Depression is a big issue, almost everyone knows about it. But when it comes to acknowledge depression, it’s quite hard to tell, especially for those who are in doubt if they are actually having it.
Things can be difficult at a time. There are stressful situations we face in reality. Sometimes, it takes more than energy to cope with those kind of situations. We then might get exhausted, physically… and also mentally. As a human, we have the ability to feel things. We may always know—there is something going on inside our mind. Unfortunately, we can’t always tell what is it. We hold that grudge inside, and it’s not easy.
Dear, difficult situations can make us feel negative towards them. We would use some words to describe our negative feelings: angry, sad, exhausted, and so on. Interestingly, we also often use the term “I’m depressed” on those terrible situations. But, is it true that it is actually depression that we are feeling?
Not everyone is aware that they are depressed—or not at all
Often misunderstood as being sad, depression is actually a term to describe a clinical mood disorder when you have disturbance on your emotional state. On the other hand, some people are unaware of being depressed, because they think they are just sad. When we we are sad or feel other negative emotions, it will eventually fade away. My depression can be really painful that I can’t just make it disappear. Even when we try to engage in fun activities, it would still be quite hard to feel better.
It may look like that depression comes after horrible events. But depression is not always triggered by difficult life events. Depression can lurk from the life of a person who seems doing fine, and then it gets him/her miserable. Keep this in mind: depression can come from every situation, even in unexpected way. That is why, it is important to pay attention to our surroundings, and of course, to ourselves, Dear.
But how do I know that I’m depressed?
Depression is like a shadow, you need a light to help you see it clearly. There are some things that can be hints of being depressed: First, there is always this blue mood that you always feel.The prolonged feeling of sadness, it’s been there for a while. You may not know to tell when exactly you start to feel it. But you know, it’s always there and it creeps you out. When you are depressed, things may look dull and you can’t be excited. Lost of pleasure is the other hint to tell that you’re depressed.
Back then, my depression block me away to feel happy. It is a complex disorder that can impact your physical health. You may feel extremely tired that it disturbs you from doing daily activities, you may lose your appetite, or maybe your weight, and you also hard to get some sleep, because you may have troubles to go to sleep. Now ask yourself: am I experiencing those kind of things? But of course, Dear, it is better to seek for a help to make sure that you are depressed and find the right treatment for yourself.
Now that I know something about being depressed, is this actually my depression that I’m feeling?
When you find out that you may have depression, do not hesitate to seek for help! Find someone you can trust. You can try to talk to your relatives or to your friends. And of course it will be much better if you seek help from the psychologists.
So, now you know what and how depression is. Dear, it is very important to understand ourselves, that way we can understand people better. We may always find help from people around us. But then again, the best psychologist you can have is actually yourself, because the person who knows best about you, is you.
References
- https://psychcentral.com/blog/how-do-you-know-if-you-are-depressed-or-just-sad/
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/depression
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201510/the-important-difference-between-sadness-and-depression
Annisa’i S. N Amalina. In another life,she may be a lazy cat. But in this kind of life, she is just a girl, currently studying psychology and loves to watch cheesy romantic-comedy movies.
