Talking about depression makes it seem less serious/more trite

[purplesocial]

Something I noticed is that on the rare occasions where I talk about depression, I get the sense that I'm making it sound more trite and casual when describing it compared to how powerful it is to actually experience it.

Talking about it just makes it seem so trivial or even silly compared to how you actually feel when you experience it.

Can anyone else relate to this? Do you ever get the sense that you can't really convey how powerful the feelings are when speaking? Do you ever get the sense that by talking about it, it starts to feel trite, or even trivial and silly?

I hope this makes sense to someone out there.

 

[philly2bits]

I've noticed this to a certain extent. I don't believe depression is something that can be put into words very well. It's something that must be experienced to get the full measure of it effects on people.

When ever I did talk about it I would always make it sound like it wasn't so bad and I should be able to overcome it easy, which was far from the truth.

 

[Noca]

One can not fully understand the magnitude of depression until they have experienced it for themselves.

 

[shore_of_glass]

so, just to get it straight, depression is only detected by its effects on one's life, right?

 

[purplesocial]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

so, just to get it straight, depression is only detected by its effects on one's life, right?

In light of this thread, it sure seems that way.

So when I'm talking to someone, the easiest thing to talk about would be how it has affected my life, rather than what I am feeling inside per se.

Now let's think about this.

What could this entire thread mean about what depression is?

Could it perhaps imply that depression is related to being too much within ourself? Too much inside our own heads?

Perhaps our situation isn't as bad or as different from an objective point of view, although from the inside what we are feeling is absolutely horrible. It seems like we are the only one (or rather the major contributing factor) giving a reality to the depression on the inside.

We are the ones giving it fuel in our minds, and making it seem like such a horrific life-altering experience even though from the outside the effects of it may not be as bad as they seem.

Now I'm thinking of this in terms of treatment. If we are the ones (rather than objective, external circumstances) that contribute the most to giving life and validity to the depression, aren't we also the ones with the most power to give it less weight and validity? The most power to overcome it?

It's not about what some therapist says. You can only talk to them about the effects it has.

But that thing we're feeling on the inside, the therapist can't get to that. We are the ones who have the best access to that. We are the ones who have the most power to give the depression life or to give it less weight and validity. And ultimately, we have the most power to overcome it.


Depression is this entity that lives entirely inside us regardless of what the circumstances around us might be. I believe that understanding this gives us tremendous, tremendous amount of power to overcome it.

Now, I've just been rambling and repeating myself, but I really hope someone else out there can figure out what I was trying to say.

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Here's an ANALOGY: I suddenly started hearing a song in my head. The song gives me a great, intense desire to go live inside a tree house. I decide to drop my life behind and go to live in a treehouse. I could talk for years to a therapist about how the music inside my head has caused me to make certain lifestyle changes, but since no one else can hear this song, ultimately I am the one with the most power to stop playing the song in my head, or to stop listening to the song and negate its effects.

Like the song, depression is so much subjective and not objective. I see that as empowering to me because I contribute most to giving it life and validity, and can also contribute the most to overcoming it.

 

[orange_balloon]

Something I noticed is that on the rare occasions where I talk about depression, I get the sense that I'm making it sound more trite and casual when describing it compared to how powerful it is to actually experience it.

Talking about it just makes it seem so trivial or even silly compared to how you actually feel when you experience it.

Can anyone else relate to this? Do you ever get the sense that you can't really convey how powerful the feelings are when speaking? Do you ever get the sense that by talking about it, it starts to feel trite, or even trivial and silly?

I hope this makes sense to someone out there.

I know exactly how you feel! Depending on the situation it can make it seems better or worse. For example, sometimes when I talk about what is upsetting me I think, wow, that's not reality at all, what I was worrying about was a hugely distorted version of the truth in my mind. It was all quite silly. Sometimes, though, I feel discouraged because it sounds stupid and I cannot convey how it really has an impact on me. I guess that is the roller coaster known as depression.