Living As A Functioning Depressive

There are some people out there, who walk among us EVERY DAY — who seem happy. Who exudes happiness. And who wears a smile that says, “I’M HAPPY.”

These people are people who excel at their jobs. They excel in whatever project the company needs.

When you ask them to do something they give you the biggest and warmest smile you will probably come across that day.

When we are around them, it is easy to vent and rant about how BAD our day is because they just seem to be so open to hearing OTHER people’s problems.

They seem to be very happy helping others. These people seem like they are genuinely happy and upright people.

And for many people, they are the ones you go to when things in your life seem like they are going downhill. They are the ones to whom you look to when you need an ear to hear. They are the ones you go to when you need advice, when you need help, or when you are feeling sad.

But what most people do not understand, is that quite often, more than we can really imagine, people like this who seem happy and act happy… are actually hurting inside.

These people are what we call the “Walking Depressed”.

They have learned how to hide their depression so well, that when they take their lives (commit suicide) many people are struck baffled.

“We never even knew.”

“There were no signs.”

“They SEEMED to have it all together.”

“Why did they do that? They had so much to live for.”

Depression is grossly misunderstood in society.

Depression is not simply feeling sad at a high level.

No.

Depression is an abyss…an abyss that doesn’t seem to have any bottom, any light…any HOPE. It is an endless void that strips everything good in life that you can ever have… and it keeps it to itself; much like a black hole.

It robs you of meaning and holds you, HOSTAGE, to a feeling of endless despair and self-loathing.

Depression is NOT merely a feeling…it is a DISEASE of the mind.

The Walking Depressed

There are many successful people in this world who are extremely depressed. They have all the things in the world that a person would ever want or need… but still, they are depressed.

There are many high functioning people in society who you would never guess were actually depressed. And this is because, as I have mentioned, they have learned how to ACT HAPPY.

There is an UNJUST stigma that still dominates much of our society in regards to mental illness.

Most people are so unaware of mental illnesses. They have this misconception that mental illness means you are crazy and deserve to be in a mental institution.

And sadly for many people, because they lack the understanding of what mental illness really means, they most often times send their loved ones to an institute or they will prescribe them prescription drugs.

And by all means, if prescription drugs help to even them out then continue to do so.

Unfortunately, if they do not have the right doctor then they may most likely be given drugs that do not necessarily help to combat the depression a person may be feeling (as there are SEVERAL TYPES OF DEPRESSION) but more so, these drugs may just alleviate the depression for a small time and then they will have to re-up once again.

It becomes a cycle of dependency.

Due to this stigma, people who have depression feel shame or guilt for feeling “sad” (as many people would think).

The things they say to themselves:

“Why should you be sad when there are people around the world who have no food?”

“Why should you be sad when you have a good-paying job?”

“Why should you be SAD when you have a house and a car?”

“You have everything that a person would need.”

And it is here where the walking depressed starts to arise. This myopic understanding of depression and associating it with sadness is what causes many people to hide their depression and other mental illness, such as anxiety.

And this… is wrong.

Having material items does not mean a person can just get over depression. And it doesn’t mean that a person should be happy.

What in the world is a $10K watch suppose to do to alleviate an emptiness inside your heart and soul????

Depression is a DISEASE. You cannot combat depression with a nice car. You cannot combat depression with a big house or a fat bank account.

There are many billionaires and millionaires who have all these things, 10 times over, and still, they are depressed.

If You Are Struggling With Depression…

I am a firm believer that in TALKING with someone about your depression that you can slowly gain the power and the strength to combat depression fully on your own.

Keeping your depression inside ONLY GIVES DEPRESSION MORE POWER.

It feeds on you internally like a parasite.

And like a parasite, it will consume all the love, all the hope, all the joy, and all the happiness in your life. And when it has done that…consumed all the positivity in you…it will burst out inside of you to cause you to do something that will leave everyone around you at a loss.

Talking and letting this thing off your chest is easily one of the best ways to start fighting depression. Speaking with a loved one is a great option. But if you do not have a loved one (and sadly for many people they don’t) reach out to a therapist.

The greatest enemy in life that we will ever have is ourselves. But when you couple ourselves (who we are) with depression that is a recipe for disaster.

For those who suffer from depression REACH OUT TO SOMEONE.

Your friends and family are lifeboats on this chaotic sea that we call life.

If they ask “ Is everything alright?”

Tell them how you feel.

Don’t be ashamed and DO NOT FEEL GUILTY.

Depression is not something you woke up to one day and chose to feel.

Your loved one and heck even me are throwing you a lifeline…

Please…reach out for it.

And remember, “Life Does Not Get Easier. We Just Get Tougher.”

Previously published here