Not all writers have depression but a lot do. I'm a writer and I deal with mild depression which is a side effect of my ADD. Before I found the right balance of life, work, and medication I was pretty much a mess. I would have these bouts of depression that lasted a week or 2. I'd lie in bed staring at the ceiling or stream my favorite shows in an attempt to get out of the hole I was sinking into. During those times I couldn't find the energy to write which made me sink deeper into depression. A lot of people don't understand what Depression is (even psychiatrists aren't sure why we have Depression or why some people have it and others don't) so they think it's just made up. But here's what I would feel while depressed...
Depression feels like you're sinking to the bottom of a pool; sinking into darkness while watching the light dance above you. For people with a more severe case of depression it may feel worse than that like sinking into a bottomless ocean or quicksand. Either way you get a sinking feeling being dragged down by thoughts of anxiety, hopelessness, regrets (like from 10 years ago), feelings of worthlessness, and more severe suicidal thoughts. Why? No clue it's just a feeling we get. I would lie down, stare at the ceiling surrounded by shadows trying to inch closer and consume me so I can drown but I would keep sight of the light above me. Others may want the darkness to consume them just to end this feeling of being caught in-between reality and whatever fantasy you got going on. Though I found ways to escape my darkness.
Creative people are the ones most likely to be diagnosed with depression. Could be because we see a world others can't and it makes us sad and kind of alone. Our inner world is a riot of color while in the physical world it's nothing but gray. Writers, artists, and composers of history have a corner stone on being weird and mercurial. It makes maintaining relationships hard for us (not all as some find themselves in great relationships both romantic and platonic). Some of us just let bridges fray and rot. I can go weeks without texting people. I have very few close friends (I can count them on one hand). We're neurotic, sometimes rude during a conversation, have a bit of OCD though if you look at a creative person's room you'll see chaos (but to us it's organized chaos).
For writers writing isn't just a hobby. Writing is something that is a part of you. I don't like to share my feelings and the only way I know how is through writing. It keeps me sane while the medication helps me concentrate long enough to write it down, organize it into a story while keeping the darkness at bay. For those who say "just get over it we all get depressed" I say "I wish I could. I honestly do. I'm trying!" Believe me, before I found the right help I would try to force a smile, grin and bear it in the hopes that it would make my depression go away. But it's chemical, which means without medication I can't just get over it. We have been able to figure some things about Depression but the rest is trying to find a balance in your life; pin-pointing the things that cause you emotional pain or people who make your depression worse (for me it's my bipolar alcoholic mother) and just cutting them loose.
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