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Micah Ahr

Christy Trotter

English 1201

28 March 2021

Just Stay

The feeling of not feeling alive, of not feeling like you are really, truly living, but rather

just living everyday, as if the same day is repeating over and over. The feeling where you don’t

feel good enough and even the minimum amount of effort to your everyday life is hard to give.

You don’t know how you keep going some days, but you do. However, there are certain days

where you feel as if you weren’t there it wouldn’t matter. Sometimes you want to get better and

sometimes you don’t. Life just seems a lot harder than it already is. This is what it may be like

for someone who is living with depression. Depression affects people in lots of different ways.

There are many physical, emotional, and social attributes that affect a person’s everyday life.

According to Western Washington Medical Group, “Depression affects how your mind

and body feel and react to everyday life...Depression can be confusing, lonely, and can have a

dramatic effect on an individual’s quality of life”(WWMG). Because of this, many people who

have been diagnosed with depression tend to keep to themselves about what they are dealing

with rather than tell someone. Perhaps because they don’t want to bother people with their own

personal problems and put that on top of all the other personal situations another person may be

dealing with on their own. Another reason one may not reach out is due to the fact that they feel

like people simply just don’t care about how they are feeling. Most of the time people don’t care

about how one lives their life, but if they are having a hard time, anyone would be willing to

listen. Depressed people feel as if there is nothing anyone could say or do that even has the
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slightest chance of making them feel just a little bit better. This feeling affects people all over the

world and the factors that cause this are endless.

There are many causes of depression that one may experience. The causes run from both

genetic and environmental factors. In an article by WebMD, they state nine different causes of

depression. These are, “abuse, age, certain medications, conflict, death or loss, gender, genes,

major events, other personal problems, serious illnesses, and substance misuse” (WebMD). Each

of these play an important role in how one would deal with depression as well. These causes

could be from childhood experiences, such as abuse, whether to themselves or seeing a parent or

sibling being abused, or trauma, such as the death or loss of a loved one. Different ages and

different genders endure the many stages of life in contrasting ways. For example, girls deal with

menstruation, which can lead to lots of pain and lots of crying. Girls tend to show their emotions

much more than boys do, so oftentimes people will forget that boys deal with depression as well.

With substance misuse, one could abuse drugs or alcohol to try and help with their depression,

when it is really only making them more depressed. It is important to check up on people even if

they may seem fine on the outside.

Along with the causes comes the symptoms of depression. The symptoms of depression

may vary depending on how serious the disease is on the individual. Western Washington

Medical Group mentions nine different symptoms of depression that one may experience. These

are: “frequently crying, overwhelming feelings of attachment, fixation on death and/or thoughts

of suicide, inability to concentrate or remember, paralying indecision, feeling unmotivated, loss

of sex drive, unexplainable aches and pains, and feelings of fatigue and low energy” (WWMG).

The symptoms mentioned are the most common symptoms found in depressed people and while

they may not experience all the symptoms at the same time, one symptom could eventually lead
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to another and so on. One who is depressed, as mentioned above, will tend to keep to themselves,

meaning they could be experiencing these symptoms and their friends and family would never

know about it.

The physical symptoms of depression include fatigue and low energy, a change in

appetite or an eating disorder (ED), and unexplainable aches and pains. These symptoms are

apparent in the eyes of family, friends, and sometimes even in strangers. One thing always leads

to another with depression. Because one may encounter fatigue, they are at risk for developing

an eating disorder in which aches and pains could be a common side effect.

Although depression can cause fatigue, it is hard to determine whether or not the fatigue

was caused by depression or through a physical illness. Healthline's article states, “unlike

everyday fatigue, depression-related fatigue can also cause concentration problems, feelings of

irritability, and apathy” (Healthline). These causes can affect the way a person goes about their

everyday life. Due to the lack of sleep, they will not be able to concentrate, which leads to

memory loss, even with the smallest details. This could cause one to become irritable and

perhaps lash out on people for something that may or may not be their fault. People could end up

putting their own problems on the hands of other people whether they mean to or not. Apathy is

also heavily related to depression in that it makes a person simply not care about anything,

anyone, or for the most part, themselves. This could eventually lead to one experiencing a

change in appetite.

