Understanding what depression feels like

Imagine feeling sad all the time, feeling like your life is falling apart, feeling like your strength is gone. ANDCompletely low mood, not wanting to get out of bed or do anything during the day.

Feeling alone and unremarkable despite knowing that there are many people around you. Feeling that life is meaningless and not worth living.

You have to use all your willpower to get out of bed and perform your day-to-day duties, and you do it only because you have no other choice.

What do I live for? What is my purpose in life? So I 'm good? What have I done with my life? These are questions that cross your mind over and over again., but as much as they are repeated you never find any answer. If perhaps you find some, they are negative for you.

I live to harm others or only hinder others, my life has no purpose, there is no goal or goal to reach. I am not good at anything, I have not even known how to manage my own life, I am a zero on the left, I have not achieved anything favorable in my life.

• Related article: "The 6 Types of Mood Disorders"

What is depression?

We could define depression as that feeling of acute sadness that covers our entire being. That feeling that takes over us and takes away all the desire to move forward. As I said before, it is that feeling that takes away our will to live.

According to the DSM-5, depression is a sad, empty, or irritable mood, accompanied by somatic and cognitive changes that significantly affect the functional capacity of the individual.

These episodes of sadness usually last more than two weeks and involve clear changes in affect, cognition and autonomic functions and interepisodic remissions.

• You may be interested: "Major depression: symptoms, causes and treatment"

Main features of depression

Depression usually comes in different forms, but the ones mentioned above are the most common. Due to these ways of thinking, Some people resolve they don't have to live. They decide it would take a huge weight off their loved ones if they just get out of the way.

Depression takes away the ability to see love in others and in ourselves; it is as if that light went out within us. How could a person live without love?

People with depression stop feeling empathy, the only thing they usually think about is the great sadness that invades them.

• Related article: "The 8 types of sadness: characteristics, possible causes and symptoms"

Can you notice depression?

Although depression tends to have a marked sadness, the way in which it is assumed depends on the personality of the individual.

There are people who can smile even though they suffer from major depression, some may even immerse themselves in work more than they usually are used to.

But all people with this terrible disease have in common the way they feel when they are alone. We should not underestimate the sadness of others no matter how dramatic it seems. What may be really dumb for you may be the cause of great illness for another.

• You may be interested: "The stigmatization of people with psychiatric diagnoses"

Depression as a mental illness

There are different types of depressive disorders, which, although they have some features in common, also have some different characteristics.

What we can be sure of is that depressive disorders are a serious illness to which attention must be paid.

This disease can present a functional deterioration even greater than a physical disease. As time passes, the deaths caused by this disease are increasing greatly. For this reason, it is of great importance that we all know some of its characteristics so that we can discover it in time.

• Related article: "Suicidal thoughts: causes, symptoms and therapy"

Type of depressive disorders

The DSM-5 classifies at least six types of depressive disorders:

• Disruptive dysregulation disorder
• major depression,
• persistent depressive disorder or dysthymia,
• premenstrual dysphoric disorder
• Substance- or medication-induced depression
• Depressive disorder due to physical illness.

Although all of these disorders have a sad mood in common, they are differentiated according to the duration, the temporary presentation or the supposed etiology.

conclusion

Depressive disorders are very serious illnesses with a really high death rate in our environment.

It is vitally important to learn to identify your symptoms in order to seek the necessary help in time. An ignored depression disorder can become almost as catastrophic as cancer because, like that disease, if it is not treated in time: its end can be death.

As a society it is our duty educate ourselves about mental illness in order to provide our help at the time it is requested.

Ignorance is the main path to death and the acquisition of knowledge will bring us back to life.