Depression. Why do people have it? I couldn’t tell you. But what I can tell you, is that it sucks. By definition depression is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. Pretty crappy right? Depression is one of the largest silent epidemics in the world. It kills on average 850,000 people in the world. Depression is not a disease, and is not acknowledged by everyone. Even in
the 20th century people think it is a negative thing to diagnose anyone with depression. Many people think it is a brain problem which is not true at all. It is not a disease, it’s not something to be ashamed of, but something to be taken care of. People develop depression for a multitude of reasons such as; trauma, illness, worry, doubt, and so much more.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell if someone is developing depression or already has it. Some people self advocate and make an effort to make sure the people around them know that they are hurting, and others keep their feelings to themselves. It can be really hard to express your feelings to anybody because it is hard enough admitting to yourself that you have negative feelings.

Having depression makes you tired. It’s the scare of failure but no urge to be productive. It’s
wanting friends but not wanting to socialize. It’s wanting to be alone but not wanting to be lonely.

You feel everything at once, and then you become paralyzingly numb. You can’t take a break
from everyday life and say ̈ Screw this I’m depressed. ̈  The world moves even if you’re not. I
would argue that the hardest part of depression is overcoming it. I can’t even put into words how
hard it is. It’s a battle.

Anybody who has gone through depression will tell you that it is not just something in your mind,
but something you feel in your body. As much as it’s in your head it’s also in your stomach. You
can say your fine as much as you want. You’re fine except you’re either sleeping all day or not at
all, you’re overthinking, you’re always worried, and you don’t care about anything or anyone. You start to feel like a problem instead of a person. You feel nothing.

I’m not going to pretend like I know how to cure depression because I definitely don’t, but over the years there have been so many different types of programs, resources, and treatments started for depression. There are support groups, therapy, AA, retreats, and lots of other things out there to help with depression.