“What are you so depressed about?”
Anyone who’s ever suffered from depression has probably heard this question at least once in their lives. It’s often spoken not by a mean-spirited stranger, but an honestly caring friend or family member who simply doesn’t understand your continued …
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Hello John,
I don’t know how else to get a hold of you besides posting a comment so forgive me for not sending a personal email. I was wondering if you would like to be a guest blogger on The Reality of Anxiety sometime. I love the World of Psychology and you seem to post frequently. I especially loved this post. Even though I don’t suffer from depression, it gave me a better insight to those that do. It was an eye opener. You can check out my blog at http://anxiousnomore.blogspot.com and email me to let me know if you’d be interested.
Thanks and Take Care!
Aimee
Hello John,
I don’t know how else to get a hold of you besides posting a comment so forgive me for not sending a personal email. I was wondering if you would like to be a guest blogger on The Reality of Anxiety sometime. I love the World of Psychology and you seem to post frequently. I especially loved this post. Even though I don’t suffer from depression, it gave me a better insight to those that do. It was an eye opener. You can check out my blog at and email me to let me know if you’d be interested.
Thanks and Take Care!
Aimee
That is so true. I get that question all the time and it frustrates me to no end. They don’t understand. No matter how much they care about me, they just don’t understand because they aren’t going through it.
its so true, i recently read an article about a filmmaker who suffered from depression and made an amazing film dealing with mental illness, thought you might find this interesting:
Jorge Moran was raised in rural Waverly, Tennessee by his great-grandmother, his mom who suffered from schizophrenia and his Cuban father. Early on Jorge was drawn toward the arts, spending much of his time drawing and watching films. He recalls how film even at a young age had a life changing impact on him. In the 4th grade he saw Rocky for the first time and it inspired him so much that he went from being a heavy kid of 139 pounds to a normal weight of 100 pounds in just three months. Jorge says that film has always been therapeutic for him, and that most of the personal revelations he has had in life have come from watching films. Films such as East Of Eden, Roots, Being There, 8 ½, The World According To Garp, The Shinning, E.T., Breakfast Club, Eraser Head, Dead Poets Society, Glory, Steel Magnolias, The Color Purple, Blue Velvet, Forrest Gump, Amelie, Lost In Translation, Mystic River, and recently; The New World have had a particular influence on him both personally and creatively.
In 1985, at the age of 18, he was awarded a scholarship to the Savannah College of Art and Design for a drawing competition that he had won. Jorge left home and moved to Savannah, Georgia, majored in Video Production, and in his spare time performed in many theater productions. In 1988, Jorge won Best documentary and Best Drama at the SCAD Video Awards. However, Jorge struggled with depression while at college and due to the unexpected death of his great grandmother he left college his senior year without graduating. Jorge left his dreams of being a filmmaker behind and moved back home to help take care of his sick mother.
A few months later with his mother feeling better and after being laid off from a factory job in Waverly, he decided to move to Los Angeles, California to pursue his dream of being a film actor. Jorge found depression to be worse than ever in Los Angeles and struggled to audition as well as pay the rent. A profound loneliness began to overwhelm him. After three years in Los Angeles, in 1992, just after the Los Angeles riots, his dreams of being an actor were once again left behind and he moved back home to be close to his mother and father.
Jorge was diagnosed with Clinical Depression and began taking medication for his condition. He knew he had to conquer depression before his dreams of being an actor or filmmaker could ever come true, so for the next 10 years he began to make small but positive changes in his life, which led to his depression going away. At the age of 35 free of depression, he decided to pursue his dream of being a filmmaker once more. In 2002 he moved back to Savannah, Georgia to continue his education at the Savannah College of Art and Design. In 2006, with his first dream fulfilled, he had finally graduated, produced, directed, and written an original short film entitled “Theodore”. “Theodore” was inspired from his mom who suffers from schizophrenia and his personal struggles with depression and loneliness. After twenty years of trying, he saw his dream come true. And out of 65 senior student films his was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. “Theodore” has went on to win and play in 10 Film festivals around the world. And now he is writing this biography to pursue his next dream of finding investors to turn his Award Winning short Film “Theodore” into a Feature Film.
To all my friends and supporters God Bless you and thank you !
“Theodore” is Available at his DVD Store:
http://www.jorgemoran.com/DVDSTORE.html
…being unemployed and, apparently, unemployable. Went from a 70K a year income to nothing 2 years ago. My husband doesn’t make enough to cover all our bills. I did a couple of contract jobs but they evaporated. no one is hiring me, even after promising interviews. i feel unnecessary. I’m scared. My husband also stopped sleeping with me a couple months before i lost my job. He says it’s coincidence. He’s 52, may have prostate issues. Can’t get a job, can’t get no lovin’. “It’s better to burn out than to fade away”.
