Stigma of Depression/Anxiety

[TishaCat]

Hi, Im new on here, & actually feel really strange posting about something so personal.

I wanted to talk about how as someone who has battled depression since I was a young adult, the pressure to be "normal" from family, & how they cannot see it as a "real" illness, they say things like : its all in your head, just get on with it, don't be so negative etc. I also find myself to be my biggest judge too, its not a "physical" condition, so what gives me the right to usurp those with "real" problems. ( My parents were in the war & a concentration camp so therefore they experienced real hardship & in this era of wealth cannot see how anyone can be depressed)

And wanting to push myself to get moving, go on do something you lazy woman goes the inner chatter (or worse) & feeling worse.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi TishaCat,

Thank you for your post - I'm glad that you were able to share this with us and I can understand how it's such a big move and so vulnerable to do so. I hope that you'll be glad that you did though since this is such a wonderful and supportive community.

While I was reading your post I was nodding - yup yup yup, since I can relate to hearing these things. If it really was that easy then of course we would do it! But depression and anxiety is so much more complicated than that. It's also so hard when people don't understand, because there's often a big chance they might not ever understand - even if all this proof is plastered right in front of them.

What you can do though, is surround yourself with people who not only understand, but can share what it's like. Reminding yourself that depression is very much a real illness - that we can actually see changes in the brain now (using brain scans) to show that our brains are literally wired differently. By seeing these physical changes, it can also show us that it's not just us 'being lazy' or 'being too negative' but very real differences in the parts of our brain.

If it was just as easy as 'push yourself' or 'stop being lazy', I have no doubt in my mind that we'd all be 'cured'! But it's not that easy and it's so so complex and complicated.

I hope that this helps, and thanks again for sharing something so personal.

RT