To me, depression is‌
‌ a feeling that one has lost control of their life and doesn’t know how to get that control back. This causes a feeling of overwhelming hopelessness and perhaps even an ability to remember why life is worth living.
‌ a cycle of gaining and losing the motivation to live.
… something that should be curable, or at the very least manageable. Some people have this “black dog” that turns up every now and then, while others may have a single incidence of it during some sort of crisis, and then be perfectly well for the rest of their life. I don’t think depression just happens out of nowhere, it’s a disease that has triggers… You have to work on the triggers as well, or you’ll be stuck on prescription drugs with varying uncomfortable side effects for the rest of your life.
… a deep dark hole you find yourself stuck in, where you feel there is no way out… …a lack of confidence, a heartache, an endless sigh.
… misunderstood and different for everybody. I’ve had a few friends who have had varied experiences. My depression followed years of fairly major medical issues and illness (chronic fatigue, malaria, Ross River Virus and food intolerances), as well as a major change in my “retirement” from elite sport. I think that antidepressants are too readily prescribed and the core problems are frequently not addressed.
… being lost in a deep dark hole, unaware of what you’re capable of, if only you could see out of the hole.
‌ waking up every morning and not wanting to get out of bed. Not wanting to face the world because it all seems too much. Not wanting to talk to anyone about anything at all, it seems useless. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, nothing to look forward to. No reason to try and make your world better. To me, depression is that overwhelming feeling of helplessness, unable to help yourself or anyone else.
‌ a clever thief. It robs you of your soul, your heart and your mind.
‌ the inability to deviate from a melancholic, destructive mindset. Depression is a psychological condition that results in a physiological changes in the brain.
‌ an unfortunate imbalance of chemicals in the brain, brought on by a multitude of reasons, some physical and some mental.
… hard to define. It seems to be so overused in terms of labeling ‘feeling sad’. If someone told me they were depressed, I would define this by assuming they felt sad, went to the doctor and were prescribed antidepressants.
‌ being in an unnatural, unhappy state for an unsustained period with a total feeling of hopelessness.
‌ being in a deep rut and not being able to steer your own way out again.
‌ a disease that seems on the rise: the more we expect and demand, the more depression seems to creep into our lives.
‌ an all consuming, smothering blanket, with no light and no positive outlooks.
‌ not easily understood and assumed to be simple.
‌ someone’s whose life is missing whatever makes them happy.
‌ the feeling of not wanting to go on, talk to people or do anything. Being tired and not wanting to go on with your life every moment of every day. Small tasks are hard and exhausting. Life seems like it is going on without you. And you are in your own world of sadness. Constant racing thoughts about death and high anxiety about possibly dying. You are not yourself.
‌ an illness that can be either short or long term, mild to severe and treatable with pharmaceuticals
‌ tired. unmotivated. sad. heavy. unfit. life is dull. I don’t feel passionate about anything. Life is empty. I am empty. No desire. I know the moment when I should be smiling or feel the joy‌so instead I pretend, hoping if I do it enough the smile and the joy might find a space to return to.
‌ deep breaths to hold back unpredictable bouts of tears over a recent break-up
‌ feeling the meaningless of everything
‌ a condition bought on by the inability of the evolving mind to deal with the ever increasing pace of technology and consumerism. There is a tendency for the medical profession these days to prescribe drugs when people are struggling to deal with day to day issues
‌ an artificial epidemic. A loaded word. A natural effect of the 20th Century. Feeling down is as natural as feeling up.
‌ a symptom of exposure to an event(s) that occurs in ones life, be it a usual or unusual event. The event may be conscious or subconscious, i.e. a response to an experience past or present.
‌ a departure, in a negative sense, from ones usual level of emotional functioning.
… when you can’t remember if you’ve always felt like this or if it just started today. When you choose not to see your friends because you are too tired to pretend to smile for them. When you can’t get up in the morning but hate the taste of sleep in your mouth. When you don’t want to speak anymore.
‌ a black hole which sucks all your life forces slowly from your psyche.
‌ a daily struggle for me‌like walking along the edge of a cliff with the abyss forever present‌this darkness is part of me and most of the struggle is acceptance.
‌ my best friend. And the struggles to make her realise she had a problem and she needed help. It is the periods of silence she retreats into and the sudden outbursts of vitality, as if everything is okay and nothing had ever happened. It is the misunderstand of her condition by people who should be close to her during this difficult period.
‌ an ongoing sadness, where our emotions sink down and stay there in a luke-warm numbness.
‌ feeling flat, down or unhappy without really knowing why. Feeling anxious or upright. Small letdowns affect you more than they use to. Feeling detached from friends/family — feeling alone.
‌ something too difficult to describe; too complex.
‌ not being interested in anything. Lying in bed and doing nothing. Feeling everything is boring. Thinking that you’re a total loser and can’t do anything right. Hating yourself.
… something that everyone deals with in one way or another. Depression is natural, all things experience it…Depression is complex.”
‌ a complete loss in life, personal interests, relationships and a sense of despair.
‌ something that is part of my make up; genetics, family, inherited. Something that I have to live with, can’t escape from. Part of me. Comes and goes. Makes me live life as I feel more.
‌ a condition that I battle with everyday. It inhibits and can destroy quality of life. Some day, I can’t get out of bed, it becomes so overwhelming.
‌ what I live with and try to find ways to manage it. Control it not it control me.
What is depression to you?