Overcoming depression shame can be difficult and time consuming.
Depression is dark and heavy. It produces shame that you may want to hide from people in your life. You fear revealing your depression to someone close to you will result in abandonment.
Nagging senses of failure motivate you to shut everyone out and pretend everything’s just fine. You know the drill: that fake smile you make with your mouth, but not your eyes, that you hope no one will notice. Being caught depressed is a little embarrassing.
Your self esteem drops with each day the depression looms. Your life looks great on paper: nice family, great job, friends. You figure, others might be wondering, “With such a great life, what right does s/he have to be depressed?” Feeling ashamed about your depression, like you don’t have the right to your own feelings, make you feel even worse.
There’s a popular notion that depression should only come with good reason—some set of terrible circumstances that justify how bad you feel. There’s another one that a “good” reason has to be obvious to others.
Total misconceptions.
Even if things seem great from the outside, things like past trauma, unresolved grief, difficulty with relocation, culture shock, hormonal imbalances, hereditary predisposition, and many other things can weigh you down.
Being depressed isn’t your fault, regardless.
The good news is that help is available. Therapy, western medicine, alternative medicine, and things you do on your own to overcome depression will all help you feel better. Taking action now will help lift the curtain of despair, revealing a bright, new future in which you’re empowered.