6 things I wish people knew about depression

Depression is not something that you can easily explain to other people. Oftentimes, it’s even difficult explaining it to yourself.For others, the word depression is used as a form of everyday expression, like when I heard someone said “We had a huge fight, now I’m so depressed” while for some, the word depression is so foreign to them – to the point that it scares them.They are too scared of saying anything to you that they tend to just avoid talking to you.

Before I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, I was one of those
people. I was ignorant. And experiencing it made me realize how other’s opinion or how they judge you base on it can have so much impact on how you value yourself.

I wish people knew that Depression..

Is not a sign of weakness

Just because someone was diagnosed with Depression doesn’t mean that they are weak. The battles and the unbearable pain that they are experiencing is more than you can ever imagine. The thought of going to sleep and waking up the next day with the constant fear if you will be able to get through the day takes great strength. And it takes a whole lot of courage to fight it.

Is not a choice

When other people keeps telling you to not think about it too much, to not make a big deal out it. I wish they knew that depression doesn’t really gives you much of a choice. It’s not something that you can just turn off whenever you want to. I wish they knew that when I say I can’t get out of bed, it’s not because I’m choosing not to, it’s because I literally can’t, depression has me chained. I wish they knew that if I’m not saying anything or opening up about what I feel, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to, because I do, my heart is literally screaming the word help but depression holds my tongue – making uttering any word impossible.

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Is not sadness

I wish people knew that this is more than sadness, it’s more than the blues, it’s more than feeling down even on a sunny day. It’s more than the oversleeping, it’s more than the feeling of constant exhaustion. Depression is this unbearable pain that you constantly feel in your chest. It’s waking up at noon yet still not having the strength to do even the simplest task. It’s staring blankly at the ceiling for hours. It’s having thousands of thoughts going through your mind yet still you can’t even utter a single word. Depression is not sadness.

Is not the “you’ll be okay” type

I wish people knew that saying you’ll be okay is not going to make us feel any better. Because it’s not okay – I ‘am not okay. And it may never be okay. Depression is not something that just comes then leaves permanently. When someone gains the courage to reach out to you for help, do not dismiss or disregard what they are feeling by saying, “you’ll be okay”. We don’t need to hear any assurance from you that we will be okay, we just need to know that you will be there even if it may never be okay. We just need to know that you will be with us, no matter what.

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Is not me

Depression will never define who you are. Depression is not your fault, it’s not your personality, it’s not your dreams, it’s not your life. Depression is not you. It’s an illness.

Is not going to win

Depression will not stop us, we can still carry on, we can live, we can love, we can laugh and cope with it every single day. We will not let depression win this battle, we will stand firm and we will take our lives back. We will fight. Even if we have to do this every day.

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