Many of us only know the dictionary meaning of the word and not the true meaning, thankfully. But what really is depression? How does it make you feel? If it makes you feel anything at all. I’ve written this blog post for those people too afraid to ask someone close to them who may be battling this disease, those questions. I’ll try and keep it short and sweet, but you know me, I like to ramble.
First things first, what is depression?
Depression is a mental health illness that is
causing the death of more and more people as the time goes on. These people can
often seem okay on the outside and you will often not know that they are
depressed. It causes your brain to question itself and everything you stand
for. You will lose friends, your sanity and emotions.
How does it make you feel?
Often when you ask people this question, they
will simply say “Depression makes you feel sad.” But it’s not just sadness. Imagine you’re submerged
into a pool of water, you’re fighting with all your might not to sink deeper
and deeper, you look up and you can see everybody else around you on the
surface having the time of their lives whilst staying afloat, but you keep
sinking and sinking with hardly anybody noticing but yourself, you try
everything but you’re drowning and you feel like you can’t breathe so you begin
to panic. Every so often you’ll make a bit of headway on getting back to the
surface. However, everything you do seems to not work to help you get back up
to the surface and you want to give up. You want to end it all instead of
fighting. That is a brief description of depression. Sometimes you’ll not want
to leave your bed for days because that is the only place you feel safe.
Sometimes you’ll not want to leave your house in fear that you’ll see somebody
and you’ll have to communicate with others. Then sometimes you’ll force
yourself to act like a “normal” human being, however afterwards you’ll get
pulled lower and lower, deeper and deeper into the water that in this case
represents depression. There will be times when you don’t speak to people for
days, and there will be days where you just want to end it all. In a way your
brain switches up on you, it doesn’t make you see anything good about the
world, only the bad. Your emotions will drain from your body and you won’t care
about the things you used to love. That my friend, in a nutshell, is depression.
What can help a depressed person?
I get asked this so many times by other people
who have someone close to them who may be suffering from this disease.
Everybody is different and can be helped in different ways. However, I guarantee,
just by being there for that someone is enough in itself. It doesn’t have to be
a lot but just every few days just call or text them, see how they’re doing,
see if they even would like to hang out with you or if they’re up to visitors. If
you feel that they may need some more professional help and you do notice a
change in them whether that be that they don’t eat as much as they used to or
they eat a lot more than they used to, they don’t like doing things they used
to love anymore, they’re weepy and when they speak it is generally negative or
if they start to self harm, please do seek help. For sometimes, people do not
see the changes in themselves until they are approached by someone on the
outside.
How can I help myself?
This is pretty much the same answer as the
previous question, everybody is different. However, you can get help and things
WILL get better. The first thing you need to do is admit you may need some help,
speak to someone you can trust whether it be a friend, family member, you
doctor or someone else. They will be able to offer you an ear to listen and maybe
a shoulder to cry on as you offload. Trust me, you’ll feel much better! The
next thing to do is make an appointment with your doctor where they will be
able to offer you some help whether it be medication, a counsellor or other
options. Also talk to your family members/close friends and write up a crisis
plan. A crisis plan is what you do and who you call if you feel like you’re
going to harm yourself. Make sure these are trusted people who you know will
put your wellbeing at the forefront of everything and won’t ignore your call
because they’re watching TV.
Also, make a happy box/drawer/space in your room
where you keep everything that makes you happy. This can be pictures, concert
tickets, posters of your favourite artists etc. Each time you feel sad or you
want to harm yourself, literally go to your happy place and look at everything.
Remember how you felt in that moment in time, remember that those people in the
pictures love you, remember that this moment will pass and you don’t want to do
something permanent like harming yourself for something that is temporary.
Listen to music. If you know me personally, you’ll
know that I'm a very big fan of a rapper called Iggy Azalea. She’s helped me
a lot through my worst days and most of the time is the only person that can.
When she was 16 she upped and left Australia and moved to America, she went on
her own with limited money and no family in America. Most of her songs tell a
story about how she ended up being one of the most successful rappers of this
century. It seems weird and crazy, but sometimes you need someone to look up
to, sometimes you need to listen to someone else’s story and see how far they’ve
come. Then you’ll realise life isn’t that bad, y’know? Go check her album out
and Youtube some of her interviews, I can gurantee you’ll feel so much better
afterwards. Whether you want to shake your booty to her song F*ck Love which is
basically about loving yourself or just simply listen to Impossible is Nothing
or Walk The Line to feel inspired, her album has a song for every mood you’re
in. I guess my point is, find your musical hero, listen to them, dance around
your room, let it all go! If all else fails listen to the video below, have a dance around your room and be HAPPY. You’re
welcome.
Will I ever get better?
The answer is yes, you will get better but it
will be a long, hard and sometimes tiring battle. It also won’t happen
overnight. In time though, you’ll get better. I promise! Always remember that
everything will be okay, and if it’s not okay then it’s not the end. You’re
going to be okay, just hang in there!
I hope I haven’t rambled on too much and this
helps some of you.
All the best,
Shaniece :)
