I just read a post from Sabrina (@steemityourway) about how she lost friends when she was suffering from depression. It's very sad that people have to experience such things and so brave of Sabrina to share her story and fight the mental health stigma.
She mentioned a very interesting thing in her post. To quote her:
"Society does not understand depression because it's hard to imagine... They don't understand depression because they don't want to."
Because I've been working on improving mental health and fighting the stigma for a few years now, that made me think. I believe that society doesn't want to understand depression (and other mental illnesses) because there are really scared of the stereotypes and myths linked to it. Such as depressed or bipolar people are crazy and insane. It's so not true. The mighty has a great explainer video about what's the difference between sadness and depression. Watch it (it's 1 minute long) and you will understand that being depressed doesn't mean insane, but also that it is a real thing.
If you recognized yourself in the person that is depressed in the video, don't worry. Reach out to someone, even to me. Don't worry to speak about it. I've noticed that most people felt relieved when I brought up the topic of mental health and they shared at least a little bit of their concerns.
I am honoured to have been mentioned in your post. No words can describe how thankful and grateful I am for this! You truly are an inspiration and I am convinced that we can take action to make this world a better place. Thank you so much once again for including me so kindly in this💙 You have no idea how much it means to me. You are an incredible positive role model and thank you for being a mental health advocate, and doing it with such compassion and an open heart. Keep up the amazing work💫💛
I believe that your stories have impact and you deserve to be recognized. Keep doing what you do and you will help a lot of people. And if you feel down or that you need support, feel free to let me know and I'll do what I can. Even though I can't promise anything and don't want to set any false expectations (re your last post about losing friends people overpromising things).
Awww you're too sweet. Thank you. I will remember this my friend 💙💫💎
We have a deal :)
😘😍💚💫
Sadness is something tangible. There is usually something tied to it, some loss or disappointment. Depression makes everything, including things once enjoyed, seem meaningless and painful.
I agree. If I had to describe it simply with one sentence, I'd say they depressed is being sad with no particular reason. I know that it's know totally exact, but it helps the ones who don't understand what depression is. Thank you for your comment.
this reminds me of that video where "The Rock" talks about depression. Lol. He has 0 clue what's it's really like :P
I haven't seen it. Could you share the link, please?
Thank you. But why do you think so? I think that he is one many celebrities that has gone through depression and is quite open about it.
What he describes is simply a rough time. Losing hope in your dreams and distancing yourself from the world for a month... that's normal. It's sadness and feeling lost.
Depression as described in the video is much deeper. It's about losing all feelings. Losing all joy in life. Not seeing hope even if your mind works rationally and tells you to keep hoping.
I'd hardly call a 1~2 month period (with cause) as depression. It shouldn't have an obvious cause and be an temporary thing.
Well, that's the challenge with mental illness. It's not only yes or no for depression. There are so many stages and there is no single way to clearly say which does the person experience. It's not like an x-ray that easily tells you whether your leg is broken or now and how complicated the fracture is.
I don't have a clinical background, but I've been working with mental health for almost 4 years now (we built a software for clinicians - with mental health professionals on the team). As I understand it is, and it's definitely not a rule of thumb, that people could also have a "short-term" depression. If you are feeling down for a few months, it's usually more than just feeling sad. When you are depressed, you don't enjoy the things that you used to enjoy before.
I don't know to much about his story, but I'd say that spending 1.5 months in a small apartment doing nothing is more likely a symptom of less severe depression than just feeling lost.
Thank you for a thoughtful discussion :)
I think it's mostly pseudo-science. Most depressed people don't have depression. These are simply people that can't cope with their own emotions and thoughts. Their cure might lie in philosophy and psychology books. A better understanding of life can cure a lot of things.
"When you are depressed, you don't enjoy the things that you used to enjoy before." Same can be said about sadness and you have to keep in mind people change - lose their joy in things naturally.
"I'd say that spending 1.5 months in a small apartment doing nothing is more likely a symptom of less severe depression than just feeling lost." Why? What are your criteria for depression? Time can't be it. If you feel lost, don't want to live anymore and there's no outside push to get you back on track that 1.5 month period can easily become your whole life. Does that mean the person is depressed? I don't think so...
.................
I'd only call people depressed if they produce less dopamine than normal people. clinical depression
Everything else is simply people sucking at living a happy life and it's all in the way they choose to think... not that they have live a happy life. I would avoid calling errors in thinking as a disease nor give it a name. It's like reassuring them "It's okay. you are just sick. There's nothing you can do about it." Which is false.
People need to realize their thoughts change they way their brain works. If you think bad thoughts you are gonna start feeling bad and it will take years to counter that. It's not a disease. It's a lack of self-discipline in thought.
People don't know what they are.
maybe i'm wrong. I have 0 idea what the official science/understanding on depression is.