When someone mentions depression, most people will automatically conjure a vision in their minds of a messy room, the sufferer lying in bed for endless days, and dozens of missing assignments on their school accounts. They think of a person who is always sad, or empty. However, this is a stereotypical portrayal of this mental disorder, and is likely focused solely on Major Depressive Disorder.
However, did you know that the DSM5 contains at least eight different types of depressive disorders? While all kinds of depression have common symptoms, they are not wholly identical to each other. Even two people with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder may present symptoms in entirely different ways.
Personally, I have been diagnosed as having a “specific depressive disorder.” This means that my case does not fit into other categories like major depressive disorder, substance-induced depressive disorder, or disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. I have depressive episodes that present in a unique way.
Sure, sometimes my room may get a little messy, or I might sleep a little more than usual. But more often than not, my room is obsessively cleaned, almost untouched. My assignments are all turned in with high scores. I go to class, I laugh, I smile. Anyone who has this pre-existing mental image of depression would just say that I am, perhaps, “having a bad day” when I seem low or upset. However, a single mean comment or slight irritation piled on top of a “bad day” can send me into a spiral that leaves me struggling for weeks.
The criteria for depression as listed by the DSM5 is: depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, weight loss or gain, and fatigue among other symptoms. So many of these common symptoms are disguisable. Your friend may be “relaxing” and watching Youtube, but are those videos that usually make them happy just somehow boring now? Are they scrolling endlessly through show titles and social media, looking for something to entertain them, but finding nothing? Are they texting you at four in the morning, or making a few too many jokes about being worthless?
These are the real-life acts of a depressed person. They may be extreme, but more often than not they are slight, and quiet. Make sure to check in on your friends if they are acting out of the ordinary, even if it’s just a lack of interest in their favorite hobbies. You never know what they are going through, and one kind conversation of reassurance may be just what they need to beat back an oncoming depressive episode.