Bruno Mars wrote our national anthem.

Bruno Mars said it right "Today I don't feel like doing anything. I just wanna lay in my bed." But I have a feeling he meant on occasion, just a day to chill.

Then there's the other 350 million of us with depression, for whom this feeling occurs every day. I can understand busy people wanting to take a break and relax. But having depression is having your brain stuck on 'sad mode' almost every day of your life.

Getting up to take a shower any day is a challenge in itself. I distinctly remember days, I was barely able to drag myself off the couch to shower at 3pm. I would just lay there all day. Not because I was lazy, I had a great job as a registered nurse. I was just so depressed, I could not function.

I remember days when I would put my phone on silent mode and hide it under the couch cushions. I could not bear to look at my phone when it rang or when a message came in. I wanted to isolate myself from the rest of the world. I felt safe in my little bubble.

Depression transcends race, religion, and socio-economic background. I have lost so much to this disease that sometimes it is difficult to see the upside. Especially when an ignorant society tries to call you lazy and say you brought it on yourself. It makes me very sad and sometimes angry enough to say things I probably shouldn't. So to answer the person who said depressed people should use "the lazy song" as our national anthem...

NO! I'm not lazy. I can not 'snap out of it'. I did not cause this to happen to myself. I try so hard every day to improve myself for ME. No one knows my pain, no one knows my hurt, no one knows the constant influx of thoughts I have every day.

Yet I still smile. If I didn't tell you I suffered from major depression, you'd never know. Don't judge me unless you've lived the things I have survived.

I am hopeful for better things, for myself and for all those suffering from depression. Together, we can do anything. Thank you for reading. God bless you. Please comment below and let me know of your experiences.

- Latoya.