Depression is a very volatile emotion for anyone to experience in their lifetime.
Sometimes it lasts for days, months, and even years without an end in sight to the despair that we are constantly feeling deep within ourselves, sometimes to the point where hardly anything positive even phases us anymore.
Depression can cripple every piece of your body, ranging from the mental part of yourself to the physical.
Nothing motivates you, you don’t want to give anything a try. People come and go, and the gnawing thought of this looming cloud of sorrow hangs over you, getting heavier and heavier with each passing day.
If you’ve never dealt with this awful feeling, then here are five things you should know about people who are suffering from depression.
1. Can’t Just Turn It Off
Depression doesn’t have a switch on the back of your head that you can just flip and poof it’s gone suddenly. There are so many cases of people saying to those who are suffering depression that they should just stop being sad; as if it were that easy.
Sometimes they even like to argue with them, saying that they have nothing to be sad about, or that they’re just being over-dramatic about everything. If anything, you should be trying to comfort a person who’s suffering from depression.
The biggest thing that you could do for them is to just let them know that you are there for them in every single way possible. Telling them they are not alone in this world, and that their feelings are more than valid when it comes to being sad or upset about something.
We all deserve the chance to be heard when we are feeling like there is no one else in the world who knows what we are going through.
2. It’s Not A Weakness
Another thing that a lot of people say about those who suffer from depression is that they are weak. Expressing your emotions of sorrow and despair apparently makes you weak in the eyes of someone who’s never experienced anything of what you’re feeling.
These people have no idea what it is like to have depression, or at least have never met someone who’s dealt with it themselves. Since this feeling is so foreign, they just peg it as some kind of weakness, or crying, or just being sad in general.
News flash, friends! It’s okay to be sad, and it’s more than okay to express your sadness whenever you feel like it. It doesn’t make you weak in the slightest. In fact, they should be encouraging you to let out all of your feelings.
3. Zero Motivation
Sometimes people get very upset at those who are suffering from depression, because they have zero motivation to do literally anything at all.
Even when it comes to the simplest of tasks, the depression is too heavy that weighs them down; disallowing them any kind of push to complete, or accomplish something.
Again, it’s not just something that you can switch off whenever you’d like. The feeling of depression is literally like having a ball and chain attached to your foot, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep at night.
It’s actually pretty annoying when you really want to do something, and then suddenly, depression just comes out of nowhere to shut down all of your inspired motivation.
4. Fighting With Themselves Every Day
Someone who suffers from depression is constantly fighting with their own thoughts every single day. It’s almost like the forces of good are being held captive by all of the bad forces of the world.
This leaves them feeling completely defeated by the despair. Unable to even put up a decent fight can leave a person feeling the lowest of lows. It’s unfair, it hurts, and if they could just simply remove all of this sadness from their head, they would do it in a heartbeat.
It’s hard to go to your job, school, or anywhere when depression is always wanting to pick a fight with you over the most trivial things. Just know that they are doing their very best, despite having despair gnawing at their every thought.
5. Just Need Love And Support
Above all else, when it comes to dealing with someone who is suffering from depression, is that all they really need from you is love and support. Letting them know that you are there for them, and that if they need anything at all, you’ll be the one to make it happen.
Letting them know that no matter how horrible they feel, no matter how heavy the sorrow is, you still love them for who they are; you love them for going through this awful moment in their life, and you love them for just existing in the world, so that you can be close to them. Love and support goes a very long way with someone who is depressed.
People who suffer from depression don’t expect everyone to understand what it’s like to have this burden of unwavering despair, but they want people to understand that all they need from you is just a little bit of sympathy.
Depression has a ripple effect on the others in that person’s life, so even just giving them a hug can make all of the difference.