When I Have to Remind Myself My Depression Is Real
And just as valid as anyone else’s
I don’t talk about my depression, because sometimes, I don’t think it’s real.
Very few people know that every night before bed, I take a pill to help manage my depression. Maybe they don’t even think its real. They see happy, put together, successful me. I couldn’t have depression. She’s so driven. She’s so successful. She works out and eats healthy. When I say they, I mean me. How can I have depression when I can get out of bed in the morning, get in a workout, shower, and make it through the rest of the day? Because I do. I rarely call into work. I put vegetables on my plate and shower regularly and sleep fairly well. That doesn’t sound like someone who is sick.
Maybe it isn’t real. Maybe it’s all in my head.
Depression is a common mental disorder affecting 264 million people, per the World Health Organization, with it affecting more women than men. Why couldn’t this disease affect me, too? Even within my family, it is common. My sister is fairly open about her depression. She tells me about her inability to sleep, how she feels, the therapist she is seeing, the medicine she is taking.
I can’t reciprocate, because I don’t think I have it as bad as her. I just have a touch of it, like how someone…
