4 ms·

What it is like to live with clinical depression

4 points by bemmu 11y ago

a3n 11y ago
> I haven’t really talked about it much in that time, ... my assumption is most people would find the day-to-day details of my life to be as dull as dishwater. > But it’s also in part because I’m a coward. Depression (and mental illness overall) still carries a stigma. Nah, not a coward, he's just naturally cautious. No one has the obligation to reveal anything about their personal lives. Not everyone who suffers from something has to be a campaigner, or an example, or a resource. Good for him that he feels free enough to talk about it. Like many things, the more people talk about it, the less ignorant prejudice there will be. I was suicidally depressed, for a long time. Miserable life. I got treated, and now the "me" that was oppressed by this condition has been allowed to come to the fore. Same person, different world. If you think you're depressed, talk to your doctor and get treatment. That treatment will vary; depression is a very large blanket term.
a3n 11y ago
Much of what's described in the article is very similar to my own depression, prior to treatment. I was talking to someone recently about this. Paraphrased, he said something like "I don't understand suicidal people. OK, you're depressed. Do something about it. Move to the mountains!" If I had tried something like that, I would have just carried my defective brain to the mountains with me. Or the oppressive thought patterns, or whatever the nature of my depression was. As the article said, depression is not merely feeling super bad, it's being broken. If you have someone in your life that's depressed, and you don't understand it, then accept that you don't understand it, and have some empathy. Admit to yourself that you may be generally ignorant about depression, and that you yourself have not competently diagnosed this person's particluar depression. Help, even if that help is limited to not judging or assuming.

4 points by bemmu 11y ago

a3n 11y ago

> I haven’t really talked about it much in that time, ... my assumption is most people would find the day-to-day details of my life to be as dull as dishwater. > But it’s also in part because I’m a coward. Depression (and mental illness overall) still carries a stigma. Nah, not a coward, he's just naturally cautious. No one has the obligation to reveal anything about their personal lives. Not everyone who suffers from something has to be a campaigner, or an example, or a resource. Good for him that he feels free enough to talk about it. Like many things, the more people talk about it, the less ignorant prejudice there will be. I was suicidally depressed, for a long time. Miserable life. I got treated, and now the "me" that was oppressed by this condition has been allowed to come to the fore. Same person, different world. If you think you're depressed, talk to your doctor and get treatment. That treatment will vary; depression is a very large blanket term.

a3n 11y ago

Much of what's described in the article is very similar to my own depression, prior to treatment. I was talking to someone recently about this. Paraphrased, he said something like "I don't understand suicidal people. OK, you're depressed. Do something about it. Move to the mountains!" If I had tried something like that, I would have just carried my defective brain to the mountains with me. Or the oppressive thought patterns, or whatever the nature of my depression was. As the article said, depression is not merely feeling super bad, it's being broken. If you have someone in your life that's depressed, and you don't understand it, then accept that you don't understand it, and have some empathy. Admit to yourself that you may be generally ignorant about depression, and that you yourself have not competently diagnosed this person's particluar depression. Help, even if that help is limited to not judging or assuming.