Photo by Pexels
Throughout your lives I am sure someone has told you at least once “fuck your feelings”. In today’s modern society, our feelings seem to have diminishing worth if it means that our productivity and efficiency is hindered by it. Although there are times when the task at hand supersedes our feelings, it should not constantly be that way. Even from a productivity stand point, if you constantly bottle up your emotions, you will one day break and your motivation and drive will follow along the same path. Thus, it is crucial to accept your emotions and not feel held down by it. However, as you know, this is easier said than done and is the reason why i will be explaining why you should not feel ashamed about it and even share your thoughts with your loved ones.
Firstly, allowing yourself some self-compassion will benefit you greatly. We tend to be highly critical of ourselves and thus if you are criticizing yourself about your depression, remember to show yourself some self compassion. Always consider another perspective. How would you react to someone else going through the same thing? It may be difficult but its absolutely fine to acknowledge that you are struggling. Giving yourself the sufficient time and space to completely process your feelings without worrying about others burdensome expectations on you will help ease the constant tension you feel within yourself. Celebrate your victories each day, no matter how small they might seem. Personally, after allowing myself some self-compassion i realized i felt more confident in whatever i was doing and started to dare to take more risks in order to achieve whatever i wanted to so i highly recommend you start your journey with this.
Photo by Edmond Dantès on Pexels
Additionally, we must remember that others do in fact understand. Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions in the United States. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 7.1% of adults in the U.S. experience at least one episode of depression each year. This is equivalent to around 17.3 million adults in the United States. This highlights the extreme prevalence of depression in today’s modern society and that many of us are indeed going through a common and similar experience. We will all experience depression differently, but others will be able to understand our emotions and empathize with our struggles. Depression can be isolating but it is important to remember that it is not unusual and you are not alone in your emotions.
Photo by mododeolhar on Pexels
Lastly, finding someone who can create a safe space for you to vent out your emotions will help greatly.It’s understandable that you might not want to tell everyone you know that you are feeling depressed. It’s a sensitive issue and, like other health conditions, it’s something you may want to keep private. However, research has highlighted that having social support is highly beneficial and can even act as a defence against traits of depression. When we open up our inner selves and people respond with sympathy, we feel seen, understood, and supported. From personal experience, this helped me greatly as when I started opening up about my emotions to my trusted circle I always felt a sense of relief after and that things did not seem as bad. Further, if you feel that there is not anyone who you’re comfortable with sharing your emotions with, it’s recommended that you call a helpline as there is no loss in sharing your thoughts with someone who does not know who you are at all and thus there is no reputation lost.
In conclusion, I hope this article has been able to help you find reasons as to why you should never feel ashamed about your mental state and how you can start to overcome it. Be sure to spread awareness about mental health and do your best to help those in need around you!
