Depression symptoms often appear in a person's life in subtle ways. The following are signs that someone may be depressed:
A cluttered space
Unwashed garments
Meal skipping
Plan cancellation
Spending the entire day in bed
Unfortunately, these signs and symptoms are easily misinterpreted. Such behaviors can be perplexing or even aggravating to loved ones.
Your spouse may become enraged because you aren't doing your fair share around the house. Your children may be disappointed that you lack the energy to play with them.
Depression is often referred to as an invisible illness because of this. It's not something that can be detected by simply looking at you. Others may be left to infer meaning from your behavior unless you tell them what you're feeling and thinking. People aren't always aware of the wide range of symptoms that can accompany depression.
While you may be concerned about how your depression is affecting your family, your symptoms make it even more difficult to get the help you require. Guilt and shame, for example, are common depression symptoms. Feeling like you're disappointing the people you care about can exacerbate those feelings.
You made so many good points on how depression can be misunderstood! Thanks for starting this conversation.
I think the pressure that you described can be reduced if we take the time to educate ourselves and the people around us. With that being said, depressed people will no longer be called lazy which will decrease the amount of guilt they're dealing with.
As a part of the collective we might also ease or prevent depression by promoting self-reflection and other activities for connecting with ourselves on a deeper level.
Lastly, as you mentioned- people might not be aware and they might misinterpret our behavior. That's why it's important to start being more open and honest about these kinds of things. In my opinion, there's nothing better than setting realistic expectations and having clear communication.
You're right!
This is true, and also the form of functional depression is even harder to detect, accept and treat.