Monday, 3 October 2016

Living With Depression




You get used to holding back the tears. You get used to putting on this show, trying to blend in with everyone else. You start to accept this never ending bad mood as the norm. You start to lose hope that maybe one day you will be able to escape. At the moment that seems like a million years away.

You feel like your life is flashing by, and all you can do is watch and cry. You don't seem to be making the progress that you wanted to. Your life hasn't turned out like you expected. Will it ever? You start to question and doubt everything.

You're stuck in the never ending cycle of self-hatred and worthlessness. You think that you will never be happy again. You can't think about the future because you can't see one. All you see is thick dark fog covering your hopes, dreams and aspirations. 

You don't see any way out. All the exits are blocked. So You try to ignore it. You try to hope that it fades away and maybe it was just a phase. You have sudden urges of motivation to try and be more active, eat better, be more social and most importantly more happy.

But what good is it anyway when you don't have the motivation or energy to carry on trying? When just getting out of bed in the morning, brushing your teeth, getting dressed and eating feels like you have run a marathon already, and it's not even 9:00 am. 

You want to be like everyone else. How can everyone else juggle social life's, work, study, hobbies and relaxation so effortlessly and seem to be coping just fine, while I feel like I have new thrown in the deep end of a swimming pool, and I'm drowning silently. You want to be like everyone else. So you start to force yourself to act like everyone else. 

But you learn to put on a social mask, grin and bear it because that's what your taught to do. No one likes to talk about the hard stuff. Hell, I don't like to talk about the hard stuff. You surround yourself with others, putting on a play, hoping and praying that the all-consuming voices in your head aren't shouting loud enough that others can hear. 

You start to realise that the things that make your friends happy no longer make you happy. You're too fatigued to join in. So you start to isolate yourself. You distance yourself from everyone around you. You find excuses to stop seeing your friends and going out with family. You retreat into your comfort zone, hoping that it will help.

But it doesn't. It just makes things more difficult. You get stuck in a never ending cycle of loneliness and hopelessness. Praying for the day where everything will go back to being like it was before. You lose interest in the things that used to inspire and excite you. You lose all motivation.

The days get harder. The road becomes more difficult. You soon start to realise that you can't go on like this. You can't put up with it anymore. You can beat these demons on your own. You have two choices; seek help or carry on being caught in a descending cycle of depression. 

Most will define illness as being something physical; a limp, an arm in a cast or a cough. But illness comes in many different forms, including those that the eye can't see. And sometimes these illnesses are the worst to overcome. 

This is what living with depression looks like.

Thanks for reading, as always X



  1. Wow this is stunning, so powerful. When I suffered with depression no-one spoke about it I thought it was only me, it's refreshing now to read people talking about it. This is a great post. :)

  2. "How can everyone else juggle social life's, work, study, hobbies and relaxation so effortlessly and seem to be coping just fine" - those people are maybe wearing a social mask too and not coping well either. You are not alone lovely. My heart aches for you, I wanna hug you and tell you it will all be OK! You can keep going, I promise. I've been there (I know everyone says that). I was at rock bottom, I can't even describe it, it was such a painful time for me. I couldn't see any point in carrying on, but I did, I dragged through each day, which all seemed a year long. A year on and I still sometimes struggle, but I am not in that constant state of depression. It gets better, you'll get better :) message me any time you want (I know everyone also says this), but I've survived it, always here to help if you want <3 xxx

    Amber Love Blog

    1. Thank you so much Amber, your comments always mean so much to me x

  3. Amazingly written Nicole. Depression really can fog up your brain and you wait for it to end but when it doesn't it can get very frustrating, I understand. So glad you've written a post like this!

    Lucy | Forever September

  4. This is a really good description of what it's like living with depression. It is so hard losing interest in everything and seeing other people enjoy life, laughing with friends, and not seeming to struggle when getting out of bed and showering takes all your energy. It's tough, but there is treatment if you're willing to be honest about what you're going through with a counselor/therapist or doctor. Still there's a lot to work through and it takes a while to recover. After two years on medication, I finally feel like I'm able to come off of it and that my depression is "gone" or manageable. I hope you're able to get to a point where you are able to manage your depression whether that's on medication or with the help of therapy. Stay strong!

    - Courtney

  5. This was really powerful to read. You perfectly articulated just what it feels like to have depression, and it was like I was reading it in my own words almost. I wish that everyone who ever says crappy things to people with depression or undermines it as a 'real' health condition could read this. Thankyou for sharing it <3 I'm sorry that you deal with depression *hugs* Stay strong lovely! x

    1. Thank you so much Sarah, I hope one day people won't undermine depression x



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