Definitional Essay of Depression

Depression

Depression is a pit of emotions that is difficult to climb out of. Once you fall in, you must fight long and hard to exit. It is something I myself am still going through to this very day. Ever since my father, who was the only one in my family I really cared about, died when I was 11-years-old, I have been depressed. It is hard to describe a feeling of depression for everyone but, for me, it feels like a routine. The first part of that routine is waking up, my second part is trying to make it through the day, and the third part is going to bed finally. Each day has its high and low points but all days are plagued by the same nagging feeling that never seems to go away. Let’s discuss the three worst types of depression: suicidal depression, then depression caused by grief, and then depression due to being unconfident.

Suicidal depression is the worst of the three because it can take anyone down; it’s the most difficult type of depression to recognize because it’s easy to hide. Suicidal depression exhibits feelings of not belonging and emptiness, going through the same routine every day, questioning what’s the purpose, and wanting it all to end. For example, there was a popular track star who won a huge scholarship to her dream college, she had a loving, supporting family, and elite running abilities but, are all these pleasant things what make a person satisfied in life? According to this girl, no. She struggled with suicidal thoughts and an overloaded schedule. She told her family what was going on and they got her a psychiatrist. A few months later, at age nineteen in her freshman year, she jumped off the roof of a parking garage ending her life. How could this tragic event have been prevented? If the symptoms such as being anxious, crying excessively, being irritable or restless, having constant mood swings, and losing or gaining an unhealthy amount of weight, had been identified and addressed sooner, this tragic event could have been prevented.

The second type of depression is depression caused by grief. This is self-explanatory. If someone you love dies, or you move away from all you know, especially if it’s unexpected, you go through a grieving process. This can lead to a depressive state of mind and in the long run, lead to a depressive state altogether. You feel lonely and the situation setting in can be accompanied with emotions such as anger, regret, agony, helplessness, and sadness, which all makes room for the depression to fit right into your life. Throughout the process of living without this person or old life, it feels like you’re watching your days pass by as if you were watching a movie. It can render you drained. Signs of this sort of depression can be insomnia or oversleeping, loss of interest in hobbies, physical aches that don’t get relieved with treatment, a loss of trust in others and an overall loss of motivation to live. It introduces you to bad habits that are a temporary fix for the pain. Soon these unhealthy habits can run your life for you while you run away from your grieving.

The third but, not final, type of depression, is the depression due to being unconfident. People who are unconfident tend to not like themselves at all. They don’t like their body, their looks, or personality. It can lead to them wanting to become someone they admire or they just don’t want to live the life of someone they despise: themselves. Being unconfident about yourself is a more dangerous emotion than people make it out to be. It leads to depressive suicidal thoughts or actions, self-destructive behavior, social isolation, and possibly even homicidal thoughts or actions. This type of depressive state can be identified through anorexic behaviors, overuse of makeup, fear of being embarrassed or made fun of in public for doing human things in front of other people like using the restroom or burping, and being in a constant obsession over your "social status" and looks. However, this type of depression is the easiest type of emotion to escape with the right support system in your life feeling confident about yourself is just baby steps around the corner.

In conclusion, it is safe to say that most people have had experience with depression in their lives. It hits all types of people at random and vulnerable times. With the right amount of love, support, time, and effort it can bring people out of this sort of rut. However, it is difficult to provide such support. It’s the equivalent to dealing with a crying baby. It's unreasonable and sad but the baby will never stop crying unless you comfort it or it sleeps, forever. For those who do not have this type of support system, it can lead to unhealthy habits, suicide, and even possibly homicide just because the hardest ones to love are the ones who need it most. With the information listed above, it can be deduced that suicidal, grief-stricken, and unconfident thoughts can lead to the worst of depressions.