Hi. Here's a dumb blog I wrote when I was younger.

Hi.

I'm bored.

So I'm gonna write a blog, about depression, and mental illnesses like such in general. People tend to be misinformed about these things in general, both on here and in real life.

According to Wikipedia:

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behavior, feelings and sense of well-being. People with depressed mood can feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, ashamed or restless. They may lose interest in activities that were once pleasurable, experience overeating or loss of appetite, have problems concentrating, remembering details or making decisions, and may contemplate, attempt or commit suicide. Insomnia, excessive sleeping, fatigue, aches, pains, digestive problems or reduced energy may also be present.

Basically, if I could explain it in two words, it would be, "Feeling empty".

Many things can cause depression. Sometimes it can be major events (Physical/mental/sexual abuse, a close friend or family member dying, bullying), typically developed as a kid, or, in rare cases, a squid. Sometimes it stems from an illness; physical (Cancer, diabetes) or mental (bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder). Or sometimes, there is no reason.

Contrary to popular belief, depression is not simply "feeling very sad", or "a fancy word for being bummed out". Depression is much more than this; it's like a large hole where your heart is supposed to be. You don't "be sad" as much as you, again, "feel empty". You begin to become introverted, and you lose that pleasure you once had for the things you used to enjoy.

Remember that video game you wanted to try out? You've lost the interest, and whenever you try to play it, you simply can't, and put it down. Maybe the game will play itself.

That book? Reading suddenly isn't as easy as you thought it was, and the stories aren't enjoyable. You buy more and more books, excited to read them, but after 30 pages or so, you forget you wanted to.

Do you want to write a story? Your mind is filled to the brim with ideas, but you have no motivation to write them... Now you have that motivation, but now your mind is blank.

You see where I'm coming from here?

Depression and it's effects may not look very notable from the outside, looking upon someone, but like most mental disorders, there is more than meets the eye.

Sometimes, you hear voices.

"You mean nothing."

"No wonder they hate you."

"You look atrocious."

These are not imaginary monsters. These are you.

You begin to hate yourself; not, "dammit, i forgot my keys again, i'm such an idiot!" hate. You will truly begin to hate yourself. Your mind will find any excuse, any at all, to turn a situation on it's head and make it look like you caused it. That person forgot their keys because of you. You caused it, and you damn well deserve a punishment.



Sometimes, this punishment will come in the form of self harm. Read the spoiler if you don't know what that is.

Depression is a mental disorder. Many say it isn't, that it's natural and it'll go away. This is wrong. As someone who suffers from clinical depression, it is not "natural". It is a mental disorder, a major one, and it should be treated just as severely as a physical disorder.

Now, if you are depressed, read this spoiler for some stuff I and people I know have done to combat this!



Uh, well, that's it, I guess. I'm including some links in the bottom, suicide and self harm hotlines, treatment, stuff like that.

---

SUICIDE HOTLINES
Click this, then select the state you live in. If you live outside of the USA, click "Click Here for International Hotlines".

OTHER HOTLINES
Click this! Most of the links are for America, but these are for wider things, such as runaways, self harm, rape, eating disorders, and more.

TREATMENT
This and this.

SOURCES
http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/what-is-depression
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_%28mood%29
Myself

---

If you were wondering what depression is, I hope this helped you. If it didn't, try out the sources.
If you have depression, hang in there. Don't give up. People are there for you, and you mean so much more than you think you do.

Goodbye.