Confessions Of A Depressed Comic Summary

Depression is a mental illness that carries a negative stigma. Thus, no one wants to talk about depression, and as a result, the people who suffer from depression often do not receive the help that they need in the way they need to be helped. In his speech “Confessions of a Depressed Comic”, Kevin Breel discusses his own depression and the fact that depression is not discussed enough in today’s society. Breel believes that depression needs to be talked about more as it has become a more major problem nowadays. He also feels that the negative stereotype attached to depressed individuals needs to disappear. Through his unique point of view and clever diction, Breel gets this point across in a clear and meaningful manner. Breel’s purpose

Breel himself “… had been living two different lives…” (Breel 1) through his own struggle with depression from the last six years up until this day. He describes how he was not a stereotypical case of depression. He was a pretty popular kid, and he was consistently on the honor roll (Breel 2). He is proof that depression does not fit into a box. Breel was an otherwise well-rounded individual, but he still has suffered from depression. Because he has suffered from depression and he does not fit the stigma, he better proves his point that the stigma of depression is untrue and should not get in the way of treating it. His intense articulation makes the speech more powerful and more real for the people he is addressing. The wording that Breel uses in his speech also greatly enhances the message of it. When further describing the severity of depression, Breel says that, “…every 30 seconds, every 30 seconds, somewhere, someone in the world takes their own life because of depression, and it might be two blocks…it might be two continents away, but it’s happening, and it’s happening every single day…” (Breel 2). By using repetition in his statement he magnifies the severity of depression. He also intensifies his point by mentioning suicide, which is an extreme side effect of depression. Both Breel’s upfront experience with depression and his phraseology