[Mefisto]

I just found the photo of me when i was 18 and i didnt recognize myself. Its like two completely different persons. My eyes were glowing with desire to live and i even had some kind of smile. After 4 years of depression, stress, social isolation, drug and alcohol abuse, one suicide attempt and much suffering my face became wrinkly and decrepit, my cheeks got very fat, my eyes became bleak with huge bags under them. Im just like the half-dead version of my previous self and look like sick sad hamster.
Can you find a photo of you before you were captured by depression and compare with your current appearance?

Depression had definitely affected the way I look, yes. I used to 'glow' as you said, plus I took better care of myself before I got depressed (as depression has drained a lot of my motivation and energy to do so now).

The left is a school picture from 6th grade, right before I started getting depression symptoms. The right is a very recent webcam picture of me now (18 years old). A lot of the difference in my looks has been getting older and adolescence, but you can still tell in the right picture that I am not happy. (Also my style of dress has changed a lot, and I no longer wear makeup.)

Between these two pictures (2008 - 2015) I've gone through getting depression, lots and lots of drunken fights between my parents, cutting myself, being bullied, suicidal feelings, a one-week stay at an adolescent psych unit, three deaths in the family, dropping out of high school, and most recently my dad cheating on my mom which has really ****ed everything up and severed a lot of ties I had with people who I used to be close to but now don't talk to anymore.

I see no reason to smile now, obviously. :P



I feel like, when I'm your age, I'll be the wrinkly decrepit-looking person you describe.

[IrisBloom]

I am rarely smiling in pictures of me as a child and teen. No one noticed back then

[Ad Intra]

It did. I most of the depression symptoms and two of them was trouble eating and sleeping. Not doing either left me looking sickly and pale. After receiving treatment I looked better and people said I looked happy.

[LifeIsCruel]

For me, my appearance affects my depression...as I have never liked the way I look and cannot change it....accepting it is a harsh reality.........

Right now, with the depression I'm in, I have bags under my eyes usually because I get so tired early in the evening and go upstairs to my bedroom and close my eyes for a couple of hours before I actually go to sleep. I don't think anyone with bags under their eyes looks like they're in good shape that day. And chronic bags under the eyes has to make people wonder what's up. At least that's what I think.

And of course lately I have to really force myself to smile, and much of the time it's a fake smile that I'm sure doesn't come across as genuine. I would bet I lack a gleam in my eye too. I rarely rare makeup anymore and lack the interest in looking fashionable. I always wear clean clothes but I don't see much value anymore in looking very fashionable. Just getting through the day is the priority.

[Sirensong18]

My overall appearance has probably gotten better since I've lost 70 lbs over the last 5 years. But my hair is much thinner now, it used to be thick and lush when I was a child. Not sure if that's just part of growing up, or if it's related to stress/depression.

[bubbles00]

yup. Lost a lot of weight, noticeable eye bags and I generally look more dead than alive. I don't have many pictures of me though because I hate taking pictures of myself because I have huge self-esteem issues :/ (I don't like others looking at me and neither do I like looking at myself).