If you’re suffering from depression, you’ve probably had days where you just need someone to talk to. Depression can act as a veil over emotions and everyday activities, creating a pervasive sense of dread and sorrow. Sometimes, just being able to talk to someone can lighten the load and make you feel more like yourself again. Here are six benefits of talking to someone when you have depression.
1. Gaining Closure
Gaining closure with your mental health condition can be incredibly empowering, but sometimes the illness itself acts as a barrier between you and said closure. With something like depression, the symptoms of the mental health condition can be almost debilitating, preventing you from thinking clearly or from really knowing what’s going on.
Talking to someone about your condition can help put things in perspective, and if you weren’t sure that you had depression to begin with, talking with a professional can help you name your illness and therefore address it. This feeling of closure can be truly liberating. You’ll no longer have to think “what’s wrong with me?” or “why can’t I just be like everyone else?” A professional will help you identify your condition, its symptoms, as well as help craft a plan to work through the illness and begin the road to recovery.
Don’t be afraid to reach out if you’re experiencing depression-like symptoms and unsure whether or not you’re actually suffering from depression. It can be a little intimidating to learn what’s afflicting you, but without the right information, you won’t be able to combat the symptoms effectively.
2. Sorting out Feelings
Sometimes, what you’re feeling with depression can be incredibly confusing. Depressive symptoms can vary, but often include anger, confusion, sorrow, sadness, and more. These feelings can be sudden and intense, or last for weeks on end. Depression can keep you from enjoying life or pursuing your goals, which makes talking to someone even more important to your recovery.
Talking to a trusted friend or a licensed counselor will help you sort through and make sense of what you’re feeling. From there, you can move toward addressing the root causes of those feelings and your depression; granting you clarity and a sense of closure with the illness and its symptoms.
3. Identifying Problem Areas
Perhaps you’ve become self-destructive due to your depression, or you’re engaging in activities and behaviors (like substance abuse) that only serve to worsen your condition. With depression, self-awareness isn’t always prevalent (and sometimes it is, and the self-destruction is purposeful). Whether you realize what you’re doing is harmful or not, talking to someone about it can help you get to the bottom of it and figure out how to stop it.
Unfortunately, substance abuse is often correlated with mental illness. According to this article, people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness at some point consume about 69% of the nation’s alcohol. Let’s allow that to sink in for a moment. That’s well over half of the nation’s alcohol consumption.
4. Releasing Tension
Talking to someone can relieve a lot of pressure and tension associated with depression. When it’s all bottled up, it can be even more difficult to cope with; but letting it out in a safe, private environment, free of judgment, can grant you an incredible feeling of relief. Don’t underestimate the power of just talking to someone. They don’t even have to say anything back! Just providing a listening ear is sometimes enough to ease the tension and help you realign your mind.
5. Clarity
Clarity is often difficult to come by with depression. Depression is almost like a pervasive black cloud that hovers over everything, obscuring your view of things that one brought you joy. Talking to someone can help you see some things in a different way, and while it won’t completely change your mindset, the right advice and guidance can do wonders for a depressed brain.
Professional counselors and therapists will have specific knowledge of your condition and how it works within your brain. With this level of understanding, professional therapists can offer insight you simply won’t find elsewhere and a sense of clarity that can help you realign yourself with goals and aspirations.
6. Reducing the Feeling of Isolation
Being depressed can make you feel like there’s no one else to turn to. This feeling of isolation can be incredibly damaging to personal relationships and other aspects of life, so it’s important to speak with a support group, therapist, or someone else to help reduce that feeling of isolation.
Support groups and group therapy sessions are especially helpful in reducing feelings of isolation. Learning that you’re not alone in your illness can make you feel relieved and welcomed by a group of people who truly understand what you’re going through. No matter how much you want them to, someone who’s never experienced depression simply can’t understand how you feel like someone who’s had the condition.
Conclusion
Depression can be a crippling condition if left unaddressed. Finding someone to talk to can help bring about a sense of clarity and offer insight that you could greatly benefit from. Don’t be afraid to reach out to mental health professionals, religious leaders, or friends and family and just talk.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
