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My Story In A Nutshell: Depression
Everyone has bad days, days when they’re feeling down and hopeless. Feeling depressed is the natural reaction to experiences that are upsetting or difficult. When this continues for a long
period of time however, when it interferes and dominates your whole life, this is when it becomes an illness.
Words cannot explain what it feels like to be depressed. There is constant unhappiness and hopelessness, it takes the enjoyment out of even events that should be fun. Low self-esteem, loneliness, tiredness, guilt, self-blame, self-hate, negativity, and thoughts that nothing will ever change are all part of being depressed. People often describe it as being in a ‘black hole’ or ‘different world’ because when you’re depressed you’re out of touch with reality and you’re perspective is tinted with pessimism.
- Being moody, easily upset and tearful
- Becoming withdrawn - avoiding friends, family and social activities
- Feeling guilty or bad, being self-critical and self-blaming
- Feeling unhappy, miserable and lonely most of the time
- Feeling hopeless and wanting to die
- Difficulties concentrating
- Not looking after personal appearance
- Difficulties getting to sleep, waking up during the night or early in the morning
- Tiredness and lack of energy
- Frequent minor health problems, eg. headaches, etc.
Depression affects many aspects of your life, including your outlook, mood and what you’re able to do and so depression can make coping with ordinary events and daily life extremely difficult and an uphill struggle as your perspective is tinted with pessimism.
For example it can cause difficulties getting along with people; loss of friends; inability to concentrate, study, work, do well in exams and make decisions; difficulties facing the day; and changes in eating habits, eg. eating excessively, comfort eating, lack of hunger or dieting excessively.
This can cause serious problems and become dangerous because it increases the risk of self-harm (see self-harm ); eating disorders (see eating disorders ); drug, alcohol (see alcohol abuse and dependance ) or solvent abuse; or ultimately suicide (see suicide ).
Depression is not usually caused by one thing alone and is usually a mixture of many factors. It also seems to be linked with chemical changes in the part of the brain that controls mood. This can be caused by lack of a balanced diet and can be helped by certain vitamin supplements.
Events and experiences in a person’s life can lead to depression, such as family breakdown; the death or loss of a loved one; neglect; abuse (see sexual-abuse , physical-abuse or emotional-abuse ); bullying (see emotional-abuse ); and physical illness. Some people may become depressed many years after one of these events and not have shown any signs before-hand. Too many changes happening too quickly can also trigger depression.
People are more at risk from depression if they under a lot of stress or have no one to share their worries with. As stated before before, neglect, abuse or death of a loved one, especially in childhood, also increase the risk of depression.
Depression can be caused by biological or genetic factors. It often runs in families and someone with a close relative (especially one who has attempted/committed suicide) who suffers, or has suffered, from depression has a higher risk of becoming depressed themselves. Girls and women also are more likely to suffer from depression.
If you think you suffer from depression then firstly try and talk to someone who understands because this can lighten the burden. It’s very important to not keep difficult and/or painful feelings to yourself because this won’t solve anything and can often make things worse.
Secondly if the depression is dragging on and affecting your life then it’s important to seek specialist help. If the depression is related to one particular problem then counselling can help but it’s more wide spread or the reason is unknown then therapy is probably more appropriate. Your local GP will be able to refer you to a specialist centre and if need be, start to on a course on anti-depressants.
If you think someone you know is depressed then you should try to be there for them and let them know you are willing to listen. They often find it difficult to talk about their emotions unless directly asked but if this is unsuccessful then just try to available. Giving them reassurance, encouraging them to keep active and praising their efforts can make a huge difference. Also try to encourage them to seek professional help because although depression is nearly always overcome, it doesn’t usually just lift naturally.
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If you have, or have a friend/relative who has been/is, depressed, please feel free to email and share your story and feelings. I may want to use quotes from your email, so please state whether I have permission to use to your name. Thankyou!