Depression affects more than 300 million people globally and it is a mental health issue that must be taken seriously. According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and is even a "major contributor to the overall global burden of disease." The worst outcome of depression is suicide, in which victims take their own lives because they do not have access to the professional help to ease their symptoms. Because of this, helplines have been set up all over the world so that people of all nations can get help whenever they need it.

But sometimes, even reaching out to the right people is a big task for someone burdened with depression. Sometimes, people come up with creative ways to get help.

The pasta hotline

In an interesting turn of events, a man who was depressed contacted a Pasta company's Customer Service because he was feeling "lonely and depressed," and wanted someone to talk to, Bored Panda reported.

He picked up his mobile phone and texted a pasta company's 24/7 customer service (a round of applause for this company who understands that there may be a pasta emergency anytime). The customer service representative was a kind lady named Sarah who, instead of turning him away because he didn't really have a concern about any of their products, was empathetic and said that they were only limited to talk about the products they sell.

Explaining depression through pasta

Because of this limitation, the man who was feeling depressed expressed his feelings by using a pasta analogy, specifically, lasagna. He wrote in his text, "Say I was a lasagna with meat sauce, but instead of cooking the way I was supposed to, I was stretched too think with too many responsibilities and was unable to do everything well." He further explained that because of spreading himself or the pasta a little bit too thin, the lasagna cooked "poorly in every part of the pan." He wrote, "Even the parts I normally bake perfectly, because of how much I have to do and how little time I have, even those areas...were out of whack." He concluded by asking how he could return to being the "confident and capable lasagna with meat sauce" that he was.

Feelings of depression

Depression manifests in many different ways, but often times it shows through a loss of interest or pleasure in activities that a person used to enjoy, inability to sleep or excessive sleeping, restlessness, irritability, fatigue and loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, difficulty focusing, and even feeling overwhelmed (which is also a symptom of anxiety), according to WebMD. In this case, the man who was feeling depressed seemed to be overwhelmed with work and responsibilities, which is why he needed someone to talk to.

'Lasagnas can be fixed'

The pasta company's customer service representative gave some great insight to the man feeling depressed, telling him that despite mistakes, lasagnas can be fixed as long as he "decides to try again." When asked how many times can a lasagna mess up, she replied, "You'd be surprised how resilient noodles can be.

I haven't found there to be a limit." With this, the man found renewed hope and decided to "start the next round of preheat and give it another go." Faith in humanity, restored.

If you or anyone you know feel the need to get urgent help due to depressive thoughts and symptoms, get in touch with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline immediately through 1-800-273-8255 or suicidepreventionlifeline.org, available 24/7.
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