View of Depression

Depression.

A word that scares people.

A word that is frowned upon.

A feeling that not usually understood, especially by those who are not victims of this diagnosis.

A word and feeling that has bad stigma.

But imagine feeling it.

Imagine feeling like you’re alone, that there’s no one else in this world that understands you. That whatever you do, nothing ever gets better. That people would be better off without you. Never ender tiredness that no sleep could fix. Living with depression is not fun and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Along my path of depression, I have also learnt things about it.

It can disguise itself as things you wouldn’t think was connected.

Headaches. Not being able to sleep. Paranoid thoughts. Tiredness. Unable to be around people. Finding it difficult to be around anyone. These are a few of the things i have personally felt and have watched others that suffer from depression, feel.

When people hear the word depression, there are three things that come to their minds usually.

One being, “Well, what have you got to be depressed about?” ….

To start off with, my brain cannot produce enough of a certain hormone. And anyway, who are you to dictate what ‘I ‘have to be depressed about.’

You don’t need a reason.

Yes, there are many reasons why people get depressed, but that doesn’t mean that counts for everyone.

You could come from a rich family, you could have a good upbringing, and you could be completely physically fit, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be victims of depression. It can hit anyone at any time.

The other thing people think about is, “Do you want to kill yourself?”

Not everyone with depression feels that. You can be depressed and not want to end your life. It’s quite simple. Different people feel different things when it comes to this. But if you do know someone that is feeling like that, please do your best to find help for them and to support them.

The third being, “Go for a walk in the fresh air. That will help.”

I’ve been walking in the fresh air for almost all of my life. I am still depressed. Things like this doesn’t get fixed by nature. What would really help is if you kept your words to yourself.

My personal story about living with depression isn’t long really.

I was diagnosed at the age of 14 and I struggled to come to terms with my diagnosis. Not because I was ashamed, but because I was made to believe through my life that you could only be depressed if you had a hard upbringing or had gone through something traumatic.

I had an easy upbringing. A good one. But my brain had a different idea.

I came to terms with having depression as I got older, and I realised that you don’t need a reason, and soon, I began to educate people on what I was feeling. I was no longer ashamed of the fact that I have depression. In fact, I was proud. It gave me the chance to see things in a new light, and I became wiser to everything around me. Living with depression really did have its advantages.

At the age of 22, I still suffer from it, but I do my best to get through every day. Some days are harder than others, but at the end of the day, I am still breathing, and I am still alive. And you shouldn’t be ashamed of it either. There will be bad days ahead of you, but you can get through them. You can win this battle. You WILL win. You WILL survive, and you will live to tell your story. I believe in you.