Truths People Living With Depression Can Relate to

May is Mental Health Month

Since 1949, Mental Health America and our affiliates across the country have led the observance of May is Mental Health Month by reaching millions of people through social media platforms. This blog post is my contribution to participate in Mental Health Month by speaking openly and honestly about Depression.

It’s time for people to stop stigmatizing mental health issues and start sharing openly and honestly about their mental health condition. I have suffered with Major Depression since the age of 16 and know how hard it is to live with this illness. I found a list of 7 truths people living with depression can relate to on www.paintedteacup.com,and it spoke to me. If I can share with my readers how I think when I’m depressed, maybe they will understand and have empathy for those who battle this illness everyday.

1. There is nothing worse than feeling depressed when by all accounts things are going well and you “should” be happy.
2. You start thinking more and more negatively and while you know what you are doing, you just can’t stop.
3. You know what it is like to sleep for a full 8 (or more) hours and yet feel like you could sleep for days.
4. There are days when all the money, chocolate or love in the world cannot make you get out of bed.
5. You know what it feels like to walk around with a smile on your face while on the inside, you can barely keep it together.
6. There is nothing more isolating than opening up to someone about how you are feeling and hearing things like, “It will pass”, “you are just having a bad day” and the best of them all…”Have you tried exercising”.
7. You know what it’s like to feel completely hallow and numb even when doing the things you love the most.

Maybe the next time someone cancels plans with you because they are depressed, you can understand that they are not lazy or unreliable but are at home suffering. As long as people suffering from mental illness feel they have to hide in shame, change surrounding the stigmatization of mental illness will not take place.

I would be honored if anyone who reads this shares their story, or shows it to a loved one or a friend who is living with mental illness to let them know that they have nothing to be ashamed of and they are certainly not alone.