In my free time I love to watch documentaries, videos or anything that enlightens me about subjects I'm interested in such as crime, animals and psychology. The other day, I watched a Ted Talk that comedian, Kevin Breel had given in 2013 that talked about his struggles with depression. When watching this video, it really struck home because I, myself, suffer from depression. It's always been a struggle to explain how depression feels to someone who doesn't have it. While watching this video, Breel said something that described depression to a tee. He said, "Real depression isn't being sad when something in your life goes wrong. Real depression is being sad when everything in your life is going right."
This quote perfectly describes the misconceptions of depression. When you ask someone what depression is, they said it's when someone is sad. Sadness is a human emotion that most people experience frequently. Sadness is usually triggered from a bad and hurtful event in one's life. No matter who we are, we have all been sad and dissatisfied with life. Depression is not exactly that simple. Depression is defined as, "an abnormal emotional state, a mental illness that affects our thinking, emotions, perceptions, and behaviors in pervasive and chronic ways." (Psychology Today.. Many times, it doesn't take a loss of a loved one or a midlife crisis to alter your state of mind: it happens for no reason. This is the reason why depression is so complicated. To the outside world, your life seems great and people wonder, Why is someone depressed if they have a good life? I've gotten this question before multiple times and it isn't that simple.
I'm not afraid to admit that I have depression. It's been something that has changed my life and is something I live with every day of my life. I've had many hardships in my life that have caused me to be sad. I've been through those times where something awful happens and you just want to quit. Depression is a completely different feeling. When I was diagnosed in 2014, I was doing well in college, I had a boyfriend and I had the support of my family and friends. It made no sense to me why I was feeling sad. It made me so angry that I felt like I could never be happy. I was put on medication immediately and it made a huge difference. Once I was on medication, I understood the difference between my sadness and depression, which taught me so much about myself.
Fast forward to now, I still struggle with it. There will be days where I'm broken and lonely even when I know have everything I could ever want in life. I've realized I will have to deal with this for my whole life and I'm OK with that.
Watching Kevin Breel's video helped me put words to thoughts I didn't know how to explain. People who don't suffer from depression don't always know how to react or deal with depression, but that's OK. The biggest obstacle is being able to understand the difference between depression and sadness but if people could grasp the concept, it's amazing what a difference it would make. It would help people would feel less guilty about needing medication or therapy. I have faith that our world will finally understand depression and we are one step closer to that day.
