The Moody Blues

Have you ever had one of those days where you just don't want to get out of bed? Whether it's because you're tired from a busy work week, feeling lazy, or are probably severely hungover based on the events of the night before. We've all had those days, especially when fluffy pillows and freshly scented sheets mixed with an already comfortable bed are involved. Now how about those days where you just can't get out of bed? It's not because you're physically unable to, but rather because it seems pointless. Your bed is no longer a throne of comfort, but a sluggish rock planted in your room that is pulling you into masses of heavy blankets instead of allowing you to breathe fresh air. Whether it's the sudden drop in temperatures or the grey skies, I've been feeling the latter lately, and even to a small degree, I've been asking myself..."am I depressed?"

This isn't a PSA about the signs and treatments for such a disease, but rather a post about how we are prone to experiencing symptoms of it in our own unique way. I will admit that I've experienced bouts of panic, anxiety, and the blues throughout my years (more so in the recent ones). Yes, I'm a highly functioning social person who is, for the most part, a happy person, but also a highly emotional and complicated being who doesn't always have ration and logic. My hypersensitivity leaves it so that I am often bothered by things that shouldn't bother me, and I am at times left to wonder why everyone else seems so fine with things that I just can't seem to get past. I've had days where I feel so weighed down, cannot stop crying, and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. While such episodes are usually spurred by emotional reactions to relationship issues or the feeling of loss, they were occurring enough for me to question my own sanity.

Let's not take this too lightly. If you're sitting in bed eating ice cream (or drinking wine) and crying to your girlfriends on the phone about another failed relationship (or the same failed relationship), you're not depressed. If you're down on yourself and take the night to recuperate alone because you feel like the rest of the world doesn't understand you, you're not depressed. And if you're worried that your life is going nowhere because other people your age seem to have secured a great job and their own swanky condo while you are still living with your parents, you're not depressed. Like all decades, our twenties have trials and tribulations, but it's only if they affect you deep down where ice cream and a night in can't solve, and you can't function on a day to day level...that's when you should perhaps seek help.

Issues that occur in our head-space are hard to acknowledge and at times even harder to reach out and get help for. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to convince someone of your feelings and being dismissed as "too emotional". What I do know is that the people who tell you to simply "get over it" probably haven't experienced it themselves. I trust my instinct and know when I'm feeling something, I'm feeling it and no amount of partying or other distractions will take my mind off of it. Although partying sure does help sometimes. However, what I've been trying to do is recognize when a blue episode is on its way. When I see a warning sign pop up, I become proactive in reversing them. Whether it be through talking to a friend, working out, or getting out of my own thoughts by keeping busy (school helps), it all helps to hopefully avoid the downfall all together. So my point of this somewhat somber post is that the moody blues have a tendency to hit even the best and brightest of us. Dealing with it, no matter how mild or severe is up to you. Now let's stay cheery on this gloomy Sunday afternoon!