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Depression is a trend. Somehow it’s apparently a big hype to have one. Everyone says they’re “depressed.” Coming from a person who suffers from a clinical case of Depression, I don’t understand why people want to give the idea of being depressed or say they have a “depression.” Is it nice and considerate to have one? Most cases simply because they woke up earlier than usual, their washing machine broke down or they’re feeling blue? Of course, we all want to sleep as much we’d like, having a broken washing machine is a bummer and we’d all wish we felt like there’s a constant sunshine inside of us. The issue is, having a Depression, or feeling Depressed (with a capital D) is none of these things. From my experience, having a Depression feels like having fallen inside a well, knowing there’s no one out there to rescue you out of it, no ropes in sight because it’s too dark to see and you’re just there, sitting in the bottom, looking up. Getting out of Depression takes a long time, it’s a process in which you have to teach your eyes to get used to the darkness, until you start to see there’s some protuberances and moved bricks on the walls of that well that you can try to hold on to and climb up. Climb up using solely the strength of your own body, holding yourself to whatever you find on your way up, falling back down, and trying again, until you reach the top of the well and you start seeing the light outside. And that well will always be in your backyard; sometimes you’ll fall into it again, and you’ll keep on going through the same process each time, or (until) you find out its exact location and close it for good. Feeling “Depressed” for “good” is hard to explain. It’s being in a place you don’t know how or where you went to – a place you can’t even locate; it’s feeling such deep a sadness it’s hard to breathe, to think, to sleep, to rationalise. It’s being 100% blocked in yourself and being unable to think about something else. It’s a “no way out” feeling. In other words, it’s a big mess that needs treatment. It’s caused by how your life was lead, and how it moulded you. How you see yourself and how you perceive others see you. One thing is certain: it’s not a choice, not a piece of clothing you decide to put on. True, it’s only yours, something you need to overcome by yourself, with or without help from others (professionals, friends, pills, family, places), but you don’t choose to travel there.
I don’t hear people say they have cancer, heart problems or constipation with such a complacency out loud! In fact, they won’t say it unless they have those conditions – thank Goodness! But why is Depression such an in vogue thing to suffer from? For pity and consideration? Well, pity is the worst feeling you can have towards a person, and if someone feels that about me, please take off to a far, far off land! It makes those who actually suffer from Depression see their condition as something minor and a “I want to suffer and have an excuse for my inaction” thing. And it’s not.
Here’s my tip: instead of saying you have a Depression so proudly, say you don’t have one with the same intensity! It’s so SO GOOD to be in a nice place. You’re so lucky for never having fallen into that well! Be an example of strength! You’ll attract good people and better vibes. THAT is something you should be proud of.
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Pint in Havaianas 
AWESOME! AWESOME!! AWESOOOME!!! O último parágrafo arrumou comigo! Se porventura outrora esteve muito na moda dizer que se “sofria de depressão”, que se “estava deprimido” ou que “a depressão acabou com a minha vida”. Hoje em dia, acredito piamente que estas frases estão completamente démodé!! Com a crise de valores, de civismo, de oportunidades com que vivemos hoje, ter tempo para uma “depressão” é seguramente um “grandesíssimo” luxo!! Com a minha humilde experiência, durante a fase “in” da “doença, aprendi que o importante é focar-nos em nós, nas nossas qualidades, nos nossos sonhos, e traçar metas, metas exequíveis de curto/médio prazo. Só assim conseguiremos subir degrau a degrau e encontrar o alento necessário para sonhar mais, e mais alto!
Corrijam-me se estiver errada… mas às vezes as malfadadas depressões, prendem-se, pura e simplesmente, com uma péssima gestão das expectativas! Sonhos demasiado irreais, promessas de um esforço pessoal que nunca testámos, constante vitimização do próprio, e, principalmente, falta de imaginação para dar a volta! Ou seja, uma falta de reconhecimento pessoal – porque só quem não se conhece a si próprio, que não consegue medir o poder dos seus punhos na mesa e da coragem para varrer o mundo, vive frustado nas suas limitações.
Joaninha, I’ll reply in English – you moving to the States and you must get used to it 😉 one day, which I am SURE is right around the corner, you’ll be posting in English yourself :p
Thank you for your words!
It’s so hard to describe what it is like to have a Depression in words when you actually have one. In fact it’s a process until you find out you have it and realise your problem that if you start screaming “I have a depression” chances are you don’t have a depression at all! It’s like when you’re drunk, you only say you’re drunk if you’re not, because if you are, you just are and you don’t even say anything about it ahah. I think the generalisation of the idea “depression” is counterproductive to both those who have it and those who don’t have it. The latter because they just seem silly and because those who have it instead of receiving te support they need are put in the same bag as the other ones. I think you are right, unfulfilled dreams, high expectations can make you feel many things. But that doesn’t mean you have a depression. And from someone who has had it several times, I really don’t understand why it is so good for people to say they have it! Fuck it! It’s bad enough as it is, I and I wish it had never knocked on my door! Why cant people admir they’re happy the same way they admit they’re sad? Why is so good to victimise yourself? Because depression doesn’t equal victimisation and that’s what people don’t get it. People with depression dislike others to know they have it, while people who have no depression whatsoever love to advertise the idea they do….Understanding Humans… That’s the hardest thing there is, I guess.