This is What Depression Looks Like - Mental Health Awareness Month

May 07, 2018

Did you know that an estimated 16.2 million adults in the United States will experience at least one major depressive episode in their lifetime? With depression such a common almost fact of life for adults in the US, why is there still such a social stigma against mental health? My name is Darrian, I'm 26 years old, and this is what depression looks like.

If you scroll through my Instagram, you won't see many pictures where it "looks like I'm depressed". In fact, you'll probably see a lot of pictures of me smiling, looking like I'm out here in the world and living my best life. Because I am. But I also battle with depression each and every day. Some days, I wake up feeling like I'm ready to take on the world and other days, my biggest battle is just getting out of bed.

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Like a lot of young adults, I was diagnosed with depression when I was in college. Even then, I would have just looked like a normal college co-ed who was eating too much Chick-fil-A and enjoying day-drinking on the warm weekends. The truth is, depression can affect anyone at anytime. No matter how much it looks like someone has their life together, they could still be struggling with mental illness.

Mental illness does not discriminate. Depression can be a beast but the reason I am writing this short post today is to let you know that you are not alone. Depression can be the most isolating battle you will ever face but no matter what your mind convinces you, you are not alone and there are people, like me, who are going through the same thing as you. There are resources that you can turn to if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or other mental health issues. Don't ever be afraid to seek out help.

For more information on Mental Illness check out the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

I am obviously not a licensed medical professional but I have a platform and I'll be damned if I'm not going to use it to help end the stigma surrounding mental illness. Below I've rounded up all of the posts I've done on both my depression and my anxiety.