A Story About Depression
Identifying Depression
You awaken drained, no thoughts, no motivation – only nothingness. You begin on automatic pilot. Everything requires so much effort – brushing your teeth, taking a shower and forcing yourself to dress nicely. Choosing black every day seems unacceptable to the world but to you it is a way of hiding how you really feel inside.
Discomfort inside makes it difficult for you to tolerate the tightness of the outfit on your skin. Little things irritate you, the light from the window, the dog barking, and the smell of your aftershave or make-up. Yet you feel nothing, you only exist now a shadow of someone you used to know or think you were. It can only be described as though someone or something sucked out your soul leaving you with nothing.
Numb and completely void like the deepest darkest place in space you may ask yourself; ‘is this death… am I still breathing at all?’ Yet no answers come, just vacancy. You carry on through your day on autopilot. You smile when expected and only respond when necessary. You hope not to be noticed because subconsciously you know you do not have the energy to pretend or focus for very long.
You drift off into nothingness during conversations never meaning to be rude. You genuinely don’t notice it happening. You rarely join in because you can’t think of anything to say. Yet, surprisingly, you still have no idea you are depressed, grieving or suffering a mental health challenge. Maybe you are just tired or stressed!
Why do people need to break down before we recognise there is a problem? The answer is fear. We fear the question and the answer. We fear the outcome of any answer at all, ‘will our loved one be angry with our question or what will I do if they really are suffering what I am thinking? And ‘What will I do or say next?’
I can tell you now if someone didn’t care enough about me to ask those questions I wouldn’t be here today. Equally, if that light switch didn’t go on as my symptoms were described to me, nothing ever could have changed. According to the World Health Organisation;
Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression.
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.
More women are affected by depression than men.
Depression can lead to suicide.
Recognising the signs and symptoms of depression could save your life or the life of someone you love. Knowing the basics can prevent suicide but so they can actually feel alive again and get back to living a happy life. Not all depression is clinical (needing pharmaceutical intervention) and can be treated with simple talk therapy. All we need is one person to recognise our symptoms and help us get on the right track again.
If you want to learn more about how to prevent, recognise and respond to depression before it is too late, please don’t hesitate to contact our team.