If you read my last blog post (find it here), you will know that I have suffered from depression in the past, and today's reputation has prompted the first of a few more in-depth posts about my experience of the illness.
RECOGNISING THAT YOU ARE DEPRESSED
The main reason that I don't agree with labelling one day of the year as the most depressing is because no-one will be 'depressed' for just one day of the year, certainly not. Yes, they may feel down, but depression will occur over a much longer period of time.
I briefly mentioned what caused my depression in my last post, and to be honest, I don't want to go into any more depth about those, not because it will affect me, but because the reasons are very personal to my family. There are many triggers which may lead to a mental illness - a break-up, job loss, bereavement, financial problems, anything really which upsets you and lowers your mood. It could even be an accumulation of more than one of these, just as it was in my case. You might not understand the cause until much later on, until you reflect and pinpoint when you started to feel the way you do.
How do you feel? How do you know you are depressed?
Image © Google Images
If you have one or two 'down' days, you are not depressed. We all have those, we all have days when we are tired and lethargic and don't feel up to much, or a situation arises that really upsets us and knocks us back. Trust me, I have them, Carol next door has them, and so do all those celebrities who you admire so fondly. But, when those days become frequent, and you find your moods are constantly low, then perhaps you ought to think about what is going on.
I can clearly remember the night when it all hit me. It was the night before one of my second year university exams, I was revising and Stuart was with me (tut tut, I know!) and I felt this incredibly overwhelming feeling inside me where everything was just too much. I remember bursting into tears and saying I couldn't take it anymore, I just couldn't cope with the pressure. Stuart was incredible with me - we went out a walk really late at night to clear my head, and he had so much patience. To be honest, I don't know why he didn't run away. We had only got together and if that wasn't a test of our relationship very early on, then I don't know what was! I'll be forever grateful to him for calming me down that night, and sticking by me the whole time I was suffering. That same night, I texted one of my sisters to tell her how I felt and she rang my mum to tell her as I just didn't know how to approach the subject. We then sat down and talked, and we both cried a LOT of tears.
Needless to say, I didn't sit my exam the next day, and didn't sit any of them until the following year. Instead, I consulted my GP and I spent probably a whole week in bed. I felt RUBBISH. I had no energy, I slept all the time, and the only time I got up was to shower or to eat, and that ranged from not wanting to eat to completely overindulging. To be honest, I probably only recognised all these symptoms when I went to the doctor and explained what had been happening.
Chances are you won't realise immediately that you are depressed, I know I didn't until my sister suggested it. But if you are feeling any of the symptoms below almost all of the time, then perhaps you are suffering from depression, or a similar mental illness:
- Tiredness, lethargy
- Low moods
- No self-esteem
- Anxious
- Stressed
- Overwhelmed
- Overeating/undereating
These are not all of the symptoms, but they are among those I found myself victim to. These feelings can occur anytime, and they can pass. But if you are experiencing these frequently, I suggest you contact your GP.
Image © Google Images
I believe that recognising you have a mental illness is the biggest step towards recovering. If you don't acknowledge it, you will never know how to cure it. It takes a lot of bravery to take a step forward and tell someone, be it a friend, a family member, or your doctor. But trust me, it will be the biggest and most rewarding step you take, and it will be one in the right direction.
If you have any questions or want to chat to me, please feel free to contact me via Facebook or Instagram and I will be happy to help. I do, however, encourage you to seek professional help. Alternatively, you may find the following of use:
Please don't suffer alone...
Image © Google Images
Friday’s Giirl
x
