Don't feel sorry for me. JUST UNDERSTAND ME! (My Experience of Depression)

Member Name: happybunny75

Product:	My Experience of Depression
Date:	27/06/01 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: None

DEPRESSION, isn't a very pleasant word. For every one of us it means grey, black, dark, bad moods, Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' and 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch.

To some people though it's a way of life - it's part of their life. Living with depression: eat, drink, sleep it...and sadly enough it's a label as well.

The above paragraph describes me. If I hadn't told you about this you wouldn't have known. Of course, none of you know me on a day to day basis, but if you read any of my reviews (not many, as I'm very new!)or read any of my comments you wouldn't have known that...just like you wouldn't know if someone had Cancer or a broken leg.

The difference between depression and most other illnesses is that depression can't be seen. If you see someone looking unhappy, you assume they're just a bit 'down' or even miserable; if someone always looks tired then you assum they're been out on the razz; if someone never goes out they're boring. It's the assumptions that give people with depression a bad name.

There are similarities with other illness though. As with Cancer, Depression can be a killer!

Unfortunately, suicide is common. Unfortunately, with most suicide attempts (succesful or not)the 'illness' has gone too far untreated. Compare it to a lump in a woman's breast or a man's testicles. I would like to thing that most people nowadays would go and get these things checked out by their GP immediatly. The difference with depression is that unlike a lump, there's nothing physical. This doesn't necessarily mean that the person suffering with depression doesn't believe there's nothing wrong, it mostly means that they're scared that nobody will believe them. They're scared that if they tell friends that they're going to the GP to get treated for depression then their friends might think they're 'we
ak' or just 'lazy' ("what do you mean you slept all day yesterday?").

And if someone who believes they have depression goes to their GP? What then?

One of two things. Either their GP treats depression as an illness and treats it as such (e.g medication, therapy etc) or they don't believe that depression is a 'real' illness. Believe me, some don't.

So, why am I here writing about depression?

Like, most people with an ILLNESS I want to try and change people's perception of that illness.

1) I am not raving mad.
2) I do have fun.
3) I do get ill.
4) I do get better.

It is a mental illness (it's ok, don't freak out), but it happens to people from different professions, different social classes, different ages, in fact everyone who suffers from depression is different in every way, and incidently it is estimated that 1 in 4 people will suffer from depression at least once in their lives. How many people do you know? What are the odds that you know someone who has or will suffer from depression? How will you react? What if it's you?

Think about what illness means and think about what depression means?

In the meantime, have fun!

Summary: