What is depression?

What is Depression?

I ask that question and hopefully I will get answers from members here in their own words, and not in the form of links to what other Drs or what think depression is.

What is depression to you?

For me depression is constant suicidal thoughts, a feeling of hoplessness, a lack of power, a lack of focus. They are days when my mind takes a vacation from those thoughts and powers up to meet worldly challengers, but always returns back to those thoughts. It started in childhood with simple thoughts of wanting to be dead. There just seems to be no point to life, even happy-ness seems over rated. How did these thoughts get in my head? much I think has to do with poverty, and the poverty prison.

Hi, Vieome! Here is a partial, personal answer to your question.

For me, depression is most obviously a disease of the will. It means being mysteriously unable to mobilize myself to do what I want when I want, even things that should be enjoyable. I can imagine doing or participating in something, but I find my emotions and body won’t work with my imagination to act. With that, I find I don’t or can’t care I’m “unable” to act.

That’s the obvious side of my depression. Beneath the surface I’m vaguely aware of a more fearful aspect of the illness, but it’s a master at hiding from me.

Depression for me is exhaustion and guilt!!!

I feel guilty for not doing the things I know I should, and guilty for not loving those I should love.

I am tired of going to work, I am tired in general, I have no desired or wants, I just wish everybody would leave me alone...

Depression for me is spending half and hour answering your question then bumping the mouse and losing what I wrote.
So the last thing I remember writing is depression for me is living moment by moment and trusting my body to heal itself, with the aid of medications, therapy and time.

Depression is many different things to me, but today depression is crying for hours on end when someone is abrasive or insensitive towards me.

You will know what depression is if you are diagnosed with it . Believe me.

depression is like
"how to be happy" question being answered and I'm not there because I don't care anymore.

Depression is looking into the future and seeing a ruined landscape instead of a worthwhile life filled with accomplishment and joy.

Depression for me is a constant feeling of being a failure, of feeling like there is no hope for improvement in me or the situation that I'm in, a constant sense of pain, sometimes accompanied with terror or panic. It is a force that I cannot overcome that clouds up my life & makes me feel so bad that I cannot imagine being happy again.