Priyanka shows us the ugly face of depression, suggesting how we might help mitigate it. An exclusive for Different Truths.

We live in a society where we must hide our inner self and wear a pleasing mask all the time. Portray a perfect picture of life, filled with varied colours of a perfect family, success, and relationships. To live in the society is to survive all the hardships and yet manage to smile and the one who can do it effortlessly is the one who knows how to live, isn’t it?

How many times you had a suicidal tendency just before you attended a dinner date?

How many times have you cried all night and the next morning you were back in the routine just like nothing happened? How many times you had a suicidal tendency just before you attended a dinner date? It is what goes inside a human mind a human body, which everyone around fails to see, the scars, the impressions of some incidents are so deep that the pain becomes inevitable and the person starts finding solace in that pain. He starts searching for isolation, where he can be himself.

Depression has no Face, but it is Real

It is something which cannot be explained in words and felt or understood by everyone. The emotional turmoil, the feeling of disgust and frustration, anxiety, stress level, an individual goes through is very hard for him to experience and accept for himself at the first place, by the time the person understands what’s wrong with him, people around him makes his life more miserable by treating him in an inappropriate manner.

People who struggle with such feelings of depression try their best to hide their feelings in their daily lives. They just pretend normal but deep down inside they are screaming and yelling for help.

It could be the person you just saw laughing his heart out before you hear his tragic suicide. So, what does depression look like, how do depressed people look like? How do we know if somebody has suicidal thoughts? When asked these questions many of us would probably imagine a crushed soul, crying shell of a person hiding in a pillow. However, people who struggle with such feelings of depression try their best to hide their feelings in their daily lives. They just pretend normal but deep down inside they are screaming and yelling for help. They look like any other person walking down the street but if you try to hear between their words, read between the lines you might find that feeling of emptiness residing inside them.

The mood swings are such that the person doesn’t plan for suicide attempt it could just happen within a snap of time, over the slightest trigger. In one moment, a lady could be kissing and admiring her newborn baby at the other moment she might feel like committing suicide. The fight is real, the struggle is real, this is perhaps the biggest fight anyone could fight with self, it is like me against myself, one part wants to live but the other one takes a toll repeatedly.

What causes Depression?

Depression is an extremely complex condition, there could be so many reasons to feel depressed or no reason at all, but its complexities are such that person feels overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness for no known reason.

Depression is an extremely complex condition, there could be so many reasons to feel depressed or no reason at all, but its complexities are such that person feels overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness for no known reason. It could be due to some bad incident in the form of physical or emotional abuse, loss of dear ones or family history. Sometimes depression co-exists with a major illness or may be triggered by another medical condition.

What Could we do? Can we Help Someone?

We can certainly help our near and dear ones, by being a part of their struggle, it is time to speak up when you see an unusual behavior in the person, sleeping disorder, sudden mood shifts, change in eating habits or any behavioral change could be a matter of concern. Don’t try to “fix” the person, just be a good listener. This simple act of talking to someone face to face might help someone suffering from those feelings.

• By listening and understanding even the tiniest signs we can save lives.
• Do not take everyone at their ‘face’ value.
• If you think that somebody is showing some signs of depression, ask the hard questions before it’s too late.
• Try to be there, be present
• Help them open-up, take medical help if needed.

The bravest thing anyone could do is to fight for his own life and live each day with full strength and determination even if the thoughts of suicide or negativity crops inside every now and then.

Depression is an extremely complex condition, there could be so many reasons to feel depressed or no reason at all, but its complexities are such that person feels overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness for no known reason.

Depression is an extremely complex condition, there could be so many reasons to feel depressed or no reason at all, but its complexities are such that person feels overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness for no known reason. It could be due to some bad incident in the form of physical or emotional abuse, loss of dear ones or family history. Sometimes depression co-exists with a major illness or may be triggered by another medical condition.

What Could we do? Can we Help Someone?

We can certainly help our near and dear ones, by being a part of their struggle, it is time to speak up when you see an unusual behavior in the person, sleeping disorder, sudden mood shifts, change in eating habits or any behavioral change could be a matter of concern. Don’t try to “fix” the person, just be a good listener. This simple act of talking to someone face to face might help someone suffering from those feelings.

• By listening and understanding even the tiniest signs we can save lives.
• Do not take everyone at their ‘face’ value.
• If you think that somebody is showing some signs of depression, ask the hard questions before it’s too late.
• Try to be there, be present
• Help them open-up, take medical help if needed.

The bravest thing anyone could do is to fight for his own life and live each day with full strength and determination even if the thoughts of suicide or negativity crops inside every now and then.

Picture design Anumita Roy, Different Truths