Why Depression Is the Best Thing That Could Happen to You

What comes to your mind when you consider depression?

There are almost too many stereotypes.

Top of the list: The All-Black, Soulless Goth.

In second place, we have the person in full-time hibernation who has not moved from their bed in four years, not even to pee.

Third place, the person that cries. A lot. I mean, these people make up 90% of the world's oceans.

The list goes on, the ideas continue.

A lot of the time, these stereotypes make you very wrong. In fact, the majority of depressed people will give no indication that they feel such a way and you will probably never know that they have been suffering.

They are normal people, having a tough time.

The only thing is, every idea and opinion of depression, whether coming from the sufferer themselves or an onlooker, the idea is always negative when depression is brought into conversation. It’s a bad thing, awful, very unfortunate to deal with.

Now, don’t string me up yet and throw rotten fruit at me. Just hear me out.

After three, maybe four years "suffering" from depression, it has hit me that this is not the way that it has to be. I am not a sufferer, but a learner.

Depression has changed me; although its methods of doing so suck, there is a whole new world to discover amongst the mental illness and pain. Take, for example, the refiners fire. This is an analogy which is actually mentioned in the bible, but is very applicable. In order to create the purest of gold, the gold must be put into a refiners fire. It’s incredibly hot, melting down the precious metals and removing all the impurities. It takes time, and it’s done again and again... and again.

Depression is painful, yes. It is persistent, yes. But will something incredible be produced? Most certainly, yes.

Now, at this point I would like to mention, however, that it is your choice, for depression to be beneficial to you. It can make or break you, and you have the capability to defeat it and learn from it, or to cave in. To give up.

Option one is much better, believe me.

So, here we go. The benefits of depression.

1. You learn to think on a deeper level.

Unless, of course, this was a contributing factor to your depression in the first place through anxiety. Those who are depressed tend to internalise everything that happens around them—sometimes rationally, sometimes not, it just depends on the person and severity of the illness. Being depressed means a person learns to pick through small details to find answers, and nothing is simply skimmed over. Through this you learn more about yourself and how others may perceive you.

2. Character Development

Leading straight on from our previous point, we notice how people respond to us, or how we act. Sometimes it may be overdramatised in our heads to the point of thinking the whole world hates us, but the thing is, you learn how to treat people through how they respond to you. You become gentler, because you know what it is like to hurt, and you do not want to inflict that onto others.

3. You become less dependent.

When you persistently hurt, you don't learn how to look after yourself. You learn to accept and enjoy being alone. Before all this, I would never have dreamed of going to a coffee shop by myself. Now, it's something I do regularly, and it puts me in a great mood.

4. You develop empathy and an understanding of people.

You can't understand another person entirely, until you have suffered how they have suffered, bled how they bled, and hurt how they hurt. Depression eats you from the inside out, it shows you a pain and numbness you never thought could exist. When you have experienced that, and better still, enduredit, you have so much to offer people. You can give them hope, and a person who actually understands their suffering. You can say, "I know how that feels."

5. You can help others.

Leading on from that, a pretty obvious one. What you have learned, how you discovered endurance, and the coping mechanisms you have unearthed you can pass on to others. You could save a life, or simply make a life worth living.

6. Have a more realistic approach.

When suffering from depression, scientists have proved that the person may actually have more rational thinking than someone who is considered mentally healthy. This means when setting goals, targets, or making estimations, they are more realistic and often more achievable due to a slightly more negative outlook. It means overestimating is less of an issue.

7. Learn to find beauty in small things.

You need to learn to find happiness again, and amidst the hurt and brokenness, there will be glimmers of this that will begin popping through. Just simple, little things you can learn to admire or appreciate. For example, daffodils. Daffodils are so vibrant and cheerful, I genuinely feel happy when I have a little bunch of them. The same goes for the ocean and sunset. For you, it could be something completely different, but all in all you learn to appreciate small things, and find beauty in them.

8. Find out what you truly love, what is important to you.

Depression means that you don't have the energy for lots of friends, lots of activities, and lots of fake fun. For that reason, insignificant things begin to fade away as time progresses, and what is important to you will stick. For example, friends that truly care for you and family. A particular sport or hobby. This gives you more time to invest in what really matters and build lasting and meaningful relationships.

9. Learn perseverance, patience, and endurance.

Because what better way to achieve this than to suffer persistently for days, months, and years at a time?! You have got this.

10. Become strong and resilient.

If you can take on the crappiest parts of life and the darkest parts of your mid, you could conquer the world.

11. Develop skills used to channel emotions.

There are lots of little methods and mechanisms people discover to cope with depression. For some, this may be writing or painting. For another, singing or playing music. It could be sports, or even training your dog. Whatever it is, it provides an escape, or a safe place for you. This means, when you hurt a lot, you turn to these interests a lot. You would be surprised at how skilled you may become.

12. Underlying Jokes with Fellow Depressed People

This one sounds a little dark, but is legitimately entertaining. Of course, it is important that these jokes are not actually detrimental to those involved, but having a person also struggling who you can both pass off light hearted jokes to about how much life sucks—it helps.

Believe me, I have a friend who religiously sends me memes about depression and makes subtle jokes to me no one else picks up on. It is actually very entertaining because sometimes, it's good not to take yourself too seriously.

Don't see depression as a mountain, a burden, or just a big bag of pain you have to trail around with you. It's a curve ball in life, yes, but it is one heck of a learning experience, and can transform you into one incredible individual. You conquer depression (which you will) and you can conquer anything.

Good luck, and always look on the bright side. :)

Paul Andrews says,

• More accurate at complex tasks
• Are better at making judgements on more detail oriented information
• Make more accurate cost-benefit analysis
• Process more deeply