year-old immigrated with her family to Canada when she was a baby, eventually settling in Calgary.
“I was very close with (my great grandmother). She helped raise me, tucked me into bed at night and walked me to school in the mornings,” Trujillo explains.
“When she died it was a total reality check. I felt really lonely and I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I kept it all to myself. I was expected to stay strong for my family and for my little brother.”
As she began to isolate herself from her peer group and fight with her mom, Trujillo’s friends and family questioned her mood swings.
“People kept telling me that I was creating it. That made it worse,” she says.
Her mother became concerned that Trujillo’s behaviour was something much more than teenage angst or grief. She took her daughter to see a counsellor, and Trujillo was eventually diagnosed with depression.This wasn’t something the teen could control or simply will away.
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Breaking+through+stigma+surrounding+mental+health+issues/5520837/story.html#ixzz1aQH2F17F
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