People who don’t suffer with depression or anxiety don’t fully understand what people who do go through on a daily basis. Some just think that we are dealing with a “disorder” and are just trying to get attention, but what they don’t know is that attention is the last thing we want.
**Photos used in this article are courtesy of Pinterest and Tumblr in an effort to educate people and show that depression is more than what meets the eye. **
The Facebook page, Living with Invisible Illness shows in the illustration what people think depression is like versus what it is really like. As a person who suffers from depression, I agree with this illustration and what it represents. A lot of people who have never dealt with depression just think that we are all just sad people. However, depression is so much more. It’s the feeling of nothing, the lack of motivation, the anxiety that rises from not doing anything, the hopelessness and guilt from not doing things with friends and the isolation that depression puts you in. Depression is so much more than just sadness. It’s the feeling of falling down a rabbit hole and never being able to stop.
Anxiety disorders- like depression- are an internal disorder that people believe are just used to gain the attention of others, but it is so much more. The dictionary definition of anxiety is “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome”. The thing about anxiety disorders is that this fear or worry can slowly consume you and slowly lead to panic attacks and anxiety attacks.
www.Anxiety.org shows this venn diagram to show the similarities and differences with depression and anxiety. The feeling of sadness and tiredness are completely different from the feeling of being powerless and nervous but both have the feeling of restlessness and agitation.
Anxiety and Depression are two disorders that should not be taken lightly. Just because you don’t see something physically wrong with someone, doesn’t mean someone isn’t pained in their everyday life. There are different websites and counseling opportunities to seek aid and the counseling offices at SFASU are available if you just need someone to talk to.