Do you have to have a reason to feel depressed?

No. When I was told that I should have a reason to be depressed, it made me feel terrible because I didn't have any reason to feel suffocated by this illness. It just sometimes creeps silently when you're enjoying a movie then comes and devour your mind when you're about to sleep. It really sucks when people think that you're only depress when something bad happened. It's not like that. It's not always that way, if it was, then I think people wouldn't struggle getting out of this illness or feel happy because they know a reason, they have a map that they can use to get out.

I think there is always a reason. But the reason may or may not be recognized. Depression can be related to some experience or biological issue. It may take time and efforts to truly understand why a person feel depressed. It is commonplace that depressed people will deny their feelings because being depressed is sometimes perceived to being lazy, weak, worthless or even harmful. However the feeling shows up. It is true. A person does not have to have a reason, or anything other thing, to feel depressed. As long as a person is alive, he or she can feel depressed.

The word "have" may constitute different meanings for people. If by "have to have a reason" means that you need to be able to explain why you feel depressed, then I would say no - you do not need to know why you feel depressed and you do not need to justify your position to anyone if you do know why you feel that way. You should move at your own pace and share your own thoughts only if you want to. There is a reason you may feel depressed, however, it is possible that you may not be aware of why you feel depressed. There could be many different reasons that someone feels depressed, some of which may be: use of alcohol/drugs, lack of sleep or exercise, issues with relationships or an overall let down that things seem to rarely go as planned. There are so many other reasons that a person may feel depressed, so if you are seeking deeper answers then it may be useful to seek expert assistance.

I've had a countless amount of depressed periods throughout my life so far, and none of them have been easy. Trying to explain how I'm feeling to others has always been just as difficult. The usual responses were always along the lines of asking me exactly what I was depressed about. Sometimes I had a specific answer for them, but more times than not I didn't. Some tried to invalidate what I was going through by telling me that I needed a reason to be depressed, and it always made me feel worse in the end. They very clearly didn't understand exactly what depression is. Since depression is caused by a chemmical imbalance in the brain, it's very possible to be depressed without knowing exactly why. Researching about depression and how it works really helped me to deal with it, and I'd recommend anyone to do the same.

There does not have to be a reason to feel depressed. This can happen at any time and does not need to have a reason for it. If this is happening to you, I may say that it is not weird to feel this way and think that its weird because there is no reason behind the feelings you are currently experiencing. You can feel free to connect to one of the listeners to share how you are feeling.