Depression doesn't always look like that stereotypical anti-depressant commercial where some woman is hunched over on a bed while her family watches her solemnly from a distance. Because of the way depression is depicted in media, the public creates a stereotypical view that can make depression hard to identify. 

If you’ve been struggling with focusing and being productive at work, but you get out of bed, shower, and get dressed–is that depression?  

It’s estimated that 21 million adults–8.4% of the US population–struggled with at least one depressive episode in 2020. And that’s probably severely underreported. Let’s talk about what the symptoms of depression can look like.

Identifying Symptoms of Depression

Depression is one of those mental health issues that can be really good at disguising. After all, in the work-week, don’t we all experience fatigue at some point? If you don’t want to go out or see your friends, is that isolating or “charging your social battery”? Are you experiencing a loss of interest in things that usually bring you joy–or does Netflix content just suck lately? 

It’s hard to know if the symptoms and signs we are experiencing are truly considered depression or not. And you might struggle with identifying these things in others let alone yourself. 

If you’re concerned about identifying some of these as depression symptoms, speaking to a licensed therapist who can listen nonjudgmentally can help.  

Perceiving Depression

Because of the way depression is depicted in media, the public’s perception on this mental health issue has been largely stigmatized. We see these perceptions through the commercials on anti-depressants, TV tropes, and characters in movies. It’s more-often-than-not someone so low energy that they can’t manage to get out of bed or shower. And while that can be what depression looks like, it also may look entirely different. 

Some people can struggle with depression and to the outsider still look like a productive, “happy” member of society. Some people can struggle with low energy, sleep affect, feelings of worthlessness and low mood and still be the “life of the party.” 

This is called high-functioning depression. 

People who struggle with depression can look and sound like a hundred different ways because people are different. Some people try really hard to hide their symptoms out of fear of others’ treatment. Some people hide them out of shame. Some people wish they could hide their symptoms but they symptoms are so strong—they can’t. Some may notice something’s there, but they shove it down deep out of survival. And some people don’t hide their symptoms–perhaps as a way to signal to others that they’re not okay.

Destigmatizing Depression

If you read through the list of depression symptoms and thought, “doesn’t everybody experience these?” I’m sitting at the edge of my desk seat, shouting YES!

I mean, definitely not. Not everybody does. But I get your point—so many people DO.

The CDC reported during 2020, 18.4% of U.S. adults reported having ever been diagnosed with depression; state-level age-standardized estimates ranged from 12.7% in Hawaii to 27.5% in West Virginia. 

That’s almost 1 in 5. Think of five people–there is a likelihood of at least one of them struggling with depression in their lifetime! Not counting all those who go underreported. And we have so many reasons to have depression: trauma, capitalism, climate change, racism/discrimination, shame issues, relationship issues, being fired, money problems, politics and social issues, family conflict–whew, giiiirl, the list goes on…

If that many people struggle with depression, I advocate that we be less judgmental, more empathetic/understanding, and more resourceful/helpful to those who experience depression. These are some of the best ways to support those around us who struggle with this issue. And I’m calling out the messages behind the tropes–that depression is 1) something that happens to others, “not regular people like you and me” and 2) hopeless. 

Depression can happen to anyone. And it looks like the symptoms we listed but even those can be hidden well. And it is definitely not hopeless. 

In the next post of this series, I will be talking about ways to manage depression. Stay tuned to the blog for that post and if you’ve stuck around this long to read the entirety of this post–thanks so much for your support and I hope this information has been helpful!

Articles discussed: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7224a1.htm