First, let me start by differentiating between depression and sadness.
Sadness stems from a certain cause or multiple causes. Did you just break up with someone or get broken up with? Has someone near you recently passed away? Did you get in an argument or lose a relationship with someone who is important to you? Bad grades? All of these things can make you sad, and in some cases extremely sad, but this doesn't mean that you are “depressed.”
Depression is a mental illness. Depression CAN stem from something traumatic. An event that left you with severe sadness for an extended period of time, BUT sometimes depression comes from nothing at all or everything all at once. Depression isn't something that you can just “get over.” Depression attacks with fierce force and before you’re aware that it is taking over, it has control.
To those who feel worthless, have no energy or motivation, are sad for no reason, those who feel like they are losing control of their life my advice to you is DO NOT GIVE UP.
Take control. Be your happiness.
When all you want to do is lay in bed, get up. When you don’t want to put in the effort at work or school, give 100%. When you want to shut people out, hang out with them anyways. YOU can be in control of your thoughts, but first, you have to decide to be. Don't tell yourself that you can be happy. Tell yourself that you WILL be happy. Go outside, interact with people, do something fun, do something you’ve always wanted to try, just do something. Don’t rely on others to care or understand, most people won’t ...And that is OKAY! Reach within yourself and find what brings you joy in life. Then, once you find it, let nothing and no one stand in your way.
It's okay to not be okay.
Don't let yourself fall back when you have a bad day. It’s okay to need a day to yourself. It’s okay to not know what to do. But, what's not okay is letting yourself be defined by a mental illness that you CAN overcome. Be the change that you so desperately need. Turn your “bad weeks” into “bad days.” Then turn your “bad days” into a “bad couple of hours.” Then turn those “bad couple of hours” into a constant conscious decision to take control of your mind.
Refuse to be negative.
Take each day as its own. The thing is, nobody but you can decide to make a change. Decide to think more positively, and when you get down to make the decision again. Decide to remove the negative aspects, people, or situations from your life. If negative situations or people are unavoidable, decide to think positively about them. Work is going to be stressful. School is going to be hard. People are going to be mean. LIFE HAPPENS! That's okay, let it happen. You can handle it; you will handle it. A permanent mental change isn't built on endless successes or dreams of better days. A permanent mental change happens when a person decides to do whatever it takes to get to where they want to be.
Write down three positive things daily. They can be things you like about yourself, people who make your life worthwhile, positive things that happened to you that day, things you are thankful for..anything that has, does, or could make you happy. Keep the list and add to it every day. On those down days read the list to yourself before you write anything down.
Find what works for you and only you.
Each and every person is different, which means each and every depression is different. Don't let anyone tell you how you should feel or when you should start being okay. Above all else, don't be afraid to admit you are feeling down. Don't be afraid to get help. It's okay to want to talk to someone, whether it be a parent, sibling, friend, stranger or a professional. Even when you don't feel like you have the ability to express what you feel, just start talking. If you can't explain what you feel, explain what you are doing to change it. You are worthy of happiness, so live like you are.
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