A change in appetite can mean a person either eats too much or too little. These could be

described as having an eating disorder. WebMD’s article about the relation between depression

and eating disorders mentions, “Depression may lead to eating disorders, but there’s also

evidence that eating disorders can result in depression” (WebMD). The most common types of
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eating disorders are anorexia (undereating), and binge eating (overeating). Both of these eating

disorders have a dramatic affect on a person’s mental health. With anorexia, a person is

malnourished and most of the time, severely underweight, whereas with overeating, one may be

overweight. Being malnourished affects a person’s mood states negatively driving them into a

deeper state of depression the less they eat. However, when one binge eats they feel disgusted in

themselves after eating, causing them to hate the fact that they fueled their body, even if it was

too much. This eventually worsens their depression as well. Undereating and overeating are both

curable, however they can lead to effects on the body physically if not taken care of properly.

The aches and pains occur all throughout the body, from back pain, to stomach pains, to

headaches, and even eye problems, even cramps. Depression and pain go hand in hand. These

aches and pains could be a result of fatigue or change in appetite. Doctors may recommend

antidepressants or another form of medication that may help with both depression and physical

pain throughout the body. However, medication could either be good or take a turn for the worse.

One may want to get better, and will take the medication accordingly, or they could do the

opposite and misuse the medication, either taking too little, which isn’t helping them to get better

at all, or simply taking too many, resulting in a potential suicide attempt or an overdose on the

drug, potentially killing them.

Along with the physical symptoms, the social symptoms of depression are also very

apparent. The loss of interest of things once found enjoyable, the loss of contact with friends and

family, and inability to concentrate/feeling unmotivated/paralyzing indecision. However, during

this day and age, there is also depression related to the pandemic that has been going on for over

a year. The pandemic has had the power to either cause depression or worsen depression to the

extreme.
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The loss of interest in things once found enjoyable, also called anhedonia, affects many

people with depression. Everyone has certain things that they find enjoyable, whether it be

hobbies or games, or even sex. These things could have been the one way a person was able to

escape reality and focus on themselves without the input of others hovering over them. Since

being diagnosed with depression, these activities are no longer allowing them to experience the

fun life has to give. With the loss of interest in what used to be enjoyable, a person may also

experience the loss of caring for themselves at all. They may find it hard to get out of bed in the

morning, eat, shower, clean, along with even completing the simplest day-to-day tasks. If a

person can’t even make themselves get out of bed, how are they going to go to school or work?

They lose their motivation to function at all. This loss of motivation causes a loss of hope for

them ever getting better. They feel hopeless, leading them to become helpless. Most of the time

they will stay in bed, either sleeping away their problems or sitting there all day not doing

anything about what they are dealing with. They will not talk to anyone about the thoughts in

their head and soon not want to talk to anyone at all. This eventually leads to loss of interest in

keeping in contact with friends and family.

Depression causes people to shut down and sometimes not talk to anyone, even those

they are closest to. Unfortunately over time, they lose contact with friends and family even if

their friends and family notice this and want to help. A person will not want to accept the help

they are able to get because they feel as if it won’t ever be able to go back to the way life was

before their depression hit. This is hard for the friends and family of the depressed person

because they want the happy, energetic, lively person they knew before to come back. At times,

the friends and family feel that anything they do to try and help is just making everything worse.

This is where the loss of contact comes into play. Of course the family and friends will always be
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there, but oftentimes nothing they are doing in any way is seeming to help. For the most part, the

person who is depressed wants the help and wants people to be there for them, but they just don’t

know how to explain the demons that seem to take over their mind.

Depression in times of a pandemic affects many people of all ages all over the world. In

the article titled Depression and Pandemic, the author explicates, “The emergence of the

pandemic has led to primordial social and economic swaps around the world, sponsored

measures for their conduct have a significant effect on the mental health of individuals” (IJEP).

