Beyond the Blues
Understanding depression is difficult; hear from Psyche's community of peers on their experiences with this mood disorder.
Breaking Through Depression: Give Yourself Credit
Sometimes when we are feeling depressed, we only tend to focus on the bad things or what went wrong. For instance, say the first half of your day went brilliantly, you got the things you wanted to do done and you went for a super walk. But when the second half of your day comes, the only thing you can do is go back to bed and do nothing. You will only focus on the second part of the day that did not go well and disregard the first part of the day that did go well. Another example, the majority of your day goes very well, you do positive things and talk to lots of people. But then someone says something which annoys or upsets you. So you only focus on that tiny bit that went wrong and ignore the rest of the day that went brilliantly.
Chloe UrquhartPublished 7 years ago in PsycheAs the Cookie Crumbles…
For the last few weeks, I’ve been feeling like my old self. Not the good kind of old self, but the self-destructive and self-sabotaging self. I’ve been having a hard time coping with, well, everything, and having a harder time being around people even the people who mean the most to me. But as of late, I feel like I’m drowning, and I recognized the old, familiar, feeling… my depression is back.
Claire BeauvoirPublished 7 years ago in PsycheThe Next Chapter
The day I realised I wanted to live... Tuesday 13th June, 2017 Just over two years ago, in February 2015, I dropped out of my first A-Level school. I had moved there after my GCSE's but, for various personal reasons, I ended up leaving prior to exams. My parents agreed to this with the understanding I would go back into education in the following September. I spent sixth months working with my dad's company, whilst trying to save myself from sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness.
Maya Emily LorfordPublished 7 years ago in PsycheHow to Find Meaning in the Suicide of a Loved One
On Thursday, July 21, 2011, my twenty-year-old son left work early and never came home. His body would be found six days later in a remote area overlooking the Sweetwater Canyon, a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and my life would never be the same. One year later, my wife took her life.
David StonerPublished 7 years ago in PsycheThings I've Learned from Depression
Here is a list of six things I've learned from depression. 1. No matter how dark it gets, it always gets better. I’ve been through many down-swings in my life. During those times, everything feels overwhelming. Sometimes I can’t get out of bed, or brush my hair, or eat, or do any of the everyday things which are necessary to living a healthy and happy life. I feel like a failure for not being able to look after myself, and for being depressed in the first place. I feel guilty because I have fewer reasons than others to be depressed, so I feel weak and useless. It can take all the energy I have just to get up, go to the bathroom, and crawl back into bed. These are the times when I honestly wonder if living is worth it, because being alive is painful. Somehow, I always manage to pull myself back up and out of the darkness, and when I do I realise that no matter how dark it gets, those thoughts and feelings are only temporary.
A Society in Need of Physical Touch
Have you ever been standing on a bus and someone accidentally brushes your hand with theirs, and you just get a sudden euphoric rush, simply from having another person touch you. You may be touch starved. I never thought there would be a term for it, I always just thought I was lonely and couldn't figure out why. This has helped me realize a few very important things that are helping me, albeit slowly, turn my life around.
Andrew BryantPublished 7 years ago in PsycheDepression
It's not cowardly. It doesn't make you a horrible person for experiencing it. It does not make you weak. In fact, having depression and battling it as strong as you are makes you a fighter. A warrior. A magician. Cause to play with the alchemy of management to the disarray that exists in your mind is some real magic. Just making it out of bed some days when it feels like your whole world is caving in, and you can't stop the tears from coming, and you're sure this is the spell that's going to take you is fucking magic.
Miss RiddlePublished 7 years ago in PsycheGoing in the Deep End
I was asked one time on how my anxiety started. When having anxiety and dealing with it for many years, that answer was nearly impossible to answer. Before you know it, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, and on and on and on and on. Then you start asking yourself questions to determine the answer to the first question. Your brain takes you to the deaths of loved ones. Then the memories and emotions start flowing of the wonderful times you had with them. Before you know it, there are things rapidly stemming off in every direction like a chaotic flow chart without any end. Your anxiety that was only playing with you like a cat chasing a string has now become thoughts of regrets and what if's to take total control of all mental functions. Answers? Answers don't come easy when dealing with anxiety.
Son Of A FitchPublished 7 years ago in PsycheThe Glorification of Depression and Its Disastrous Consequences
15 Habits of People With Concealed Depression Bullhickey! WARNING: What you're about to read may SEEM heartless. If this article above is the case then everyone's depressed. I personally find this to be yet another pandering article written for people to out-depress each other and pick up more quirky annoying little habits they THINK they're being mysterious about because it's the only attention they like to get instead of getting off their behinds, going outside and getting some form of exercise. Feelings of sadness and nonacceptance are natural feelings EVERYONE goes through at times. To actually SUFFER from DEPRESSION is REAL for many people. Unfortunately, like with gluten, tons of people feeling out of the trendy loop jumped onto the latest illness craze making a mockery of those who actually feel they're expelling half of their intestines out after eating a slice of bread. Most people claiming to be "depressed" these media fueled days are in all actuality just sad. I'm not a doctor. My opinion is only based on observation from people I see, know and read throughout social media. Sad is okay. Sad is GOOD. It helps you appreciate happiness much more when you find yourself in the midst of it. You do not need dangerous drugs for sad nor do you don't need 200 likes on your sad selfie in order to get help. No one cares that you lay around in your jammies all day while everyone else goes to work (some of whom are actually suffering from depression and don't even know it as many REAL sufferers don't). You CANNOT always see depression. At least not if you go by the type articles above. But you can express love to those around you in hopes that at least one kind gesture or whatever clustering of words you manage to spit out of your simple little mouth can actually lift them up for another day, week or year. In other words, UNIVERSAL KINDNESS may not be a cure but it can go a long way.
Rooster RobinsonPublished 7 years ago in PsycheWhat You Need to Know About Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression is hell on Earth, and I ought to know. After all, I've lived through it, and having gone through that misery, I can say that there is something decidedly terrible about the way that most people view postpartum depression in today's society.
Mackenzie LuPublished 7 years ago in Psyche- Top Story - August 2017
Common Myths About Depression
Depression is currently one of the most widespread mental illnesses in the world, and 6.7 percent of the American population will suffer from depression any given year. One would think that people would understand depression, considering how common it really is — but this is clearly not the case.
Rowan MarleyPublished 7 years ago in Psyche