These Photos Show That Depression Affects People In Ways We Don’t Always See
Depression affects people in so many different ways that we don’t even see. Living with depression makes simple tasks, like cleaning up, really hard. One severe depression sufferer, aka too***busyandviceversa, finally stepped up to clean his/her messy room, and felt ‘so at peace’ afterwards.
The Imgur user uploaded a photo of his/her room before and after cleaning up, where there are so many empty bottles, paper, and clothes on the floor that you can barely see the ground. “I suffer from a severe mental disorder and have a really hard time with cleaning and doing other kinds of household work,” too***busyandviceversa wrote. “My room ha[s] been this messy for several months because I can’t push myself to take care of it. But this Friday I decided to finally do it!”
After they cleaned up, there was a striking difference. “You can finally see that I have a floor! Say hi to my teddy Nalle on the bed,” the user wrote. “I know its not a big mental health victory, but for me it means the world to just be able to have my door open if people come over. I feel so at peace right now, just wanted to share with all of you wonderful imgurians! Me 1 – Depression 0!”
More info: too***busyandviceversa (h/t)
“I suffer from severe depression and have a really hard time with cleaning and doing other kinds of household work”
“My room ha[s] been this messy for several months because I cant push myself to take care of it. But this Friday i decided to finally do it!”
“Me 1 – Depression 0!”
“You can finally see that I have a floor! Say hi to my teddy Nalle on the bed! I know its not a big victory, but for me it means the world to just be able to have my door open if people come over. I feel so at peace right now, just wanted to share with all of you,” – later wrote too***busyandviceversa.
This post went viral (350K+ views) and inspired other people to clean their messes too
One tumblr user did the same and posted the before and after pics
Image credit: queengreendown
“The top photo is what happens when your days bleed into each other and you keep putting things off because of classical depression signs – lethargy and sadness. And the bottom is what happens when you decide that succumbing to your mental illness is enough.”
210Kviews
Share on FacebookCongrats! Having been there and done that I can only wish you well. My shrink always tells me "feel the fear and do it anyway" - and it's my personal mantra for dealing with the anxiety that came with my Depression.
I like that - "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!" Sometimes that's the only way I can get things done :/
Load More Replies...It's the little victories that can change a day from sad to happy! I keep a list of "10 little achievements for today" and as each one gets checked off, my happiness level increases :)
It's the little victories that can change a day from sad to happy!
Load More Replies...Very good! Sometimes the mess becomes a vicious circle, when you get depressed BECAUSE everything is so messy, haha. It has happened to me, at least.
Thank you for sharing this; this makes me gasp and see something regarding one of my dear ones in a whole new perspective.
Could upload pics identical to these. Thought to myself it was just a lazy phase but no doubt a period of depression. Can understand how even picking up a an empty bottle seems like too much. My rooms clean now but there's a basket of clean clothes I'm yet to put away that's got dirty ones building around the base ready. I'm fine though :)
Good on them but sometimes depression makes you react in a totally different way like be overtidy so you can drive away your thoughts before you head explode.
It's about the little victories. Keep moving forward! I grew up watching my mom, and uncle suffer from depression and schizophrenia...Every day was a battle. I wish all of you - positive energy, strength, hope, and love. 💚Xoxo Xoxo
It helps me if I need to do it. My grandmother taught me that a guest has to see the house in the best possible light. She and my mom are crazy about it, they would tell me not to sit at a couch after they cleaned it if someone was to come visit. So now I have this urge too, and also you can imagine how freaking hard it was living with my grandparents and having such problems with cleaning. I am a cleaner now and I am really good at my job, so it never ceased to amaze me how messy I can get in my own space until I learned that it might be just another symptom of my years long fight with depression. Funny that. I'm gonna clean today or tomorrow because my friend is staying over. Looking forward to it, actually :P
Oh sweetie,please get help. You are not alone you just have to reach out. Don't let pride stop you get help with house and depression.
Load More Replies...The tiny size of that first room would be enough to depress anybody.
I go through the same thing as that person does. With depression, and any other kind of mental illness, keeping up the cleanliness of even just your bedroom can be exhausting. Kudos to the person who posted this.
