Depression hurts, this medication will help.
"Cut the crap," is what anyone who has ever experienced depression may say.
Some sicknesses require rest, others require an abundance of fluids and ibuprofen, and then others require the active practice of being happy.
They say that we all experience depression at least once in our lives. They also say that like the flu, depression is a sickness. Now, I have no idea who "they" are but I can tell you that for a lot of us, this sickness occurs more than once and that it is more than simply a sickness, it is a part of our lives.
It's easy to say that depression is like being sick. You visit a doctor, you talk about your symptoms, and you get a little white pill for it. As any person who has ever visited the doctor would know, this is fairly routine.
What people who have never experienced depression may not know is that this "sickness" is not something that can be slept off, flushed out with Gatorade, or numbed by pain killers. Unlike other sicknesses, depression does this evil thing where it tries to take over your life. Many have experienced the result of depression doing more than simply trying to take over their life - it in fact does take over every piece of them. It's like having to wear a bright orange cast on your leg for four or so months, it does't just go away.
When this happens, there is virtually nothing anyone can do, nothing anyone can say, or no magic pill that can make this "sickness" go away. Before you know it, your desire to do normal things like shower and leave bed become so difficult that the thought lulls you back to sleep. Things like school, friends, and family become a challenge. The people who you used to love to spend time with are seen as a burden because you can't imagine how you could bring yourself to be around them.
Then comes the resentment you feel for yourself; I've lost my friends, I've lost myself, no one likes me, I'm lonely - the pity party becomes an endless cycle that is fueled by this thing that has taken over who you are.
It's hard for you to listen to people that tell you that you'll be okay and that they understand because really, they don't. Unlike the flu or bronchitis, there is no single depression that is the same as the one before or after it. It's frustrating when people lump you in the mental illness category because you know that this is more than an illness.
You know that your body is no longer yours and that really the only person who can help you is in fact you. The helping ourselves part is kind of tricky. It's tricky because the problem is with us in the first place. Somewhere along the way our minds decided we were going to be sad. Maybe something happened to us that triggered this, or maybe it came out of nowhere. Regardless, it's hard escaping a problem that lives within you.
People who don't have depression or who have never experienced depression don't understand this, they simply can't nor should they have to. We should stop lumping depression in this awkward and harsh category of mental illness and assuming everyone who has ever had it is the same. We should be there for those who do have it, letting them know that it is not permanent. And we should stop assuming we know what they're going through because really, they are the only ones who do.