The pandemic has affected people in ways researchers would have never thought possible. This

is crucial because people have been affected in grand masses that normally would not have

happened if it weren't for the pandemic. Pandemic mandated isolation and lack of social

interaction has contributed to an increase in depression amongst people of all ages. This has led

people to get wrapped up in their head that the pandemic is going to last forever and that this is

the way life is now. Covid-19 is hard for anyone to deal with, whether they have depression or

not. Though this pandemic has only been going on for a year, it has caused a very large number

of people to become emotionally drained.

Emotional symptoms, such as crying, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide are sadly much

easier to hide from others than the physical and social symptoms. This is because the emotional

effects are all in one’s head. For example, you could be walking beside a stranger on the street or

talking to your best friend and never know how they are feeling emotionally.

Crying is something that everyone does every once and awhile. However, for one that has

depression, they might do this very often, and oftentimes the crying is uncontrollable sobbing.

This crying could be about a personal situation or simply crying for a reason or reasons they

can’t even explain themselves. In order to hide the crying, one may say that they have allergies
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and that their eyes are just watering. For the most part, however, most people wait until they are

alone to cry and let out their feelings. This way, no one can bother them and ask what is wrong.

Oftentimes, when asked what is wrong, it can lead a person into an even more melancholic

mood. Crying, while most of the time, is sad, can also be the only way someone can just let

everything out without having to talk about anything. Sometimes, though, it is nice to have a

shoulder to cry on. This makes anyone feel good, depressed or not, people like having the feeling

knowing that someone is just there for them. Sometimes, however, one can feel so emotionally

drained, but they just physically cannot enable themselves to cry. So, they will just sit there,

unable to explain what is going on inside as well as express how they feel through crying.

Anxiety and depression, while one is considered a high-energy state and the other

considered to be a low-energy state, are very closely related. In an article written by Thomas

Tjornehoj for the Hartgrove Hospital, he declares, “The chance of acquiring depression is much

higher when an anxiety disorder already exists. Nearly half of those with major depression suffer

from severe and persistent anxiety” (Hartgrove Hospital). Many people experience anxiety and

may not even realize it, from the small worries of getting a paper done on time to the stress of

waiting to receive that acceptance letter. However, considering the fact that depression and

anxiety have most of the same symptoms, if one gets worse, the other will gradually get worse as

well. One may think they just have worries about little things, which could actually be anxiety

and they just might not know it. This undiagnosed anxiety could put people at a greater risk for

developing depression in the near future. Both of these diseases are curable with the right help

from the right people.

In the article, “Symptoms of Depression,” WebMD lists many warning signs of suicide,

including: “switching from sadness to appearing to be happy, talking or thinking about death,
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taking deadly risks, making comments about being hopeless or worthless, saying things

regarding how life would be better if they weren’t there, and talking about suicide” (WebMD).

The warning signs are heavily related to the physical and social symptoms of depression. Suicide

is one of the rougher topics regarding depression that many people don’t like to talk about but it

is important that people reach out and get the help they need before it is too late. People would

choose to result to attempting suicide because they could never stand to hurt someone else. They

could do this physically by cutting themselves in different areas of their body, specifically places

easy to hide so no one questions them. Suicide attempts range from all ages simply due to the

fact that one feels no one is there for them and it wouldn’t matter if they lived anymore or not.

Nonetheless, depression does not have to end in the loss of a life and there is so much one can do

and so many people who are there for them. Sometimes all people need is someone who will

listen to them, regardless of how confidential the information is. Suicide is a permanant fix to a

temproary problem. It is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and if people can

be there for each other, there will be many more lives lived to the fullest and not ended so

quickly.

