Are You Really Depressed?
More than ever younger people are announcing openly their issues with depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. According to ADAA.org, more than 16.1 million Americans suffer from major depressive disorder, and out of that, 61% are receiving treatment. That’s bittersweet when you think about it. It’s never good to hear someone is suffering from depression. Despite this, some don’t understand, refuse to see the other perspective, or play with the severity of it for gain. It doesn’t help those who don’t understand by creating a stigma. Regardless, this is widespread amongst us all. Yet with these stats, there is more gray area from the outside. There is a lot that comes with depression.
I was diagnosed young with depression but being so prideful and thinking I could get around it without help, I held it in. I didn’t think that those around me would understand what I was going through because they may or may not have experienced things that I didn’t. Those people who I wanted to vent to would often compare what they had going on in their own lives to my own. The outcome would be them saying that I had no reason to be depressed. A NYC kid, I was at least always able to stay occupied enough to hide it until my quieter moments. Years and years later, I went through the cycle of doing good, then being extremely sad while losing weight, to recovery. The caveat was that when each wave of depression would hit, it was a lot worse than the last. There would also be other situations piled on top that made things worse. This led to me trying antidepressants and anxiety medications for the first time a year ago. It wasn’t for me but after losing 50lbs in a month as well as tearing down the people around me, I knew I needed help. Eventually, with that help and the wave passing, I was able to recover.
Depression isn’t easy to deal with. It affects those who are around you and it affects people who are close to you. It’s a two-way street because those people can either help or make things worse. One woman had expressed that their daughter said she was depressed, and her retort was “No you aren’t, you need to get over it.” I had to tell them the dangers of this because this person is confiding in you and when they don’t feel that they can’t, they resort to other ways of relief. But commonly, this is due to an older mindset and way of thinking that these feelings aren’t real. There are also other circumstances that people are just incapable of expressing the help that they want to give. In those cases, it’s learning that needs to take place. Understanding is all that is needed to help and more so finding out what the issue is makes a difference.
A common issue is people using depression to describe a sad feeling that came from a situation. Others try to self-diagnose based on what they read or saw. It could be a bad test grade, getting rejected by a love interest, or just not getting what was wanted. Though these things can cause depression, often, it’s just a sad feeling at the moment. Another good example was a young lady who claimed she was depressed one morning. Looking more into it, it was a situation so simple as they didn’t receive a text from a love interest. The people around listening heard depression and were so concerned. Yet the moment they found out what it really was, they were turned off to the idea of depression. It doesn’t help when we have a lot of Ph.Ds. in psychology from the university of social media. Then you get a lot of wrong information being spread, or even people trying to put themselves into a box.
Another issue is that people use depression to get the desired results. You can call it “Malingering”. Often, a heartbroken person, who may or may not have been in the wrong, will blame their actions on it. All that happens is when those who really suffering come along, you’ve put a stigma in another’s mind. Why people do it, I will never understand but it happens. It’s not easy to call out a person who is faking but at a point, it becomes obvious that they just want to avoid consequences or gain something.
Now in no way, shape, or form am I saying that all people do this. What I am saying is that in this serious situation there is a lot of gray area for those who just don’t know. Then on top of that, some people just run with this condition because it sounds good and gets results. This can easily be cleared up with the right help and more importantly: Honesty. Therapy is a good way to find the root of your issue. Though I thought I knew what the long-term cause was, other factors were adding to it. For those that are suffering, don’t be ashamed of going to get help, and even if you get negative feedback from those around you. They aren’t you nor do they have credentials to tell it’s not depression (albeit certain circumstances). To those that don’t suffer from it yet know someone who does, don’t jump out the window with what you think you know and what you have heard. Offer real help and console. Lastly, if you’re faking and are doing it for a different outcome than what you like, stop it. Take responsibility if it’s your fault, you are not helping anyone. So just ask yourself, are you really depressed?
