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This Is What Depression Looks Like
Depression is common, but how it affects a person can be different.
Depression is like walking through a fog on a sunny day. Depression is dark and gray. The world is colorless. Happiness is on mute. Joy is a distant feeling. Depression makes you numb to all the good things in life.
Functionally illiterate people can navigate through life by using strategies to appear literate. They can even work highly technical jobs once they learn the patterns and systems required to do the job. If the systems and patterns remain the same, someone with difficulty reading can do the job.
It’s the same for someone who is functional depressive. Their depression is with them like a leech, draining their spirit. A person can go to work or school, perform tasks, and even socialize — to a point. However, a depressed person wears a mask. The mask covers their true feelings. There is a smile on their face but sadness in their heart.
That’s who I am — a functional depressive. I move through the world doing what I’m supposed to but not caring about what I’m doing. I work two jobs, go home, watch TV, and scroll through my phone until I fall asleep. I interact very little with my family unless I have to. I want to, but sometimes I want to be alone.
