1. Depression is all in your head – NO, depression is real. You can’t just ‘ignore it’ or ‘get a grip’. It has more of a grip over you, taking away every little bit of joy you once felt.
  2. Depression is only caused by a traumatic experience – No, sometimes there is no reason. Don’t drive yourself mad looking for that trigger or tapping into your childhood. Sometime we have to accept it has happened and no professional can explain to us why we have it. Although at times, it can be brought on from a traumatic event. Sometimes there is no real reason. I don’t know why I have it.
  3. Everyone experiences depression in the same way – depression is definitely not something everyone will experience in the same way. We are all so different. Two people could sit in a room together and speak of their experience of depression yet the other person will still not truly understand. It is something that you feel so alone in. Our brains are different and so are our experiences.
  4. Depression is pretty much the same as being ‘sad’ – people who have not felt it before often compare it to feeling down or sad. Feeling ‘sad’ and feeling depressed are two completely different things. Sadness will tend to go away whilst depressions lingers around every waking second of every day. You feel a million and one emotions. It does not compare to feeling sad.
  5. Depression is a weakness – no, depression is not a weakness nor a choice. It can happen to anyone at any time.
  6. You can simply ‘snap out of it’ – depression is not a choice and NOBODY can snap out of it. People may think positive thoughts equal to not being depressed anymore. That is not how it works. If only it was as simple. Positive thinking and a change of attitude or behaviour will not cure depression.
  7. You will be on anti-depressants forever – nobody knows this. The length of time varies on the severity of your depression. Each person is different and people are weaned off them. You may not need them forever while trying other things like talking therapy.
  8. Talking about it too much will make you worse – NO! People seem to believe that talking about it too much will reinforce the negative thinking but when it is always on your mind, all you can do it talk about it. TALKING HELPS. Talk as much as you can and to anyone who will listen. Write about it.
  9. Antidepressants will cure you – While depression is treatable. No, Antidepressant don’t always work for everyone. There is no single cure for one person and you have to try lots of things including therapy. What works for one person will not work for another. There is no magic pill or quick fix as I am told on a regular basis! Taking them is a personal choice. It does help with symptoms but to say it will cure everyone is not something I can answer.
  10. Depression is not as serious or dangerous as other illnesses and diseases – it is just as serious as other illnesses, if not more. Many people have taken their own life from it. It is the second leading cause of death in the UK and the leading cause of disability worldwide. The worst part is, depression is such a complex and confusing illness to understand. For everyone. Including the professionals.
  11. Antidepressant will change you – Antidepressants may change your brain chemistry. This just seems terrifying. It was terrifying for me to think about. You might worry that you’ll feel like an entirely different person when you’re taking them, this is not the case. While you change in some ways as a person, your personality does not change.
  12. You will become so reliant on antidepressants and get addicted! This is not true, you may not need them forever. People take them and when they feel better they are slowly weaned off them. I am still in the early stages of taking them so cannot say much more.
  13. Doing things and keeping busy will make your depression go away – doing things may help some people, just keeping busy BUT it will not make your depression go away. At times even wanting to go things is impossible.
  14. You get depression at a certain age – this is not true, anyone can get it at any age.
  15. If your parents have had it then it means you will too – There is a genetic component in depression however research shows it is very slight. So you are not likely to get it or have it because a family member may have it. I have no family history of depression so I don’t know why I have it. Just like many others.

If there are other myths that you have heard or something someone has said to you then comment below and I will add them to the list. Thank you X

16 Responses to “15 MYTHS ABOUT DEPRESSION”

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  2. Heya just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.

  3. Hello there! Quick question that’s entirely off topic.
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    • Hi, you can send me an email and I can try and help you with your site. At first my website was not as mobile friendly but it was built by a developer so she fixed it for me. Z

  4. A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you need to
    write more on this subject, it might not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t
    discuss these issues. To the next! Many thanks!!

  5. Howdy! This post could not be written any better! Reading through this post reminds
    me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this.
    I will forward this post to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read.
    Thanks for sharing!

  6. cool post. I just stumbled upon your post and wished to say that I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog post. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!

  7. Hi would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working
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    P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I
    had to ask!

    • Hi, my website is custom-built. A developer made it for me. I just wanted something simple and easy to navigate around. With soft colours. Z

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