I've personally never had depression, but that doesn't mean I don't understand it. You do not need to live through an experience to understand it. You can live the same experience and someone and still have no idea what the other person is going through. Depression and anxiety are different for everyone, but over the years I’ve noticed a few things that don’t seem to change. They all suck, but you know a smooth ocean never made a skilled sailor.

1. People don't choose to be depressed and/or have anxiety.

This isn’t a choice you can make. It's not like you have anxiety because you have too many things to worry at school. Those things are tipping points, they push you over an edge you was already standing at. They are both chemical imbalances. Yes, there are things you can do and medications you can take but at the end of the day this isn’t something you choose or anyone would chose.

2. Your brain is the enemy.

Like Stephen King said,

"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."

For many having anxiety is like walking around with an overachiever, OCD friend that complains because they got a 99.8% on a test. A little friend you brain all the time constantly playing mind games with you.

3. Telling me to “suck it up” makes me stabby.

Please don’t say “suck it up”. People don't want others telling them to exercise or to meditate. This is as effective as me telling you to go walk it off after you broke your foot.

4. Nobody can fix it right away.

It sucks. You may want to help someone that suffers anxiety or depression and the thing is that it is not like there is a magic cure. There are medications and there are things that you can do that will help mitigate anxiety, but they won’t magically fix it. There's no magic happy pill that will make your life perfect. There’s nothing anyone can say or do that is going to fix some brains. It is a long process that takes time. When you get a bruise or even a pimple is not like it disappears in one day, so don't expect anxiety or depression to go away in one day.

5. It sucks for the person dealing with the person who deals with anxiety or depression.

I’ve been on the other end of things and not being able to help someone I love when they’re in the middle of a depressive or anxiety episode sucks. Just know that there is nothing you can say or do that will make them reason, and this reality is very hard.

6. Relying on a pill sucks.

Yeah, just imagine the thought that you rely on a such a little thing. Without that, you can't be normal. How does it make you feel relying on something smaller than a centimeter to have a normal life, when everything you want to do is have a normal life.

So don't hate what you don't understand.