This is exactly how i feel, althoug im not married i do feel my partner is sick of me being depressed and honestly i dnt know why i feel this way
I feel the same way. I don’t know what to do anymore. Trying to move on with my life like get a new job after having a long breakdown. Got sick of my job and was hoping that Voc. Rehab would help and so far I am getting no where. Everyday I try to make an attempt to get a job and feel so let down. So what is the solution to our problem? My daughter I know has no tolerance for it. I used to be so independent until my nervous breakdown a few years back. Now I have not been the same since. Everyone seems so happy around me. Now unfortunately along with my disability I am under my daughter’s thumb. I want my granddaughters to see me happy but I feel so stuck in this muck.
studies and bad group members who throw all the hard work and your shoulders and none of the lecturers is interested in solving the problems
exams too much work, too much pressure, oh
This article emphasizes an important point, which is the stark contrast between the subjective experience of depressive affect, and the observer who oftentimes cannot fathom the gravity of the affect. I also think that those with a lower emotional quotient have much less capacity to empathize with someone who is clinically depressed.
My dad has discussions with me about being depressed and all it does is make me cry because I really don’t get why I become this way. What really bothers me is that it comes around every few months – just pops up when it wants.
I’m not really sure what to do because it’s affecting my school performance and my want to work.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
I keep thinking about my dream
, It Was so Depressing , And im not lieng , My dream was about that i saved miley from a car accident then she had to somewhere after that she came back and walked to me and hugged me and started crying and thanking me we talked and then i started crying to and i cant get it out of my head , always think about it and some tears come to my eyes 
Does Anyone Have Any Suggestions For Me ?
I am also depressed my husband was laid off now with a job but making 42,000 on an household of 5 and three pets.I homeschool and now have to find a job…My daughter’s bd is next week no money even for a cake so sad and I just feel so hopeless and think of suicidal thoughts..I t is rough and I just wish things could be better..
I’ve been battling what i believe is depression for close to 9 months now. I use to always be the funny guy in the group or the one friends could count on to lighten the mood. I use to love everythin and the simplest things would give me enjoyment. Now i wake up everyday and i feel like there is some dark cloud over top of me. I feel worthless, hopless and just happiless. I went to an NHL game tonight and hockey use to ALWAYS be my outlet. It always made me feel better and whenever i was watching it or playing it i never thought about anything else or felt bad about the outside world. My team came back late in the third and won it in ot and it was a great game one that i would have had the time of my life at 2 years ago but this stupid depression ruined the whole time for me. This made me def come to terms with the fact that i dont enjoy the same things i use to. I dont like anything anymore and i have zero ambition. I really need help but i dont really know how to go about doing so. I am still in my teens. All my friends are happy and when im around happy people it just pisses me off because i want to be them but something is just holding on to me and preventing me from it. I have very low confidence and none of my friends understand why. My parents are just starting to realize that i am different but all they can do is ask questions like the one posted and i just have no answers for them. Like suicide has come across my mind but i dont have the balls to actually do it but it doesnt stop the desire from being there. This whole thing is very scary to me and i just want everything to go away. Thanks.
I don’t know if you will get this but I too get depressed, there IS help my friend. When it was the worst for me I called 1st call for help and it did help. Over the course of 2 yrs. I reclaimed a lot that I had lost. When I feel,it coming on I feel confident I will beat it. You are not alone, you sound just like me in a way…. trust me friend, there is hope.
I understand you completely. It’s nice to hear that I’m not alone.
I’m depressed to. I try not to complain cause god has been VERY good to me he is an understanding god and he won’t give u NOTHING that u can’t bear so all of u guys are stronger than yall think psalms 35 is a beautiful psalms which I think all of us can relate to
I don’t know why i’m commenting but I am.. Thanks so much for this article. When people ask me why I’m depressed not having an answer makes it even worse. Honestly I don’t know. If I knew it would be so much easier on me. I went from being the happiest, most bubbly person known to someone struggling to feign happiness.
i too am depressed, everything has lost its zing n i just dont see the point no matter what i do or what people say! You live to die n what you do inbetween really doesnt matter does it, you may cause happiness to people you love but pain n sadness undoubetdly follows-nothing lasts forever! So the way i see it is this…best of not loving, not reproducing and basically being as insignificant as possible! Dying is the only release for me when it comes! M
I definitely have been feeling this way. My parents don’t notice because they jut assume its what teenagers do, and my friends just assume I’m being a brat or they just leave me alone. I feel awful for feeling this depressed, because I really have nothing to be depressed about. I have a family who loves me and good friends. I just don’t enjoy anything anymore really, and I don’t have the energy to do anything, like soccer, which I used to love, or school, even simple assignments. I’ve become someone completely different than who I am, and even though the thought of dying scares me, just not having to think about anything and not having to deal with bein depressed for no reason is nice to think about. I don’t want to tell mom because she tends to think I just make things up in my head, or she would make too big of a deal about it, but I feel like I do need help at this point. I really don’t know what to do at this point, so if anyone has any solid advice, I’m down to hear it..
I know why I am depressed and I have a plan for the future. I dropped out of university and have applied again for next year. I feel so lonely all the time and I feel like my life has been put on hold. I don’t enjoy anything any more and my parents and friends don’t understand. I have money and good grades, and I will probably get into university next year. I have no reason to be sad apparently, and that makes me feel guilty and dis-connected.