While I don’t head out each day holding a placard that reads “ASK ME ABOUT MY DEPRESSION,” the subject comes up often enough. I’ve reached a point where I can recognize the depression for what it is, remember the dark places it brought me and simultaneously side-eye it, knowing I have the resources to deal with it should I need them.
Mental illness isn’t something anyone quite “figures out,” but throughout the years I’ve picked up some “wisdom” on the subject. There are some things anyone — even the most well-meaning friends and family members — should understand about loving someone who struggles with depression.
I resisted medication for several years in my “depression journey.” I believed that taking it — and even discussing meds– meant I was really, truly depressed. And worse, I would be a person who was really, truly depressed and too weak to fight it on my own.
Contrary to what antidepressant commercials would have you believe, people with depression don’t look like glum cartoon frowny faces, or spend their days sighing and staring out of rainy windows.
We contain multitudes, man — some days, or months are easier than others. Most of the time I come off as a happy and sociable person, because that’s the version of myself that I want to project to the world. Clinical depression isn’t a reaction to a bad day or a sour mood — for me, it’s a persistent thrum underneath the noise of everyday life that can grow stronger or softer, all outside of my control.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: 6 Things A Woman With Depression Wants You To Know
