What does depression feel like?
That’s the question Tim Lott answers today in his opinion piece, written to coincide with Depression Week. He writes:
There is a heavy, leaden feeling in your chest, rather as when someone you love dearly has died; but no one has – except, perhaps, you. You feel acutely alone. It is commonly described as being like viewing the world through a sheet of plate glass; it would be more accurate to say a sheet of thick, semi-opaque ice.
His moving piece has proved popular with our readers, who have shared their own experiences in the comments.
I always thought it was a personal hell, and everyone being being different, I found it impossible to describe to anyone else.
For me one of the very worst things about depression is that, when I'm not depressed, I find it almost impossible to remember what it feels like when I am (though I recognise Tim's description as horribly accurate, and perhaps it's the case that I just can't face reliving those feelings). This means that although there's a "here we go again" feeling each time, it also feels new - it's impossible to put it into perspective as something I've had before and will go away again. The flip side to this is that when I'm depressed I can't imagine what it's like to not be - happiness seems an impossible concept. So, on the upside, when I do finally get out of those dark woods it feels incredible, like I'm experiencing joy for the very first time.
We’d like to collect more experiences for a piece later this week. Share your stories in the form below, and we may use them in our coverage.
Yes it is very very bad. The oddest thing is the degree to which it clouds your judgement, makes you think differently, experience everything differently, even move more slowly, not just 'feeling sad'. Only when not depressed and looking back can you see how truly broken your brain was in that moment. Yuk.