(calm music) - Do you notice
how easy it is to spiral into increasingly more negative
and pessimistic ways of thinking when you're feeling down?
If you are someone who's ever seen
or ever been in the throes of depression,
then you'll know this vicious cycle all too well,
and understand just how hard it can be to break.
Your negative thoughts and feelings can spiral
and reinforce negative ideas of yourself
that are just not true.
In these moments, it's important to try to remind yourself
how depression can cloud your perception and judgment.
To learn more about this, here our seven lies
your depression might be telling you
that you should never believe.
Number one, nobody cares about me.
One of the worst things depression can do
is make you feel unloved and unwanted,
even by your closest family and friends.
It can cause you to feel so terrible about yourself
that you become blind to the genuine warmth,
care, and kindness of other people.
And while therapists will always stress
the need for those struggling with depression
to surround themselves with a good support system,
depression can compulsively make you isolate yourself.
And socially withdraw from others
due to having low self-esteem, difficulty communicating,
and overwhelming feelings of emptiness,
worthlessness, and hopelessness.
Number two, I'm a burden to everyone around me.
Similar to the previous point,
depression can trick even the most confident,
most popular, and well liked person into believing
that they're a burden that nobody really wants around.
Terrifying, right?
But that's just all the more reason
why you shouldn't believe your mind
when it tells you lies like that.
Because the moment you do, you might simply resign yourself
to suffering in silence, when in reality,
there are so many people out there who truly care about you
and who wanna help make sure that you're doing all right.
Number three, I'm no good at anything.
The American Psychological Association
lists a lack of motivation to do anything
as one of the core features of depression.
So it should come as no surprise
that the moment you try to do anything,
even the things that used to come so easy to you
or the things that used to make you happy,
are crushed by your depression.
Always there to discourage you
and tell you that you're not good at it.
It's, unfortunately, the reason why most people
suffering from depression tend to have a decline
in their performance, be it professional or academic.
As well as lose interest in their passions and hobbies.
Ultimately, depression has a nasty habit
of making you more critical and hyper-fixated
on all your imagined flaws and shortcomings.
Number four, I'll never be good enough.
Almost everyone can relate
to feeling like they're not good enough
when they're at a low point in their lives.
But depression can take this temporary feeling of self-doubt
and make it worse by compounding it
with feelings of insecurity, worthlessness, and inadequacy.
But always remember, that's just the mental illness talking.
Even if you don't feel like it,
you are more than enough, just the way you are.
Number five, it's wrong for me to feel this way.
One of most harmful misconceptions
surrounding mental illness
is the startling lack of awareness people have towards it.
A lot of people still think that depression
is all in their heads and that the people suffering from it
can just snap out of it if they try hard enough.
But don't let your depression
or anyone who doesn't understand it, shame you into thinking
that it's wrong for you to feel this way
or that it's somehow your fault for being depressed.
Mental illness is a very serious,
and very complicated, and very real thing.
Modern day psychologists
still don't have any conclusive answers for what causes it,
so it's important not to judge yourself too harshly.
Number six, they'd all be better off without me.
According to a recent survey conducted
by the National Alliance Against Mental Illness,
the rates of suicide and depression are closely linked.
People who are struggling with depression
are more likely to attempt suicide
or experience suicidal thoughts.
This is because depression can bring you down
and make you think that you're worthless,
that your life means nothing,
or that people would be better off without you.
But please never listen to that awful thought.
You wouldn't be here if the universe didn't need you.
Your existence is wonderful and unique,
and your life is always going to be worth fighting for.
And number seven, there's no use getting help
because I'll never get better.
Dealing with depression is no easy feat.
Every year, one out of 10 adults in the United States alone
is diagnosed with depression.
But did you know that of the 17.3 million people,
71% experience severe impairment,
with only 19% of them actually seeking treatment.
Aside from the prevalent lack of awareness
and stigma against mental illness,
a major barrier that keeps people
from seeing a professional to treat their depression
is the belief that there's no point.
That it's impossible to get better,
that they're gonna feel this way forever.
But really, there's always light at the end of the tunnel.
More than 80% of those who seek treatment for depression,
improve and eventually recover.
So don't let your depression fool you.
Seek help to get better.
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The references and studies used in this video
are added in the description below.
Thanks for watching, and see you in the next video.