Depression is a very common mental health disorder, with more than 300 million people worldwide suffering from it. There are several types of depression and many different symptoms, and no two people's experiences are the same. Still, it is sometimes helpful to air out your thoughts and feelings, even to strangers.
Redditor u/Energylegs23 created a safe place for people to discuss their depression, when they asked, "How does your depression manifest in ways that non-depressed people wouldn't expect or understand?"
10. Not being able to start something new
"I really want to work on a hobby project. I have everything I need to work on the project. I know working on the hobby project makes me happy and makes others happy too. Yet I cant start it. I cant get the motivation to do it despite it being all I want to do. So maybe I'll just play some video games instead... except for some reason I cant bring myself to launch a game, even if it will also make me happy. So i just sit and scroll through reddit. close it. re open it. scroll. close it. repeat. All the while i'm internally yelling at myself to do something. anything really. But some days I just cant."
9. Feeling intense anger
"A lot of folks expect depression to be sadness, a feeling of being numb etc but often, anger isn't considered part of the deal.
My friends pointed out that they were shocked that I was being treated for depression, until they realized I was never sad, I was smiling, joking, fun-seeking, but the smallest irritation had me so so angry. Not like, make-a-scene angry. Deep disgust."
8. Nothing that you enjoy is enjoyable
"Nothing is interesting. TV shows you used to like are just okay now, and you only watch them to pass the time instead of for enjoyment. Food doesn't taste like anything anymore. Work, if you enjoyed it, is now boring. Hobbies disappear. You're just there, surrounded by a massive expanse of indifference with no discernible boundaries."
7. It feels like a river
Giphy"I feel an almost physical pull at the center of my chest/body. It feels like a river pulling at me, tugging at that center and trying to drag me down the river. I feel a perceptible tugging sensation and the feeling of dark water rushing past. Usually only when it's really bad. If you've read the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix, it reminds me of how the river of death is described."
6. Becoming forgetful
"I forget appointments, household chores, whether I've already told someone something a minute ago, class homework, where I just put my keys... I can muster up enough energy to focus on a few important tasks, but it's like my brain can't hold on to most things and they just get kind of dropped somewhere. The worst thing is that people see me as being flakey and lazy, and I hate it..."
5. Intrusive thoughts
"I am able to act and be completely Fine around people but It hits me when random thoughts get into my head when I'm alone. So if they ever found out that this has been happening to me, I don't think they can believe it very easily since infront of them, I'm this whole other person."
4. Developing a fear of leaving your house
"Moderate to severe agoraphobia."
"It's the worst feeling ever when you really want to go out to get some fresh air or just to take a walk or to go from one place to another on your own and you're just too scared to even leave the house alone or without someone who can protect you or make you comfortable"
3. Taking a lot of naps
Giphy"Depression naps are addictive. I go to sleep the second I come home because I don't wanna deal with the emotions of being awake. I'm asleep from 3pm-10:30pm almost every day. When I wake up, I eat a bunch of food, take a shower, and be back asleep by 12am. My family asks why I sleep so much. I just make a joke about being a "typical lazy teen" most of the time and hope they change the subject."
2. Emotional Eating
"Eating. I eat my feelings away. And sometimes it's the first sign that I'm about to go through a bout of depression, I get strong cravings before it hits."
1. Sometimes you just have to ride the wave
"Sometimes theres just no reason. The emptiness shows up unannounced and doesnt go away. Theres no specific reason and nothing will cheer me up. I just gotta ride the wave until it's over."
"There is this "work" culture these days of success being directly proportional to the effort you put in, so if you're not doing well it's because you're lazy. If you're not visibly flogging yourself to death you're freewheeling.
But with depression sometimes you're flogging yourself to death just to manage to keep yourself alive. Sometimes the most you can do is wait for it to pass, like waiting for a cold to clear."
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
"What's one 'type' you'll never date again?"
Bring Me Up, Don't Take Me Down
"The type that makes you feel really bad about yourself."- Claralaraa
People Afraid Of Monogamy
"The type with a partner they didn’t tell me about."- 69MILFdudes
People Who Refuse To Be Wrong!
"Those that invalidate your feelings and are never in the wrong, no matter what."- False_Stuff835
Im Right Told You So GIF by DeRay DavisGiphyWhat Are They Hoping To Accomplish?
"I also will not date girls who try to make me jealous."- funck93
But Enough About Me, What Do You Think About Me!
"One sided and pretty surface level conversation type."
"Never again."- WorkingFI
No One Likes A Know It All
"The 'smartest guy in the room' guy."
"He was a know it all and no one could tell him any different."
"It was insufferable."- Mean_Parsnip
Know It All Adventure GIF by PeacockTVGiphyTalking To Everyone But Me
"Always-on-the-phone-type."- Pattt2602
Everyone Needs A Little Personal Space
"Clingy girls."
"Like for real she made me sit on calls with her for 5 hours at a time and she barely said sh*t."
"I wasn't allowed to hang up or she'd have a f*cking tantrum, and there's some extra things im not going to say here."- LoginPuppy
Always Be Your True Self
"Closeted."
"I don't want to be anyone's dirty little secret."- SallyHeap
People Who Refuse Help.
