Depression As Told By A Millennial | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

Depression As Told By A Millennial

Depression isn't pretty and sometimes it can be a bigger monster than we realize, but it is real and it is valid.

50
Depression As Told By A Millennial
Pexels

I am considered a millennial. I am part of one of the youngest, brightest, and socially conscious generations there ever was. I am also part of the generation that supposedly needs "safe spaces", are whiny, and need everything given to them on a silver platter if we ask.

You know what I didn't ask for? My depression.

Now, for many older generations, my depression as a 20-year-old college student should be nonexistent. Several things I have heard include, "it's just teenage/young adult angst!" and "you're just working yourself up" and "Well, if you actually pushed yourself harder you wouldn't have depression!"

That's the thing: I live in a world where mental illnesses are finally being properly diagnosed, and many see it as "whining". Many believe that my depression isn't there. So, I'm here to explain what it is really like to have depression when you're a millennial.

Depression isn't pretty.

It's not a pretty girl becoming anti-social or a sad boy moping around. It's refusing to get out of bed to go shower. It's the inability to clean your surroundings, not because you don't want to, but you literally cannot muster up enough motivation to do it.

Recently, my depression reached an all time high with the change in seasons. As the change in seasons came, so did stress over college, friendships, relationships with others and family. It isn't always front and center of my mind some days, but it still lingers in the back of my mind.

During the day, when I'm with my amazing friends, my depression is just a nagging little annoyance. But when I'm alone, in my room, it becomes a monster. At first, I would cry so much that it would manifest itself into a panic attack. Then you just start to feel.... Nothing.

See, depression isn't just an absence of happiness. It is an absence of anything. Of happiness, sadness, anger, ambition, guilt.... It all just leaves. You're left with nothing.

So, you become an empty shell. You don't have the motivation to do your schoolwork, because why does it matter, right? Nothing good comes from it. So you just leave it, cause you somehow can't figure out how to move to your desk chair and finish it. Your room becomes a mess because all you want to do is sleep, so you just drop your stuff in the middle of the floor and crawl into bed. It's skipping meals because you can't muster up enough energy to go eat, even though your friends are begging to, and the only thing you want to do is nap the day away. You stop showering and go a week at a time before you see those tiled walls and actually wash your hair.

This is what I have had to deal with until I got help. My friends would beg me to go out with them, and I always wanted to, I just couldn't. I just would sleep through their plans with me. I started wondering how it would feel like to die.

I would never kill myself, of course. But that was because I didn't have the energy to. If I could've just withered away into nothingness, I would've.

You stop being the person who you were. Depression is a nasty thing. You stop enjoying the things you used to, you stop trying to keep up draining friendships, you just stop living. And this isn't angst, or overworking, or anything like that. I was just... there.

You will have your good days, too. Some days, you wake up and think "Oh, I'm going to get things done today!" and you actually put on makeup and clean your room and finish your assignments on time. But then, you slowly sink back to where you were. Those good days came few and far between for me. The sad part was, my good days were the days that I could feel anything... at all. I wasn't happy on my good days, but I had just enough energy to realize that I needed to clean, or fix my appearance or something. That's the thing with depression, your good days aren't normal good days, they're just normal adequate days to other people.

The first time I realized that I wasn't just overreacting and needing help, as a millennial, came on one of my adequate days. I had gathered up the energy to put just enough makeup on like I used to and run a brush through my hair. I walked into the dining area and all of my friends were shocked; they say "you look great! Who are you dressing up for?" and then I look at them oddly and they say "We just never see you like this..."

The second time I realized it was when I came home to visit my parents. As an only child, my parents always kept a doting and watchful eye on me, and we were all very close. Something I used to enjoy was playing video games after dinner with them, and I used to beg to play. These past few visits though, I would go into my bedroom and stare up at the ceiling, I just didn't even have the energy to watch TV. My dad walked in, asking if I wanted to get out of bed and play a game with them. I just shrugged and said, "I don't feel like it." He called my mother in my room and she goes "Lexi, baby, when was the last time you showered?" and I told her that it was way too much effort and I never could muster up the energy, I just wanted to sleep. At that point, I realized what I had become.

Now, it is still very hard to battle my depression. But it's an active battle. I can't idly sit by and let my depression overcome me and erase who I was. I still have my bad days but I have more good days, too. And, as a millennial, I realized that what I did need was a safe space...I needed a place to realize that what happening to me wasn't normal.

So, depression in millennials is very much real. It isn't very pretty. Sometimes it is actually pretty gross. But it is real, and it is valid.

This was my story, and I have heard so many others like it from other millennials. We are real, and we are valid. Our fights are long and hard, and sometimes we lose. But the thing with millennials is that we never stop trying. And as a millennial, I want you to know...We are the best and brightest here now. We will overcome depression.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

191724
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

15746
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

458505
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

26964
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments