Depression is a serious mental illness that affects millions of people every year. It can cause severe low mood, an inability to enjoy life, and various other symptoms.
Depression is often misunderstood by those who don’t experience it. They think that people with depression should snap out of their sadness and be happy again—but it’s not always as simple as that.
In fact, there are many ways in which depression affects daily life:
We Feel Guilty
When you’re depressed, it’s easy to feel that all the bad things in your life are your fault. You may blame yourself for not doing enough or for being sad or for not being happy. Your mind might tell you that if only you could be more productive and social, then everything would be better.
You might even end up feeling guilty! The guilt cycle can become so overwhelming that some people avoid talking about their depression altogether so they don’t have to admit how bad they’re feeling.
Difficult Mornings
You may wake up feeling tired, cranky, and irritable. You might have difficulty concentrating on tasks or remembering things. Your ability to make decisions and focus on tasks will be diminished.
If you are experiencing these symptoms, it’s important to know that they are a part of depression and not something that you can just “get over” by trying harder.
We Might Seem Flakey
One of the many ways that depression can affect us is by making us seem flakey. We might be unable to keep track of our keys or wallets, forget to pay bills on time, or show up late for appointments.
Our moods can also change rapidly and unexpectedly, especially when we’re recovering from a depressive episode and are trying to get back into a routine. You may feel fine one minute only to have a sudden burst of anxiety that makes you feel like you’re going through another depressive episode. If you don’t take care of yourself by getting enough sleep and exercising regularly, it will be much harder for you to manage these upsets in your daily life.
Hard Time Having Fun
Depression can make us feel like we don’t deserve to have fun. It may seem counterintuitive, but the fact is that depression can make it hard for some of us to enjoy things. That’s because not only do we have problems sleeping and eating, but also concentrate and feel joy or pleasure.
This makes a lot of sense when you think about what your brain does with your emotions—it processes them as rewards and punishments in order to learn how to navigate life better next time around. So if you are constantly sad (or anxious), then your brain will try its best not to feel that way again—even if something good happens!
Brains & Emotions At Odds
Our brains are incredibly complex organs, and it is no surprise that they sometimes have trouble deciding how to respond to our emotions.
In fact, the brain often has to make a decision as to whether or not an emotion is a threat: if it is not a threat, then your body can calm down and stop releasing stress hormones; if it is a threat, then your body should be prepared for battle by the time you are facing this threat in real life.
However, there are times when the brain makes the wrong decision—and those mistakes can lead us to depression and anxiety.
For example, You see someone being mean towards you or another person (which would make you feel sad/angry) but instead of responding with sadness/anger at what they did and trying to fix things between yourself and this person in order not to be mean back again…your mind decides that these feelings aren’t worth getting upset about because *you’re* not important enough for someone else’s bad behavior.*
Battle We’re Fighting Every Minute
Instead of constantly expecting us to snap out of being sad, understand that this is a battle we’re already fighting every minute. We need support, not criticism; understanding and compassion, not judgment.
It’s hard enough trying to get through each day when you have depression — don’t make it harder by making us feel like we should be able to snap out of it if we tried hard enough.
Conclusion
So when you see someone who is depressed, don’t call them on it. Don’t try to snap them out of it or tell them that they need to “get over it.”
Instead, start working from the assumption that this person has been fighting an uphill battle for a long time and treats their depression with respect and care. You can show your support by listening without judgment and taking good care of yourself so that you remain at your best for this person. You can visit our website for such informational blogs.