With the recent surge on mental health awareness over this past few years people have a greater understanding of others whose battling with anxiety, depression, trauma and other mental illnesses.
There's also less discrimination to those seeking therapy and mental healthcare nowadays, thanks to celebrities and public figures who came out and spoken up about their struggles with mental illness.
There's still more to be learn about the true nature of depression which is considered to be the world's most common mental illness. And no matter the advances in human psychology, its only those individuals struggling with it can truly understand what they're going thru.
Here are 10 things only people suffering with depression can understand.
1. You Are Having Difficulty Comprehending With Your Emotions
Individuals who struggles in a day to day basis with depression experiences cocktails of different emotions of sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, anger fear, shame and guilt. This feelings manifest itself as an unending sense of emotional numbness and desolation. Putting your feelings into words and communicating it with others is a constant struggle, especially when loved ones keep asking how you feel or how you're doing because they worried about you. You don't want them to worry but when you're in the depths of depression, you just don't know what or even how you will tell them.
2. You Feel That Their Must Be A Valid Reason For Being Depressed
Well, why are you depressed? What is your valid reason to be depressed about in the first place? This things keeps on messing with your mind. Perhaps one of the most difficult thing about being depressed is the pain of being judged and misumderstood. Does depression even need to have a valid reason? Though you understand that depression is something that people across the world in all ages, genders, races and social classes, you still can't help but feel guilty when others judge you for not having a good enougjhreason to be depressed.
3. Frustrated And Angry Hearing "I Understand"
Does it struck your nerves when you hear others say they understand what you're going though? Another thing is when it comes to depression it can be so frustrating to be constantly told by others that they understand -- when really all you want to say to them that unless they've been diagnosed with depression themselves and been inside your mind, NO-- THEY REALLY DON'T, Just because they've felt the feelings of sadness or something terrible happened to them before does not mean that they know how it feels to have clinical depression.
4. The Pain Of Losing Your Passion And Love For Life
How long it has been since you go for a morning run or doing your favorite hobbies? According to he American Psychological Association the main attributes of clinical depression is being diminished of having interest or pleasure in all or most activities that you used to love. This means that when you're suffering from depression, it's so difficult for you to find enjoyment, even in the hobbies and activities that you once loved so much. You lose you passion for life. You're not even motivated to do anything anymore, and it takes away even the simplest of life's pleasures from you.
5. Frustration For Being Able To "Get Over it"
Does anyone ever told you to just chill relax and think positive and your depression will magically disappear? This common misunderstanding makes depression an even more destructive mental illness because of the various misconceptions about it. They think that people who are depressed can just can get over a depression by merely having a pep talk or pointing out to them that someone else out there is suffering more, making them feel guilty for even being depressed. There is no on/off switch for depression. Your feelings are every bit as real as you feel it. You are not obligated to feel any other way just because others ain't feeling the same way as you are.
6. Being Withdrawn From Society
Counselors and therapists couldn't stress enough the need for those struggling with depression to have a support system? Even though you understand the need to be surrounded by supportive love ones, the truth is, when you're depressed you'll most likely feel the need to withdraw yourself from others. With no energy and motivation to engage yourself with other people, you rather be alone in your room. Constant difficulty in communicating and finding enjoyment in things leads to struggling with feelings of low self-esteem and self-worth. Having interactions with people and staying in touch can often feel too overwhelming when you're struggling with depression, it forces someone to withdraw from society in general.
7. People Think Depression And Sadness Are The Same
People often identify depression as the same as sadness. While sadness is part of healthy spectrum of human emotions and normal to feel from tie to time. Depression, on the other hand, is a serious debilitating mental illness that needs to be treated with professional help and therapy. Sadness and Depression are two different conditioms and yet some of us just can seem to understand the difference. This can often feel very frustrating, especially when others dismisses what you are feeling as mere sadness and tell you not to dwell too much on it.
8. People Don't Understand Mental Illness Is Real
Though depression is slowly being acknowledge in out society as a legitimate mental illness, some people are still in denial that being depressed is a choice and you can just turn it off like a light switch. But just because someone is not showing physical manifestations of depression doesn't mean that the suffering they feel isn't real. It's not just in your head, if you can feel it, then it is very much real. When others are in doubt, it often leaves you feeling as if you're doing something wrong. As as a result, you may even choose to remain silent not talk about your situation.
9. People Think Depression Is The Same For Everybody
Every individual's experience of a mental disorder is different. Depression doesn't look the same for everybody. We have different coping mechanisms to handle in every type of situations, some people might stop eating and struggle with insomnia, while others might over eat and over sleep. While some people may still be able to function in their day to day life and may not even seem struggling at all. For others, their depression might force them to lie in their bed all day and do nothing. Nevertheless, all of this coping mechanisms of depression are valid.
10. Learning To Celebrated The Little Things
When someone struggles with depression, even the littlest of improvements deserves to be celebrated. Able to get out of bed today? Are you able to have a short conversation with someone? Took time to brush your hair or take a bath? Give yourself a mental pat on the back. Those are all ittle but very important achievements to someone with depression. They may not mean much to other people. But for you, struggling with mental illness on an everyday basis, they make up the good days that remind you why you need to keep fighting and why it's so important to keep holding on.
It's important to remember not to allow others to dictate how you should feel. Just because they do not feel the same way does not make it any less real. There's no need to cover up or force yourself to change this feelings. The fact that you're feeling it is reason enough to validate it.
If you are struggling with depression and any other mental illness, please know that there is always hope and help and someday things can be better. Seeking professional help you on the road to improvement..
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