The symptoms listed are just a few of the many different symptoms one may encounter

with depression. Those with depression deal with these symptoms in many different ways as no

one person lives life the exact same. For the most part, people deal with depression in an

unhealthy way, mostly through substance abuse, generally drugs and alcohol. According to

WebMD, “It is estimated that 30% of people with substance abuse problems experience

depression” (WebMD). While this is less than half, the percentage could be rising due to the

current events going on in the world today. Frequently, people tend to result in drugs and alcohol

for the fun of it and how it makes them feel without taking into account the long term effects it
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has on your body and their mental health. Drugs and alcohol can lead to depression as well as be

one of the only things a depressed person feels like they have that won’t leave them. They enjoy

the way they become numb to the pain and focus only on how the drugs and alcohol are making

them feel. They feel free, as if nothing is bothering them, as if they are finally living the life they

have always wanted to live.

While most of the ways depression affects a person’s life are unhealthy, there is much

discussion on how there are some healthy ways people deal with depression in their everyday

lives. Generally stating, not everyone who has depression is suicidal and most really do want the

help. They long to live a better life than what they may by living at the time. There are many

ways people can deal with depression in a healthy way. Most doctors and therapists reccommend

exercise. The effects of exercise are very healthy in that it can: “increase body temperature - has

a soothing effect on your Central Nervous System, release endorphins - a natural mood-boosting

hormone, reduce immune system chemicals that exacerbate depression, and improve your

self-esteem and body image” (WWMD). Other ways to improve your mental health include

eating healthy and reducing or terminating substance abuse. While exercise and healthy eating

will not completely rid depression all the way, it is a great start to alleviating the symptoms

associated with depression. It may be helpful to get people to exercise with you, so they can

motivate you in ways you may not be able to motivate yourself.

WebMD states the many ways one can receive help with depression. There are many

medications doctors can prescribe that will help slow the spread of the deadly disease within a

person’s body. However, medication, specifically antidepressants can have several side effects,

such as “nausea, weight gain, lower sex drive, tiredness, trouble sleeping, dry mouth, blurred

vision, constipation, dizziness, and anxiety” (WebMD). Along with medication or if the side
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effects are serious, people can try going to see licensed therapists who can help a person talk

through and resolve their problems. Therapists are scary for most people at first as they feel they

will be getting judged for the things they think about. This is not the case, as therapists, just like

their patient’s friends and family, want them to get better.

If the antidepressants prescribed by a patient's doctor are not working, WebMD also

mentions two other forms of treatment used to help cure depression. These are: electroconvulsive

therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) “passes electric

currents through your brain to help neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) work better”

(WebMD) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) “uses a coil to send magnetic pulses

through your brain to help stimulate nerve cells that regulate mood” (WebMD). These are not as

common as the use of antidepressants and therapy help tremendously with improving the signs

and symptoms of depression.

Depression is very real and affects so many people whether you know it or not. Reach out

to your friends and family. Let them know you are there for them. Tell them you love them.

Smile at the strangers you see on the street. You never know who’s struggling and a little extra

comfort and kindness can go a long way. The best thing you can do is just let people know you

are there for them. It really means a lot more than you probably think it does. No one can walk in

your shoes, but they can make life a bit easier. If you are struggling with depression, know that

you are loved and it will not be like this forever. There is always help regardless of how big or

small. People are there for you and people want to help. They want you to experience the simple

joys of life alongside them.

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Works Cited

Staff, W. (2020, October 22). What is depression & how does it affect your well-being: Wwmg.
Retrieved March 22, 2021, from https://www.wwmedgroup.com/blog/depression/

Wang, S (2020, November). “Causes and Treatment of Adolescent Depression.” 2020

International Conference of Public Health and Data Science (ICPHDS), Public Health
and Data Science (ICPHDS), Retrieved March 28, 2021, from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1275411.pdf

Signs of clinical depression: Symptoms to watch for. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2021, from
https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/detecting-depression

Jaret, P. (n.d.). Eating disorders and depression: How they're related. Retrieved March 28, 2021,
from https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/eating-disorders/features/eating-disorders

Signs and symptoms of clinical depression. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2021, from
https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-symptoms-causes

The relationship between anxiety and depression. (2020, October 06). Retrieved March 29, 2021,
from https://www.hartgrovehospital.com/relationship-anxiety-depression/

Romero Parra, R. (2020, September 30). Depression and meaning of life in university students in
times of pandemic. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1275411
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