How is depression viewed by society and the world around us?

Society likes to put an evil twist on things. Everything natural and beautiful in life, they call you out and judge you for it. Society makes depression look like a deformity, and people with it have a lesser value then those don't. But guess what? I have depression. By just looking at me, you'd never know. That doesn't make me less of a person in any way. It only means that I am struggling with things that no one else can see. Many people are battling depression, more then you know. But that doesn't mean anyone should fake an illness for attention.

I have found it depends on the person. Some people are very accepting and accept it as an illness just as real as cancer and some downplay it like its nothing. I've also found that sites like tumblr have glamourised mental illness and made it seem cool and trendy which is awful.

From my experience, people who do not have depression themselves see it as a way or "wanting attention" That is sad. I think the general public needs to be better informed about depression.

Many people are afraid of those who suffer from depression because they don't understand it. Some view it as a disease without a cure. Depression can be prevented by positive thinking, regular counselling and even medication.

The way society views depression is pretty corrupt and generalized. They think its beautifully tragic, its not. Its just something we have to work to overcome.

This depends on the person, some people don't really understand what others are going through, and they think they're overreacting, while there might be a true serious problem.

In my area, Depression is seen as a serious symptom of a disorder but does lack attention. Another reason is that people here tend to confuse Depression, anxiety and sadness. Sadness is a normal human emotion. We’ve all experienced it and we all will again. Sadness is usually triggered by a difficult, hurtful, challenging, or disappointing event, experience, or situation; whilst Depression is an abnormal emotional state, a mental illness that affects our thinking, emotions, perceptions, and behaviors in pervasive and chronic ways. but for the world, I believe it is highly recognized. We celebrate it as World Mental Health Day - 10 October World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. Sources: http://www.who.int/mental_health/world-mental-health-day/en/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201510/the-important- difference-between-sadness-and-depression

Overall there is still a huge stigma surrounding it. Down to the individual there are many different opinions.

Like any mental illness it's viewed by many as a weakness rather than an illness like a disease or a infection and sadly this is how sufferers also see it which makes it harder to overcome. This is probably why it's so taboo in society, we like hearing stories of someone fighting against an illness like cancer or heart disease, but depression doesn't have that 'glamour' about it, sufferers are seen as sad people who need to get a grip on life and learn how to cheer themselves up. But people don't realise, or at least haven't been taught, that depression is a real illness, that it's not a choice, it can effect anyone at any time in their life and if it's bad enough it can kill you. People need to be taught what depression really is, but whenever it makes its way into the limelight, like through a celebrity, it somehow still doesn't get the exposure it deserves.

Depression is usually viewed as a sign of weakness by the society. People tend to push you around and manage to land more frustration on you by blaming, mentioning past mistakes and making you feel guilty, which actually only makes an already bad situation worst.