Why do some people view depression as SELF-PITY & attention-seeking?!
Question: When I tell people, like family members, about my depression, they think I want people to feel sorry for me. I'm not. If I feel sad & empty, I'm not gonna deny it if they ask me how I'm feeling. Depression is a serious illness, & it's NOT my fault.
Answers: When I tell people, like family members, about my depression, they think I want people to feel sorry for me. I'm not. If I feel sad & empty, I'm not gonna deny it if they ask me how I'm feeling. Depression is a serious illness, & it's NOT my fault.
A lot of people are ignorant and unwilling to learn about any type of mental illness. This is the reason that there is a stigmata attached to anything that they don't consider "normal." Rather than being open minded and accepting of people that suffer from a real and truly serious health problem, they would rather turn their heads and pretend no such problem exists, or blame the problem on the person who is truly suffering instead of being supportive in their time of need. Ignorance is bliss to some people in society, and while most of these people can get by every day living like this and rest easy at night believing that they are being used in some way in order to feel sorry for people or give attention to people who aren't deserving of their time and/or energy, it's the people that suffer from mental illnesses that are being shown the lack of courtesy and understanding in society these days. Stupidity breeds contempt.
And you are exactly right - IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!! Don't ever let anyone tell you it is, and don't let anyone make you feel like less of a person because you suffer from depression. In all honesty, there are probably a few of these people you are dealing with that are suffereing themselves but are too afraid to let anyone know because they themselves don't want to deal with the repercussions like you yourself are at the moment.
People who view depression in the way you described are not educated about the illness. You are right that it is not your fault. Hang in there.
they are under educated and you need counciling, and possibly medicatio.
I understand.
I myself was going through a bad time at one stage in my life.
I had family saying to snap out of it.
Someone special saved me before things got worse.
I was crying and i could not stop, mother got angry with me. My uncle was over and he took me into his arms and made me feel better. It was a combination of getting my periods and been so over tired. So realised that i do get depressed around my periods and try not to get too over tired.
People always said to snap out of it, and did not understand that its hard, that you cant snap out of depression.
Emptiness is the worse, its as if you do not have a soul.
Try to get some exercise, as people who do are happier - it does release the feel good chemicals in your brain - endorphins.
By understanding the source of your depression, you will be able to break free from it. Depression usually manifests from anger, so the only way to overcome that is to forgive whoever hurt you. Sometimes you might find that you are mad at yourself, too, and self-forgiveness is more difficult than forgiving others. The good news is that it can be done!
Don't worry about what others think of your condition. Most people want to live life wearing rose-colored glasses.
You can explain the new theory that depression is from bad expectations for love and life. And the chemicals can stay on long after the disappointment.
Because they do not understand the illness. My EX husband suffered from depression but would not admit it and would not seek help. He PREFERRED to wallow in his sadness. I know this because I FORCED him to seek medical attention.
When he was diagnosed, he told his dad and his dad told him not to own up to that illness and to just pray. His dad did nit now the good that could have come from my EX's illnesss had he owned up to it. He may have been able to share his experiences, treatments that worked and encouragement with another.
I believe it all depends on how we present ourselves and our situation to others, whether people will respect us or not.
We have to know who is safe to talk to and who does not have a clue.
If someone only complains about depression all the time, not trying to help him/herself, people will not feel comfortable around that person.
Even though we are depressed we still need to show interest in others because that is all there is besides ourselves.