According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression is a serious common mood disorder that can affect your daily activities such as sleeping, eating, and working. It cant be solved with a snap of the finger. It requires lots of time and lots of work. As well as patience, professional help and possibly medication. 

Over 17.3 million people suffer from all different types of depression (I want to cover this in another post). Out of all those people, it’s very unlikely everyone’s depression will be the same. This makes it a bit difficult to know if someone is suffering from it or not. Everyone expresses their emotions differently. 

Coming from someone with severe depression I can really tell when people try to “watch what they say” around me. It’s so easy to say the wrong thing on either end and although it may not be on purpose, it can still be hurtful to some. 

Some signs of depression can be:

• Loss of appetite. I almost went 3 whole days without eating anything. I did have water and that kept as full as I needed to be. 
• Difficulty sleeping. This can mean oversleeping or not sleeping at all. With my depression, I would sleep all the time to make time pass. Whereas with my anxiety I cannot sleep at all.
• Lack of concentration. Anything and everything will be clouding my mind making it almost impossible to actually focus on anything.
• Social anxiety. It’s so easy to just distance yourself from everyone. That way you don’t have to answer any questions or feel awkward. At least that’s what I think.

Here are some of the worst things you can say to someone with depression:

Get over it. Quite rude and blunt. I too wish I could get over it but I simply cannot. Every brain is wired differently. 

You need to move on. This one hurts because moving on isn’t easy for all. No matter what the situation is. Saying this can make someone feel lesser of themselves. 

Worst things are happening. Yes, worst things may be happening but in that person’s head, to them, THAT is the worst thing that’s happening. Please don’t take that away.

Stop being ungrateful. I’ve gotten this a lot and I’m sure many can agree that it’s not only about the materialistic physical things. I’m always so grateful but it’s much more than that.

You choose to be sad. Just think about how it feels to have your feelings be diminished. It’s not a good one, I’ll tell you that. 

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Share this information with someone who needs it: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)

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