Depression does not always mean sad faces and bloodshot eyes. It sometimes stays behind cheerful faces and happy smiles. Depression is not always black. Sometimes, it comes wrapped in beautiful summer dresses. It is not always sleep-deprived nights and no hunger. Sometimes, people are still depressed sleeping their whole day or eating their favourite meal five times a day. Depression is not make up devoid faces or silence. Sometimes, the most depressed people have flawless makeup on, posing with pouts for beautiful selfies. Sometimes, depression creeps into the most hyperactive people.

No, don't give depression a face. It doesn't look like anything it should look like. Because some scars are not always on the skin, but on the soul.

You know what depression looks like? It is like having panic attacks when you are dancing to your favourite song. It is having those emotional breakdowns when there are eight excel workbooks open in front of you and you are working meticulously on them. It is that loneliness when in a crowd. It is like googling "How to die a painless death" when you are shopping for Diwali on Amazon on another browser. It is convincing yourself that you are unlovable when you have your WhatsApp chat filled with hearts. It is a sense of hopelessness about people and situations you cannot change. It is those uncalled spurs of anger and breaking mirrors in the washroom. It is that sadness poets write about and sleeping pills without prescriptions. It is a tornado in the calm of the ocean.

You know it will destroy you, but you are somehow convinced you want to drown even though you know how to swim.

So what can you do about such people? For starters, stop judging and labelling them as 'weak', 'emotional' or 'immature'. You never know what strength they had carried and for how long before it broke them into pieces.

Talk healthy. To anyone for that matter. You never know the battles someone is fighting.

Appreciate, be kind. Your one word of kindness could help someone brighten a gloomy day.

If you see signs of depression in someone, don't leave them alone. Don't hold their hand, but at least be by their side.

Don't make fun of someone for a very long time. Sometimes, your one moment of laughter could be a reason for someone to cry for a lifetime.

Look at your mental health before you comment on others. Jealousy, hatred, negativity, talking behind backs, anger are fatal diseases that have no medicines.

Don't push someone to the corner of a ledge or hurt someone so much that they decide to end their lives. The guilt would not let you live. And the only victims in a suicide are its survivors.

Always reach out for professional help or convince someone you think is suffering from depression. It may be anyone around at your home, office or the virtual space.

Your one little decision could save a life.

Share This Story