Mental health PSA
I already posted this on Facebook, but as long as I'm blabbing about it there I might as well blab about it here, too. Get it all over with at once, in a way.
(Who am I kidding, it's never over with).
One of the most frustrating parts about suffering from depression is that everyone, including a lot of those "how to help people with depression" guides, assumes that I want to talk about my feelings. That being helpful constitutes trying to hug me or getting me to talk.
Like, no....FUCK feelings. I would love for someone to physically help me do the things I am incapable of doing but need to do. Go to the grocery, or fill out important paperwork, or write a decent resumé. Eat food. I dunno. Things that actually might impact the state of my life for the better.
Depression is not "feeling sad." Depression leaches you of the motivation or will or actual mental capacity to help yourself. It's not that you're being lazy, or wallowing in your feelings. Sometimes you're not even aware of WHAT you are feeling - you just cannot perform up to the bare minimum standard of being a person for some reason.
You forget everything if it's not tied to you/written down in 15 places. You forget everything even if it IS tied to you/written down in 15 places. You misplace things. You forget what day it is. You lose track of time until suddenly all of these crucial things are happening all at once. You have random attacks of anxiety seemingly out of the blue - attacks which can make it uncomfortable or difficult to breathe, or leave you feeling like you're going to die or pass out. You start to fear and loathe social commitments, even "fun" ones. You randomly and frequently feel like puking. You lack physical energy. You put off/forget eating until you're starving and angry, then sometimes eat a lot all at once. You eat weird shit because it's "easier" or you think it will make you feel better. You find yourself literally unable to scrape up any interest in things you used to love, then have an anxiety attack about THAT. If you have a job, you start calling in sick because you can't get out of bed or are having anxiety. If you don't have a job, you have enormous difficulty in taking the steps to find one. You miss payments on bills. You don't return phone calls/texts/emails. It goes on. And the best part is that you constantly, eternally, either consciously or not, shame yourself for all of this.
And then you write some weird, rambling Facebook post about it and then log off and hide.
(Who am I kidding, it's never over with).
One of the most frustrating parts about suffering from depression is that everyone, including a lot of those "how to help people with depression" guides, assumes that I want to talk about my feelings. That being helpful constitutes trying to hug me or getting me to talk.
Like, no....FUCK feelings. I would love for someone to physically help me do the things I am incapable of doing but need to do. Go to the grocery, or fill out important paperwork, or write a decent resumé. Eat food. I dunno. Things that actually might impact the state of my life for the better.
Depression is not "feeling sad." Depression leaches you of the motivation or will or actual mental capacity to help yourself. It's not that you're being lazy, or wallowing in your feelings. Sometimes you're not even aware of WHAT you are feeling - you just cannot perform up to the bare minimum standard of being a person for some reason.
You forget everything if it's not tied to you/written down in 15 places. You forget everything even if it IS tied to you/written down in 15 places. You misplace things. You forget what day it is. You lose track of time until suddenly all of these crucial things are happening all at once. You have random attacks of anxiety seemingly out of the blue - attacks which can make it uncomfortable or difficult to breathe, or leave you feeling like you're going to die or pass out. You start to fear and loathe social commitments, even "fun" ones. You randomly and frequently feel like puking. You lack physical energy. You put off/forget eating until you're starving and angry, then sometimes eat a lot all at once. You eat weird shit because it's "easier" or you think it will make you feel better. You find yourself literally unable to scrape up any interest in things you used to love, then have an anxiety attack about THAT. If you have a job, you start calling in sick because you can't get out of bed or are having anxiety. If you don't have a job, you have enormous difficulty in taking the steps to find one. You miss payments on bills. You don't return phone calls/texts/emails. It goes on. And the best part is that you constantly, eternally, either consciously or not, shame yourself for all of this.
And then you write some weird, rambling Facebook post about it and then log off and hide.