Recently, a bit late, but as I don't really care for gossip or news, I found out that someone famous commited suicide, due to depression; news that shocked a lot of people because he did not seem the depressive type.
So, what is depression?
(Note: as I mentioned this is only my input, based only on my observations)
People ofter mistake depression for this feeling that I call "feeling down" or "extreme sadness" due to circumstances. Cicumstances and their impact vary from person to person and the list is almost endless: losing your job, not having money, family tragedy, love problems etc.
These circumstances, are almost always perceived, and to a certain degree understood, by the people around and most of the time, they will try act accordingly, by paying more attention, being more cosiderate, in general, just responding with empathy.
But most of the time, these feelings are temporary, again, this does vary from person to person, but it's true, they may sometimes evolve into depression.
So what is depression? A lot of people don't understand it and have the tendancy to call it bullshit or say stuff like "oh, it's just depression".
Depression is like having a black hole inside of you, an emptiness/darkenss that lingers, that cannot be cured. A lot of people who suffer from depression have learned to live with it, to manage it to some degree, some way or the other, and hide it from the rest of the world.There are other people who may "embace" it, like artists, but this embrace is by far not a good feeling, it may pay off in selling great art or something, but that darkness is still there inside you.
There are different degrees of depression and obviosly and unfortunatly, there are cases where people end up in the hospital or just reach their breaking point.
How can you spot real depression in a person? Well, you cannot, not really. People with depression, ofter will seem "happy" to all the others, because they are aware that people don't and will not understand their situation and instead of trying to explain something that others will not understand and maybe just condamn it, they will hide under this mask of cheerfulness. But, depression is there, even if for the outsider, the person suffering from depression seems to be having a close to "perfect" life.
So, in this situation, how can anyone understand it? Why is someone depressed when everything around him/her is working well and there's no tagedy or any other type misfortune?
There are signs, but those again vary from person to person.
People who constantly say about themselves that they are depressed to everyone, in my opinion, are not people with real depression, are just people seeking attention and most of the time have a reason for their "depression" whilst, real depression does not have a reason, it's something that's there, inside, with a fluctuating degree of severity and manifestation.
People suffering from depression, may have a better chance in noticing it someone else, because they may notice some of the signs they, themselves, display, but that's not a given, since we all act and behave in our own certain way.
If you pay attention long enough to a person, you might notice them, but we live in such a superficial era now, that we don't really just stop for a while, long enough, to actually pay attention to the people close to us.
There worst part, since we are all unique, everyone has it's own trigger, which can sometimes be something insignificant, but it's still a trigger, that will just enlarge that black hole inside of you to the point you cannot manage it anymore, and yes others might notice, but in some cases that may be too late.
So how do we fight depression? I wish I knew, I wish there was a easy answer, but the truth is I don't know and most likely nobody knows, not even doctors.
So,
Are people around you helpful? They may be, depending how you perceive them, if you perceive them as people who are trully there to aid you, then, yes. But some people may also be perceived, as with fake intentions/thought/empathy feelings, so in those situations people are more detrimental to you, then actually helping.
How can you tell? Well, it all depends on each individual's social skills and emotional intelligence, to which I cannot give any pointers,
Pills? In some cases, they may help, but they will turn you into a different you, a bit of a zombie, but, they will probably, keep the black hole inside of you at bay. So, it all depends.
Doctors? I don't know, maybe to some degree and to certain people who have the tendancy to be more open about themselves and susceptible to suggestions.
I cannot give any real advice, what I can only say is that, each individual is the one that can fight/manage it's own depression, because he/she is the only one who knows what's inside and yes, it's a constant fight within you, and it's tirring and lonely and painful.
Do I blame people who end their lives? No.
I wish I was one those people who can easily say " I don't understand why, he/she had such a good life", but I am not.
I don't pretend to understand what he/she was going though, there's no way I can do that. but I do understand the exhaustion, the constant hits and the loneliness of always being alone in warzone with an unbeatable adversary.