"Someone who seems like a victim in life."
"I wanted so badly to help my ex out."
"To get her out of her sh*tty living situation."
"Help her get her finances and medical needs in order."
"I really stuck my neck out."
"Gave it 150%."
"Exhausted myself regularly just so I could help her out."
"I just wanted to see her quality of life improve."
"I just wanted her to feel like life was going ok."
"It was never enough."
"Eventually she moved in with me, and spent almost a year doing nothing but playing PS4, eating, and sleeping."
"Didn't even start looking for a job."
"Eventually I ended it, and a few months later she moved back to her mom's place."
"The day after, I woke up to literally hundreds of messages from her begging me to take her back."
"Saying that she'll change."
"She'll do anything."
"She had forgotten how much worse her life was."
"I try to stay friends with her, but she's taken to making herself the victim in our relationship since we broke up."
"Maybe I wasn't perfect, I can admit that."
"But I willingly went to hell and back on multiple occasions just to try and make her smile."
"It crushes me that after everything, she trivializes everything I put into the relationship."
"This post was longer than I thought, but writing this out was therapeutic."- SinisterPixel
It's easy for people who have been single for a long time to run into the arms of the first person they can.
Though before doing so, it's always good to reflect on any past relationships and why they didn't work out.
Because when push comes to shove, being single is infinitely better than being in a relationship with someone who doesn't make you completely happy.
Redditor Frozen_yoghurt123 asked:
"Who is the 'black sheep' of your family?"
I'm the black sheep or at least I'd like to think so.
Join me...
Scandal
"Probably my dad's cousin, who went to prison for murdering his lover's husband."
DW_555
Oh My Wow GIFGiphy"biggest disappointment"
"My Dad. He is the only one of 6 siblings who wasn't a huge f**k up. And yet, before my Grandma died she stated that he was her 'biggest disappointment.' He is estranged from his surviving siblings... not by his choice. It honestly blows my mind."
Unfair_Biscotti2828
"Toxicity is often a group mindset thing; people don't want you to leave because they are dysfunctionally co-dependent on each other and need each other to justify their own shortcomings in life. A lot of the 'family loyalty' stuff is typically shouted loudest by those who are the least good idea to stay loyal towards."
Creative_Recover
The Dead
"My great uncle who stole my great grandfathers identity, stole a couple million dollars, and ran off. No one even knew he was alive until my great grandfathers funeral in 2009. No one has seen him since. My grandma started to cry because she honestly thought he was dead."
"Everyone else just kind of nodded on his direction and went on with the rest of the funeral. I just remember being very confused because I was 9 and I had never met this guy who my dad pulled me aside and told me he was my great uncle. It was a few years later that I got the full story."
valkyrieonaunicorn
"matriarch"
"According to my mean aunt, the 'matriarch' in her own mind, it's my twin brother because "he doesn't care about family now that he's a doctor." (He's a resident. Chief resident. He works ridiculous hours and spends the rest of the time recovering from work.)"
"According to my ex-MIL (who still counts because she's Son's grandma), it's me, for divorcing her son."
"According to everyone else, it's Mean Aunt. The rest of us are warm and caring and compassionate. We have our moments; all of us have been accidentally thoughtless or done something selfish once in a while, but we're not deliberately mean and snarky all the time."
insertcaffeine
Everybody
"My immediate family are the black sheep of the entire family."
DarthDregan
John Stamos Cheers GIF by GrandfatheredGiphySounds like everyone has a little black sheep in them.
People Issues
"By now, my brother for cutting off everyone because he prefers his rude, selfish, paranoid, narcissist wife over all of us."
"My wife is the black sheep of her family in the sense that she's the only one who isn't a rude, selfish, paranoid narcissist."
Lvcivs2311
Joe Dirt Brother GIFGiphySo Dumb
"Me. My granddaddy told me 'I’ve only had the sheriff knock on my door two times in my 80 years, and both times he was looking for you! 'I did some dumb sh*t, caused a little trouble, burned a few bridges but always managed to stay out of jail. Partly because my sister has kept an attorney on retainer for me since I was 16."
This_Personality3731
Liar Liar
"My younger brother (2nd of 4) is a compulsive liar and it got him in a lot of little trouble as a teen, then he told his wife he graduated a big college when we're not even sure if he got his GED because he failed to graduate HS, went to some GED school and eventually just stopped going."
"IF he graduated college, he never mentioned he was going in the 4+ years it takes nor mention graduation or have a diploma. He's not a bad dude, but now family time is super awkward when he and his wife are talking about 'their' college team."
UniqueUsername82D
The NOT good girl...
"My aunt's daughter. She’s been in jail for drugs, stolen money from my aunt and other family members to use on drugs and physically abused my aunt. My aunt has tried getting her help, but nothing has worked. She’s just not a good person, and everyone in my family, except my aunt, doesn’t want anything to do with her. I haven’t seen her in 8 years now, and I’m happy about that."
Hello_Im_the_world
Maria?
"A former nun - my great aunt - left the religious life and got married. She called herself 'the black sheep of the family' because her habit was black."
Back2Bach
Excited Julie Andrews GIF by The Rodgers & Hammerstein OrganizationGiphyWell the black sheep sound like the most interesting family members.