You should just be happy! Other people have it worse than you. You should stop feeling sorry for yourself. It’s all in your head.
These are phrases that people who suffer from depression have the potential to hear on a daily bases. That last one takes the cake though: “It’s all in your head.” Depression is not something that should be taken lightly. It is a major problem that affects a plethora of people on a daily basis.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the definition of depression is “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.” It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems, such as functioning “normally” in everyday life. Sometimes you may even feel as if life isn’t even worth living to begin with. This definition alone sounds like a roller coaster of horror that no one should want to get on—hence the stigma surrounding the disorder.
According to the May Clinic, the symptoms that go along with major depressive disorder are:
- Feelings of sadness and even hopelessness
- Angry outbursts and general irritability or frustration
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you would usually enjoy
- Trouble sleeping, insomnia or even oversleeping
- Fatigue and lack of energy
- Loss of appetite accompanied with weight loss, or increased food cravings and weight gain
- Anxiety or restlessness
- Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- Difficulty concentrating, making decisions and memory recall
- Recurring thoughts of death or suicide, suicide attempts or suicide
- Unexplained back pain or headaches
These symptoms are absolutely stomach-churning to me but also very familiar. I personally suffer from major depressive disorder. It is in no way enjoyable and I have experienced every single one of these symptoms first-hand. I know what it feels like to not want to be alive, to not want to breathe, to not feel important anymore, and to feel as though I am a burden to others. I know personally how completely devastating and life-altering these feelings can be—but it is something I, and others, live with every day.
Most of the time, people who do not suffer from mental illness believe that depression is simply caused by a traumatic event and that it will eventually go away. This is not always the case, however. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, depression can be caused by trauma, genetics, life circumstances, brain structure or other medical conditions. You can suffer from depression because your brain produces too little serotonin or because someone in your family may have suffered from it and now you have obtained that gene.
Mental illness isn’t necessarily something that you can see. It’s in your head, your thoughts, and it is a daily struggle trying to differentiate between what is actually true and what your brain is trying to convince you is true.
Major depressive disorder is very real and is affecting people (maybe even someone you know) right now in this very second. The best way to obliterate the stigma associated with this disorder is for all of us to do our research; if we learn the facts, we can better understand what people suffering from the disorder are going through.
For more information about major depressive disorder and other mental illnesses, you can go to nimh.nih.gov, helpguide.org, mayclinic.org, depressionhurts.ca, etc. If you or someone you know is depressed or having thoughts of suicide, help is out there. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1 (800) 273-8255 or go to suicideprevetionlifeline.org.