Depression affects 15 million adults and 1.9 million children in the U.S. yearly. It is one of the most common mental health concerns that people seek help for. Some of the most consistent ways people have described depression are:
- “I feel like I have a weight around my neck constantly weighing me down.”
- “People think that I’m mean or cold. Really, I’m just unhappy. Unable to enjoy their company. Despite desperately wanting to be able to.”
- “Like, I can’t smile.”
- “I’m sad. Everyday.”
- “I don’t even want to hang out with my friends anymore.”
- “I just want to sleep forever.”
- “Stuck in the mud. I’m fighting to get out. But I’m just stuck. It is so damn frustrating.”
- “It affects my ability to be a mom. Ultimately, I’m fighting everyday just to get up to put my kid on the bus.”
- “Concentration is non-existent. I literally can’t even do my work in school.”
- “Who wants to live like this? Not me.”
- “My dad doesn’t believe me. He thinks I’m making it up. Just because he can’t see it.”
Can You Imagine?
These powerful descriptions of true human suffering are striking. To feel as if your body and your will are disconnected can be debilitating. Unfortunately, many people feel misunderstood and in reality, they feel that way because they are!
Society as a whole has a very black and white approach as it relates to mental health. The abstract nature of depression means that it is often left to the observer’s own interpretation of what that person is experiencing.
People who suffer from depression are called lazy. Told that they aren’t trying hard enough to overcome their struggles. Their family members think they are behaving this way for attention. Some are even told that they are using their suffering as an excuse.
Because we cannot see depression, it is difficult to conceptualize. As is the case with abstract art, viewers get to decide what it is that they are seeing.
Science has been somewhat helpful in destigmatizing depression and helping us to conceptualize it. It has become one of the more “accepted” mental illnesses. Partly because of its prevalence in the population. Partly because of the emergence of anti-depressants and the fact that in the U.S. you can market psychopharmaceuticals directly to the public. If you see an ad for something enough times it becomes normalized — for better or worse.
Science Only Has Some of the Answers
Millions of people have benefited greatly as a result of the research that has revealed that an imbalance in brain chemicals often plays a role in a person’s experience of depression. However, given the fact that medications don’t cure everyone, there must be more to the story.
This article sheds light on what purpose depression could actually serve to a human. It also talks about why it may not need to be considered a “disorder” or a “problem.”
So What is Depression Trying To Tell Us?
First and foremost, human beings were built to survive. So, holding this perspective can be extremely helpful as we try to make sense of what depression is. From an evolutionary standpoint, we must consider that early human beings were likely fighting for their lives consistently.
As we developed greater capacities, like the ability to reason, create language, invent things, etc., there was likely a period of growing pains. A period of time when all of these new emerging abilities caused internal conflict. The type of internal conflict that had the potential to get you killed for lack of mental clarity. Depression during this time would be extremely helpful!
The person experiencing it would sit themselves somewhere in a cave and think. Hard. In an attempt to figure out whatever it was that was getting in the way of their survival, and to make plans. It would allow for the consolidation of new information and capabilities. Furthermore, it would provide space for the integration of these new skills and capabilities into life as they knew it.
Depression forces the person experiencing it to slow down. Slowing down could also keep information and stimuli from the world at bay. Thereby further allowing for the time required to get the mind back in a space capable of surviving again.
Implications for Differing Perspectives & Perceptions of Depression
This explanation for depression leads us in a direction that could help to change society’s perception of this particular human experience. Changing society’s perception would then likely change the human experience of depression.
What if we lived in a world where people who were depressed had the luxury of taking some time to work through it? Whatever time they needed, to think things through and come up with a solution that worked for them?
Currently, there are limited options for someone who needs that time. Through the elimination of stigma associated with mental health, as well as through education, we can try to make the cultural shift necessary to care for those members of our society who are grappling with depression.
Symptoms of Childhood Depression
- Irritability or Anger – Children who are depressed lash out at others. They become angry easily. Sometimes they are aggressive.
- Outbursts and/or Crying – This is related to irritability and anger. Perhaps your young person is shouting or yelling often and/or they are crying at what seems like the drop of a dime. This is because the complex feelings of depression they have are confusing to them. Furthermore, shouting or yelling is the result of them looking for something to latch on to in order to explain those feelings. To your young person, a simple request that may be slightly annoying when they are not depressed, may be playing into a narrative for why they are depressed.
- Social Withdrawal – Suddenly your young person does not like their friends. They don’t want to hang out. And they may become irritable or angry with you if you try to force the issue.
- Change in Sleep/Energy – Is your young person sleeping more? Or, is your young person sleeping less? Changes in sleep patterns are a tell tale sign of child depression. Does your young person appear sluggish and complain of being tired despite getting more than enough sleep?
- Difficulty Concentrating – Your young person has a hard time concentrating on tasks that once were easy. You find yourself redirecting your young person often to complete certain tasks. This may be present in the academic setting. It may also be present at home.
