It seems as though people avoid and exclude those who become very depressed. I would think they would just make the depressed person even more depressed and lonely. Anyone think of some reasons for this?

No but I know what u mean. The reaction is much worse if u reveal u maybe borderline personality....

Originally Posted by muaythailady88

No but I know what u mean. The reaction is much worse if u reveal u maybe borderline personality....

Exactly, good point there as well. Including people I think would actually help in the long run.

[A Red Panda]

I think a lot of people would be worried about how to treat someone with depression. If they're empathetic people, they might be worried over somehow making things worse... and then unintentionally make it worse.

Other people just don't know how to approach others who are experiencing something they don't/can't understand.

Sometimes people just give others the space that they think they want - and often, when we're depressed people do isolate themselves.

If they just see someone who is depressed and don't KNOW that it's depression, they might just think that the person is very negative or a loner.. and might leave them alone due to a belief that the person prefers it that way or simply because they don't enjoy the negativity.

Originally Posted by A Red Panda

I think a lot of people would be worried about how to treat someone with depression. If they're empathetic people, they might be worried over somehow making things worse... and then unintentionally make it worse.

Other people just don't know how to approach others who are experiencing something they don't/can't understand.

Sometimes people just give others the space that they think they want - and often, when we're depressed people do isolate themselves.

If they just see someone who is depressed and don't KNOW that it's depression, they might just think that the person is very negative or a loner.. and might leave them alone due to a belief that the person prefers it that way or simply because they don't enjoy the negativity.

True, you have some good points there.

[monkeybrains21]

There's also ppl who see depression as some contagious disease. They don't want to be anywhere near them.

Me, I'm always depressed it seems but I always force myself to do stuff. I can be depressed one minute then in a matter of minutes be a total goof ball.

Originally Posted by monkeybrains21

There's also ppl who see depression as some contagious disease. They don't want to be anywhere near them.

Me, I'm always depressed it seems but I always force myself to do stuff. I can be depressed one minute then in a matter of minutes be a total goof ball.

I agree and me too!

People are afraid of that which is foreign to them.....

[paynful]

I think when people realize that depression is categorized as a "mental illness" they get uncomfortable, because they don't know what to expect or HOW to react.

My mother tried to treat me as "curable" while I tried to figure out how live with it.

So, I guess, it really depends on the person's personal "exposure" to despression as an illness.

If they only know about depression from textbooks or the "talk around town," they tend to forget the HUMAN element of it. They do look at you as contagious and avoid or mock what they do not understand.

On the other hand, if some one has seen it every day in people they care about.. they are wary of unknown "triggers," but still show their compassion.

I have had easier communication with people when I explain my depression as a chemical imbalance rather than a mental illness. It's really the same thing, but one seems more tanglible than the other.

It's like trying to explain God to the faithless when you should just point out a rainbow as "evidence."

[JustZeek]

I lost all of my friends as my depression got worse. There excuse was I just didn't fit in anymore. I wonder, if they left me for that reason, I am not actually better off finding one or two friends who see me through the lows or a bunch of superficial friends how can't see past their made up perfect lives to help out someone who is struggling? Some of it was me. I was a drain on them but the rest was that they were so caught up in looking perfect on the outside they never cared to look at what people are like inside.

Anyway, that's my experience.

[butterflycaught2]

I found that friends leave me over time because they lose patience... I don't go out anymore, I can't hold appointments with friends, so most of them just give up over time. Anxiety and depression plus Borderline don't exactly help my situation.
I wonder... Will I ever be "normal"?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ChangingMyMind]

I think you have all made valid points. People fear what they do not understand. Sometimes its easier to distance yourself from somebody dealing with mental illness than to try to help or understand what they're going through.

I also think it depends on what the individual can handle themselves. They may also be depressed or have another mental illness that causes them to withdraw from others who have a mental illness. It may be too much for them to deal with or they may be isolating themselves from everything.