Everyone understands what it is like to feel irritable, sad, and/or unmotivated to get work done every now and then. However, not everyone understands the distinction between these feelings and depression. Depression, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “is more than just feeling sad or going through a rough patch. It’s a serious mental health condition that requires understanding and medical care. Left untreated, depression can be devastating for those who have it and their families. Fortunately, with early detection, diagnosis and a treatment plan consisting of medication, psychotherapy and healthy lifestyle choices, many people can and do get better.”

Depression can look different for every individual – not everyone has the same symptoms, or the same catalysts for depressive episodes. A person can get depression due to trauma, life circumstances, genetics, or a myriad of other possibilities, and common symptoms include changes in sleep, appetite, lack of energy and concentration, and things like guilt and suicidal thoughts and lowered self esteem can become much more prominent and affect a person’s day to day life. There are several treatments for depression, whether that be antidepressants, therapy, self-care and changes to lifestyle, or a combination of all. It can be a truly relieving feeling to know that you have control over your life once you battle depression and overcome it with whatever treatments you are able to benefit from. However, depression is not necessarily a “once and done” deal.

Recovery is not a linear process by any means – feelings can go up and down and up and down and return to what they might have been (or not been) during depressive episodes, but that doesn’t mean that you’re “failing” to recover from your past mental illness. Relapse is unfortunately a part of the recovery process for some; one could hypothetically have depression for a few years and after receiving treatment, they could find that they feel better for the next 6 months or so until a relapse occurs and they begin noticing the same “core” of the depressive episodes they previously had. Yet the media mainly portrays treatment to be the ultimate means of getting rid of your depression for good, without discussing the possibility and likelihood of relapsing several times within the near future. Here is an article following the narrative of Marina Watanabe, who discusses what “they don’t tell you about depression” and how treatment is not necessarily a magical cure.

Depression is not a black and white issue. Sure, it looks different for everybody, but that doesn’t change the fact that relapses are a common reoccurrence for those in the recovery process. Though treatment can clearly have significant impacts on one’s depression – and for some, maybe that’s enough to make their depression go away for good – but for many, it may not be enough to prevent a relapse from beginning to occur. There are preventative measures one can take when noticing those core warning signs of another depressive episode, but regardless, I believe in open discussions about the reality of relapsing for those who experience it to have a safe community.