10+ Photos That Prove Depression Looks Nothing Like Most People Think

How does a depressed person look like? While most of us would picture a defeated person with emotional and physical signs of a problem all over, in reality, it's way more difficult to notice. As part of September, the National Suicide Prevention Month, the Instagram was filled with the incredible stories of people overcoming depression, alongside the heartbreaking accounts of families who lost their loved ones without a warning. Grouped under the hashtag #faceofdepression, these stories uncover a more complex reality, in which depression is as elusive and hard to notice as in the case of Linkin Park singer's Chester Bennington, who kept the suicidal thoughts to himself until the very last moment. Talking about it can do wonders, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is there for you or someone you know who needs urgent help. Call 1-800-273-8255 or go to their official website to live chat with a counselor. (h/t: boredpanda)

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Image source: selfloveclubb

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Image source: TalindaB

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You can't tell can you? You can't tell by the look in my eyes or the sound of my voice even. You're thinking "You're smiling though!" Yes. Yes, I am smiling. I smiled for you. I smiled so I don't make you feel bad. I don't want you to feel like I do. I also don't want you to feel like there is something you can do to make me "feel better". There isn't anything anyone can do. I have to work through it on my own. The worst part is that this bout snuck up on me. I recognize the familiarity of it all though. Empty Lonely Heavy Tired So tired Everything is loud Everything is annoying I have no patience I want to be left alone I want to stay in bed I don't want to work out I want to eat everything without cooking anything The best part is that I haven't felt like this in a very long time AND that I recognize it for what is. I'm the one who bakes and does crafts. You see that on the outside but you don't see the darkness inside. For those that are also suffering....PLEASE SEEK HELP. Treatment is different for each person. Do what is best for you. I'm doing what works for me while I get back to Monique. So for now - I smile, and let people know I'm struggling. Image source: Monique Holley-Peak

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My daughter as well. The night before she ended up in the hospital they went to the daddy daughter dance and had an amazing time. Thankfully she's still alive today and learning to beat her illness. She was 8 at the time Image source: Rayna Gawel

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Image source: selfloveclubb

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This is my son, right before going to his computer to look up how to properly hang himself. Two days later he followed through. Image source: Tasha Bernstein Collins

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This is my boyfriend two weeks before hanging himself. Will never understand it... Image source: Agnieszka Ostrowska

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This is depression in our home. I tried to hang myself in my attic when the board broke and I broke thru the ceiling alerting my family. I fight every day. My husband tries his best but can't break through. I don't understand it. I don't know why I can't get rid of it. I have a wonderful family. I feel selfish, lost, sick and angry at myself. My brain has always been a little scrambled and I've fought just to make it thru school, I can't keep a job. I can't stay in task long enough or I take too long. I leave before I get fired. It's hard to feel worthless and I hate feeling like a burden to my family. I have so much pain inside. I'm in therapy I have meds. All I know is even though I feel like suicide would make life easier for my family, I also feel like if I could just get my head fixed and could be someone worthy, I really would like to stay around. I have been trying for so long I don't know if it's gonna happen for me. Today I am here. We will see how tomorrow goes tomorrow. I take it day for day and some times hour by hour. Sometimes i think If I can get through one more hour I'll go to bed and I'll sleep til tomorrow and see how it goes. Today has been ok. I'm trying to find something good today to give hope for tomorrow. Today I try. Image source: Zoe Vanmeter

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My #faceofdepression and yes it is possible to be depressed with a child. Hearing, "You don't have a reason to be depressed with her around" doesn't do shit but make me feel worse about myself Being told, "All you need is exercise and a good diet" just makes me want to throat punch you even though you're coming from a good place Depression keeps you from doing things you want to do because it's literally a chemical imbalance in your brain. Image source: Brittany Schroeder

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Image source: selfloveclubb

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This is what depression looked like not long before we lost our beloved Luke. Depression is a SERIOUS illness. Don't dismiss people who are hurting. Image source: Lisa Althoff

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Currently, at the doctor seeking help, most have no idea what I'm going through and that I cry in the shower or in the car on my way home from work or can't sleep at night because of panic attacks Image source: Amy Kramer

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Image source: jessica.woodard.sowards

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Bipolar disorder here,(with a heavy emphasis on the depression side)...I get up, put on a full face of makeup, wear a fun dress, all while struggling with depression, anxiety and sometimes suicidal thoughts... Image source: Stephanie Malanowski- Martin

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Image source: selfloveclubb

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Image source: my_mh_journey

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Image source: selfloveclubb

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Image source: f0reveruam

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Major Depression & PPD here. 3 weeks pp with #2 & going to the doctor is helping. Most times I feel like I'm drowning but last couple of days it's been easier. Sometimes just talking about it can be cathartic. PLEASE seek help if you need it. It's not failure. Sometimes you just need a little more time to get your shit together and that's ok, because being a functional parent is hard fucking work. Image source: Codi Natelli

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Image source: alice_emma_louise

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The face of depression. Sometimes it looks optimistic. Sometimes it doesn't. And having a smart, beautiful child doesn't mean those feelings don't exist or that they're not valid. She loves me on my good days and my bad days. Image source: Jordan Pauline Cain

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Image source: scarlett_okera

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Image source: the_lip_lounge

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Image source: chrissiebm

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Image source: chrissiebm

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Image source: cheerfulchelsea93

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When people think about depression, they tend to have a very specific idea of how it manifests itself. I'm in the middle of a very real depressive episode and here I am at work with my plants and headphones Image source: Molly Miller

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Image source: rachelmariepete

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I have been struggling with depression and anxiety for years and years. I started experiencing symptoms around 12 and wasn't diagnosed or treated until I was 25. (Early on docs told me I didn't seem depressed.) Once my kiddo was born, my postpartum depression fused with my everyday depression and I almost lost it. It was my dream to be a happy SAHP, and even though I stayed home for over a year, I felt worse and worse every day. It took all of my energy to make sure my baby was taken care of. I developed severe sleep apnea, gained a lot of weight, and couldn't function outside of my parental duties. Image source: Jules Whitney

#31

GAD and depression for probably two decades. My childhood nickname was "smiley". My positive attitude gets remarked on often. My brain still fires weird regardless. Image source: Sarah Howard

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Image source: kmhj

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Image source: Sara Louise

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Every morning you are faced with two choices: You can aimlessly stumble through the day not knowing what's going to happen and worry about it OR You can go through the day directing your own life and making your own decisions and destiny. Though I struggle with depression daily I still stand strong and trust God to keep going. Image source: LuLaRoe Lynn Gorby

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