Depression
is medical condition that we have a much better understanding of these days. We
understand that for some people, this state is not necessarily caused by
external factors, but by a chemical imbalance, it’s just the way their minds
process the world, like a faulty switch going off or on when it shouldn’t. But
I think sometimes it’s hard to remember that while this imbalance can affect
some people all of the time, any of us can, and likely will, at points, become
depressed. This can be directly influenced and caused by external factors, but
how we process those factors, the pre-determined way in which our minds are
programmed to work, will dictate whether you will get past those particular
difficult times with the normal ebb and flow (usually along the lines of the
anger-sadness-emotional release-perspective-acceptance arc) or whether the
issues will become more deeply ingrained and start to affect you long term. For
me personally, this has manifested in serious issues with self-esteem,
irrational mood swings, physical symptoms that seem on the surface entirely
unrelated and feelings of hopelessness, and those are just the side effects I’m
willing to discuss. I'm aware that these issues, if left to develop further,
can lead to far more detrimental outcomes, because people who are feeling
hopeless don’t make the best life choices. Of course, we all demonstrate
aspects of these issues at points, but when you’ve been carrying something for
a long time, and you’re somewhat in denial about it, well, that’s how you start
to recognise, through these flashes of abnormal behaviours, that something
really isn’t right.
It’s been
a fucking mental couple of years, it really has.
