I Have Depression but it’s OK – Ditch the Stigma!

I have talked about my depression previously with you but I feel it is a good time to chat about it a bit more and with a bit of a different take on it as such. So many people have it whether that be postnatal, clinical or any other named type of depression.

They are all the same though aren’t they really, but it doesn’t have to have a stigma and we don’t have to see it as a bad thing.

My depression

I have had depression for many years now but it is ok, depression does not mean I have failed and it does not mean I’m any less of a person, it just means that I have a bit of a chemical mix-up in my brain that people without depression don’t have.

It isn’t just sadness, it is that overwhelming feeling of uselessness. The feeling that you are worthless and that you deserve nothing good to ever happen to you. The feeling of failure and that everyone hates you.

Accepting it is depression

It is ok to think about these things though because that is the depression, I have come to realise this now more than ever, it is ok that some days I feel worthless and sit and cry. It is ok that I need medication to just keep me on a slightly more even keel. There is no reason that my taking these tablets means I have failed, it just means I need medication to be the healthiest I can be.

I need medication for my asthma and I never feel like I have failed because my lungs don’t work too well sometimes. I have never spoken to someone with diabetes who feels like they have failed because they need to inject insulin. So why do we think we have failed because we need medication for mental health, it is just those chemicals telling us that!

Admitting depression

Depression is ok, it’s okay to admit you have depression, there should be no shame in that, I am not ashamed that I have depression in the same way that I am not ashamed that I have asthma. I think sometimes the labelling of depression into different categories does not help.

The reason I say this is that if you are diagnosed as having postnatal depression there is surely an expectation of others and one that you put on yourself that you will “get better” as it is “just” postnatal depression. What if you don’t get better? How do you feel then when you are still struggling and the baby is a year old? I think the label postnatal depression then means you already feel like more of a failure because you still have it and it hasn’t disappeared.

Nothing to be ashamed of

Having depression is nothing to be ashamed of and ever since starting my blog I have aimed to help break this stigma by sharing my experiences and showing it is ok to be open about it.

I can openly tell you that I have taken medication for depression on and off for the last 19 years. Having had counselling and seen psychiatrists. I can tell you that there have been times I have been suicidal and that there have been occasions I have attempted to end my life.

It’s ok to have depression though and I am not ashamed it is just a condition that I have and I know I will always suffer from it. I am still Jen though, I am still a good mum despite my head sometimes telling me otherwise. I am a great girlfriend, my head often tells me I am not, Stuart never says this though so I know it is just in my head.

Depression – Issues from the past?

The issues from my past that trouble me will always be there and I have learnt to accept that and accept the fact they will never go away but that is ok, it’s ok to have issues and it’s ok that these affect me. What is not ok is to be judged by these issues and that includes judging myself. I am learning to not judge myself for having depression.

Do you have depression? It is ok to admit you have depression and it is ok to not be ok. The main thing I think is having that support network to help you when you are not ok whether that be friends, family, or just knowing that there is always someone there when you ring the Samaritans. The important thing is never to feel alone and to always have someone to turn to.