Q) What are the biggest misconceptions about depression?
A)
Depression means you are sad all the time.
False. Some people say depression is more than sad. I'd say it's totally different from sad. Sad is a kind of emotion, often come in an intensive way. Your heart aches, your body reacts, but it's still a healthy emotion.
Depression is void of all emotion. You're numb, careless, empty, apathetic, and feeling like you're an outsider of the world. You walk down the familiar hallway, see your classmates chatting with each other, and you don't think you belong to the same place with them anymore. An invisible wall barricaded yourself from the rest of others on the earth.
Depression is the loss of the ability to feel happiness or appreciate life. Everything ceases to be colorful or enjoyable. Everything turns meaningless. You feel like answering every question with a shrug, "so what?"
People with depression cry all the time.
Half true, but not entirely. Some people have excessive crying spells, some simply can't cry at all. It varies.
According to my own experience, if you're still able to cry, you're not beyond hope. Unlike the way TV show portrays, someone determined to commit suicide is rarely melodramatic.
If a suicidal person is still capable of crying or being melodramatic, it means they do not want to die, but they can't find a reason to live.
When I was determined to die, death felt homely to me, and I became calmer than ever, thinking that I had made the best decision.
Depression is a choice/a way to seek attention.
False. The pervasive feeling in a depressive episode is the loss of control, which is the exact opposite of "choice."
Feigning depression is a very inefficient way to seek attention. If you really feel someone is seeking attention, perhaps they have totally lost control of their brain and nerves, and they are clinging on you to seek a reason to live. In other words, you can be the last straw for them.
Even if they are feigning depression to seek attention, there must be a reason why they want attention, and why they choose to seek attention in this way.
Depressed people are weak
False. Depressed people are anything but weak.
Could anyone imagine how much strength it takes to get up and do the simplest task every morning during a depressive episode?
We cope with the ups and downs of daily life like everyone else. On top of it, we have to fight with our brain that turns against us, we have to tirelessly feign happiness when we are around people, and we also have to bear the shame because people wouldn't understand.
Life won't stop for me just because I'm in a depressive episode. Life goes on. If I don't force myself to gather the strength to function, things would only get worse.
Depression happens for a reason. The fault is on the depressed person.
False. Depression is a legitimate illness that can happen to anyone, whether or not there are significant changes in your life.
Depression is a legitimate illness caused by brain chemistry, function, structure, and sometimes involves environmental or biological factors.
Just because you live a healthy life doesn't mean cancer won't find you. In the same vein, just because you live a decent life all along doesn't mean your brain won't get sick.
Always remember — it's not your fault that you are sick!
You can tell who has depression.
False. Right now, as I'm sitting in the lounge, there are bright, chatty and energetic students all over the building, but according to the Dean, over a third of them have been struggling with mental illness, and I'm not alone. The Dean knew it because those students had been sitting in his office having the same conversation as we did.
Over a third in the student body….. I knew at least half of the students, and I can't imagine which ones have mental illness. My section has 80 students, and literally everyone looks perfectly fine when they show up on campus.
The symptoms of depression are all emotion-related.
Mostly false. It's usually a mixture of both emotional and physical discomfort.
Depression manifests in a lot of physical discomfort, including aches and pains, sleeping too much or too little, and extreme lethargy.
Be wary of depression. Try to spot it before the mental illness has graduated to suicidal thoughts.
A)
Depression means you are sad all the time.
False. Some people say depression is more than sad. I'd say it's totally different from sad. Sad is a kind of emotion, often come in an intensive way. Your heart aches, your body reacts, but it's still a healthy emotion.
Depression is void of all emotion. You're numb, careless, empty, apathetic, and feeling like you're an outsider of the world. You walk down the familiar hallway, see your classmates chatting with each other, and you don't think you belong to the same place with them anymore. An invisible wall barricaded yourself from the rest of others on the earth.
Depression is the loss of the ability to feel happiness or appreciate life. Everything ceases to be colorful or enjoyable. Everything turns meaningless. You feel like answering every question with a shrug, "so what?"
People with depression cry all the time.
Half true, but not entirely. Some people have excessive crying spells, some simply can't cry at all. It varies.
According to my own experience, if you're still able to cry, you're not beyond hope. Unlike the way TV show portrays, someone determined to commit suicide is rarely melodramatic.
If a suicidal person is still capable of crying or being melodramatic, it means they do not want to die, but they can't find a reason to live.
When I was determined to die, death felt homely to me, and I became calmer than ever, thinking that I had made the best decision.
Depression is a choice/a way to seek attention.
False. The pervasive feeling in a depressive episode is the loss of control, which is the exact opposite of "choice."
Feigning depression is a very inefficient way to seek attention. If you really feel someone is seeking attention, perhaps they have totally lost control of their brain and nerves, and they are clinging on you to seek a reason to live. In other words, you can be the last straw for them.
Even if they are feigning depression to seek attention, there must be a reason why they want attention, and why they choose to seek attention in this way.
Depressed people are weak
False. Depressed people are anything but weak.
Could anyone imagine how much strength it takes to get up and do the simplest task every morning during a depressive episode?
We cope with the ups and downs of daily life like everyone else. On top of it, we have to fight with our brain that turns against us, we have to tirelessly feign happiness when we are around people, and we also have to bear the shame because people wouldn't understand.
Life won't stop for me just because I'm in a depressive episode. Life goes on. If I don't force myself to gather the strength to function, things would only get worse.
Depression happens for a reason. The fault is on the depressed person.
False. Depression is a legitimate illness that can happen to anyone, whether or not there are significant changes in your life.
Depression is a legitimate illness caused by brain chemistry, function, structure, and sometimes involves environmental or biological factors.
Just because you live a healthy life doesn't mean cancer won't find you. In the same vein, just because you live a decent life all along doesn't mean your brain won't get sick.
Always remember — it's not your fault that you are sick!
You can tell who has depression.
False. Right now, as I'm sitting in the lounge, there are bright, chatty and energetic students all over the building, but according to the Dean, over a third of them have been struggling with mental illness, and I'm not alone. The Dean knew it because those students had been sitting in his office having the same conversation as we did.
Over a third in the student body….. I knew at least half of the students, and I can't imagine which ones have mental illness. My section has 80 students, and literally everyone looks perfectly fine when they show up on campus.
The symptoms of depression are all emotion-related.
Mostly false. It's usually a mixture of both emotional and physical discomfort.
Depression manifests in a lot of physical discomfort, including aches and pains, sleeping too much or too little, and extreme lethargy.
Be wary of depression. Try to spot it before the mental illness has graduated to suicidal thoughts.
ජීවිතේ තේරුමක් නෑ කියල තේරුං අරං විතරයි 
