Is depression and anxiety an actual disease or do we use our mood as an excuse just to avoid personal interactions or to gain sympathy? I’m sure many have used depression as an excuse on occasion, but it is an actual disease.
Clinical depression is a major depressive disorder affecting about 7-18% of the population at some time in their lives and I was diagnosed several years back and took medication. But for many people, when they say that they are depressed, they actually are simply referring to a depressed mood that they are in at the moment. This kind of depression usually doesn’t last long. It comes and goes and it’s usually brought about by a number of different circumstances.
Depression acts different for many people and the symptoms aren’t always the same for everyone. Some people prefer to be alone and they cut themselves off from friends and family so they can work through their moods their own way. Others try to ignore it and throw themselves into social activities until it dissipates.
You have heard the expression that misery loves company well some people simply like to dwell on their depression and try to draw everyone around them in. Make sure you don’t stay in their space because they can really make you feel as down as they do. It’s okay to comment and tell them it will lift, but run as fast as you can from these individuals.
I’m sure you have probably known someone that is always in a state of constant depression. For some people, the diagnosis is functional depression and treatment is advised. I think that at one point that was me because it seemed like a continual mood, but yet I was still able to work and take care of things.
You may notice that some people seem happiest when they have a negative attitude and enjoy being unhappy. They have a negative outlook about themselves and everyone around them and life in general just keeps them in a state of continual depression. It’s true that some people use it to get sympathy, but for others that’s just the way they are.
For some of us that actually suffer from depression and anxiety we know the facts and others are beginning to be more aware thank goodness.
I, too, suffer from depression. In the past I was on different medications that did help. Currently I’m not on anything and I just try to work through my issues.
I like the statement you made in this post -
“Some people prefer to be alone and they cut themselves off from friends and family so they can work through their moods their own way.”
This sums up how I’ve handled my friends lately. They don’t understand and they get very aggravated with me because they think I should just “get over it”. Therefore with that attitude, I prefer to back off and work things out “my own way.”
Thanks for this post as it helped me a lot!
Ellen
Hi Ellen,
I’m glad you stopped by and I hope things will get easier for you. I couldn’t take the regular antidepressants they made me want to kill so we finally found something that worked for me and it was called Neurontin. It worked straight away without having to build up in my system. I have always been on a low keel and what this medication did was to elevate my mood, but after a few years it started bothering me so I’m also not on anything.
A lot of people simply refuse to believe that it truly is a disease and is devastating for many. Take care.
Thanks for posting this. I’ve suffered from depression for most of my adult life and people who have never been truly depressed (and I mean long term) just don’t understand it.
One word of caution that I would like to add, though, is that many illnesses have depression as a symptom (hypothyroidism, for example). Before you are diagnosed with clinical depression, you should have a complete physical to rule out other illnesses that may be causing the depression. My depression mostly subsided when they finally started treating me for subclinical hypothyroidism, after being treated for depression for over 10 years.
Hi Jodith,
Thanks for your comment. You are correct in the fact that there could be many underlying causes for depression and people should definitely see their Dr. for a physical to rule out any possible disease that is causing it.