In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to talk about my struggle with depression. It’s a personal topic to me and one that I don’t discuss often. But I do believe that the only way to break the stigma is to speak out about it.
One thing that I wish more people would recognize is that there does not need to be a specific cause for depression. In my experience, when you tell people about your depression, they want to know what is making you sad. Most of the time, it’s really out of your control, and you have no clue where it’s coming from. That is also why it can make someone feel really hopeless.
On that note, feeling like you don’t have control over your own body is a really difficult thing. If you’re also going through this, just know that so many other people can relate to your struggle.
According to Very Well Mind, 300 million people around the world have depression. The next time that you feel alone, remind yourself of that number.
I have had a couple episodes with depression throughout my life, and I hate the person that I become when I have it. I’m struggling with it right now – I feel tired all the time and have trouble sleeping, and I keep isolating myself from others. Even when I’m around people that I love, I can feel myself not acting happy or engaged in the conversation. It sucks.
But I have found that being honest about it makes it so much better. And if someone isn’t understanding about what you’re going through, then they’re not a very good friend to you anyway.
It’s really easy to pretend like you’re okay, but don’t. I promise that in the long run, it will just make you feel worse. Honesty is the first step to feeling some relief.
I know that depression can present itself in a multitude of symptoms, and it can be really different for everyone. If you have any of the symptoms, or maybe thoughts of suicide, remind yourself that it’s just a phase. You will get through it, and you’ll come out it better than you were before.
The key is to not go through it alone. Talk to someone you love and trust, a therapist, or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.