"Depression is not real."
"Depression is an excuse."
"People should choose to be happy."
You would be surprised how many times I have heard those disgusting phrases spewed from the mouths of the ignorant and the uneducated. I may not be a psychiatrist, but I am a psychology major. When you walk into an abnormal psychology class, you will never hear the professor say, "Let's debate the existence of clinical depression." Instead, you learn how to diagnose and treat it.
I do not even understand why there is any sort of debate as to whether it is real or not. It is. My only source for this article is my abnormal psychology book. For the record, my textbook is derived from the DSM-5 and not from some random person on the internet. So my source is valid. Moving on.
From what I can tell, one of the biggest misconceptions about depression is that it is synonymous with sadness. That is why some very unaware individuals tend to tell people with depression to "just be happy." Unfortunately, it is not that simple. While sadness can be a major part of this problem, it does not define it. There are other psychological symptoms and, sometimes, even physical ones.
If you must think of depression as sadness, then try to imagine your entire body being sad, rather than just your mind. People with depression can get plenty of sleep and still feel exhausted and fatigued. They will sometimes have aches and pains that are so severe that they become convinced they are suffering from a serious medical problem. They may also have difficulty concentrating, no appetite, and a lack of interest in sex. Does this sound like something someone can just get over? This has the potential to destroy lives. That is why it is so important for those who suffer from it to receive treatment.
When uneducated jerks try to say depression is not real, people who have depression start to believe them. When people who have depression start to believe them, they do not even try to seek treatment. When they do not try to seek treatment, they lead a miserable and confusing daily life. No one deserves that.
If you are suffering from any symptoms of depression, including what I mentioned above, or thoughts of suicide, please seek help -- although you could be experiencing something other than depression. What you are feeling is not your fault, and it is very real. You have so much potential, and with help, you can certainly reach it.
