“Here is the tragedy: when you are the victim of depression, not only do you feel utterly helpless and abandoned by the world, you also know that very few people can understand, or even begin to believe, that life can be this painful.”
– Giles Andreae
Depression affects people in so many different ways, and many of them are hard to see by outsiders. This unwitting blindness prompts questions, confusion, misunderstanding, and eventually, a plethora of misinformation about what depression actually is and how it looks. Strangers, friends, lovers, and family begin to tell those who are depressed that they should simply not be depressed, as if they could choose to stop at any time. They encourage them to just try harder. But it’s not that simple.
And just like the struggle of being in depression, there is a sense of relief, a sense of returning to reality, that comes with getting out of it. It’s not as simple as coming up for air after plunging deep into the ocean; it’s much murkier than that. Or at least that’s how it goes for me. It’s difficult to understand, and even more difficult to explain. But when someone suffering from depression has a breakthrough, and when they share that breakthrough, it strips away one more layer of that misinformation encircling our world, and gives awareness, and a touch of reality, to the many ways depression takes hold.
One severe depression sufferer, who goes by the username too***busyandviceversa on Imgur, exposed one of their daily struggles as a result of depression to help others understand what it’s like.
The Imgur user uploaded a photo of their room before cleaning up, revealing a slew of empty bottles, paper, and clothes strewn about the room. You can barely see the ground. This is one sign of depression: For some people, any desire to keep things neat and tidy is sucked right out of them.
“I suffer from severe depression and have a really hard time with cleaning and doing other kinds of household work,” too***busyandviceversa explained. “My room ha[s] been this messy for several months beacause i cant push myself to take care of it. But this friday i decided to finally do it!”
The difference after they cleaned up was incredible. “You can finally see that i have a floor! Say hi to my teddy Nalle on the bed,” they wrote. “I know its not a big victory, but for me it means the world to just be able to have my door open if people come over. I feel so at peace right now, just wanted to share with all of you wonderful imgurians! Me 1 – Depression 0!”
Before looking at the photos, below is a CE article linked sheeding light on some important facts regarding depression:
What Big Pharma Doesn’t Wnat You To Know About Dopamine & Serotonin Imbalances Within The Brain.
Check out the photos below:
“I suffer from severe depression and have a really hard time with cleaning and doing other kinds of household work.”
“My room ha[s] been this messy for several months because I cant push myself to take care of it. But this Friday i decided to finally do it!”
“Me 1 – Depression 0!”
Not only did the post go viral, but it inspired others to share their similar experiences as well:
And one Tumblr user even posted before and after pics, too:
via Collective - Evolution