This just happened with my car the other day... Ashe from cigarettes, gross food that had been sitting in Georgia heat for weeks... Bottles and cups filled with mystery liquids. My room was less nasty but also happened recently, but with a lot less elbow grease. I find the way your surroundings are can truly reflect how your emotional stability is, especially in the most drastic displays. It's so freeing to shed just a little of the burden and be able to breathe (hah).
The saddest thing is that his room is gonna be a mess in less than a week.. Been there, done that. Well, I might be wrong as he is getting so much attention now and it might help him I really hope so. But if nobody cares u r back to square one it's so hard when nobody gives a damn..
Plot twist: The before and after pictures are in reverse chronological order.
I wish...these pictures make it look so easy...maybe because it was only one room. I have an apartment...and haven't cleaned in 4 months...I hate it, but when I try to start...I feel overwhelmed and quit...and then I feel guilty, and angry at myself...and it starts again...
I wish sometimes that loved ones could see inside so they'd understand why things get the way they do, and how hard it is to fix it.
These guys are just depressed. I am pushed from every direction until they will kill me, in a way or another. If one way is less feasible, they will make another.
. Interestingly I have to keep everything as ordered and clean as possible. It helps give order and some clarity. Else everything becomes chaos in my mind. Plus it's one thing you can control. A lot of the other negative feelings are caused by others of which you have no control over.
I have a couple of friends who clean as therapy. I just don't always have the energy. Depression is an energy sucker.
Load More Replies...That first photo reminded that I need to collect and recycle the bottles in my room.
What if you have a different problem, you can't stop cleaning... every stain, every little thing that is not in place makes you wash and clean.... It's not ocd, my home is not sterile, I have 3 cats, their fur is everywhere. On my good periods I keep it normal, but when the monster comes and takes over I can't stop irritating myself over every little dustbunny..
That COULD be OCD. OCD isn't necessarily about being sterile, if your obsession with cleaning is causing you distress then it *is* a problem.
Load More Replies...When it's clean and tide around you, then it gets clearer in your mind as well ;)
aha that pile of bottles isn't alcohol, it's all or mostly pepsi :') you can go to the original imgur gallery and zoom in, most of the labels are visible.
Load More Replies...For people with any mental illness linked to depression, "just clean your room" is easier said than done. If you don't have this illness, then you really do not know what we go through each and every day.
Load More Replies...It's not just a "state like the clouds in the sky". It's like "being in a dark tunnel with no exit. I know this because I suffer from this.
Load More Replies...trust me, that's not it. I can get up to a lot of things if I'm forced to it by circumstances. I am one of the best workers at my job (effing cleaning) and I am really fit and can hike mountains. However, sometimes I struggle for weeks just to get out of bed. My room gets really messy, I have nothing to wear, I get up only to eat and give up on routines of exercise I've been doing for weeks or months, and even getting to work when I don't have to (overtimes) gets hard. Depression is freaking crippling. It doesn't always mean crying for little to no reason, it's actually never that, it's a very steady descent to a state of complete numbness accompanied by the worst thoughts a person can have.
Load More Replies...Congrats! Having been there and done that I can only wish you well. My shrink always tells me "feel the fear and do it anyway" - and it's my personal mantra for dealing with the anxiety that came with my Depression.
I like that - "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!" Sometimes that's the only way I can get things done :/
Load More Replies...It's the little victories that can change a day from sad to happy! I keep a list of "10 little achievements for today" and as each one gets checked off, my happiness level increases :)
It's the little victories that can change a day from sad to happy!
Load More Replies...Very good! Sometimes the mess becomes a vicious circle, when you get depressed BECAUSE everything is so messy, haha. It has happened to me, at least.
Thank you for sharing this; this makes me gasp and see something regarding one of my dear ones in a whole new perspective.
Could upload pics identical to these. Thought to myself it was just a lazy phase but no doubt a period of depression. Can understand how even picking up a an empty bottle seems like too much. My rooms clean now but there's a basket of clean clothes I'm yet to put away that's got dirty ones building around the base ready. I'm fine though :)
Good on them but sometimes depression makes you react in a totally different way like be overtidy so you can drive away your thoughts before you head explode.
It's about the little victories. Keep moving forward! I grew up watching my mom, and uncle suffer from depression and schizophrenia...Every day was a battle. I wish all of you - positive energy, strength, hope, and love. 💚Xoxo Xoxo
It helps me if I need to do it. My grandmother taught me that a guest has to see the house in the best possible light. She and my mom are crazy about it, they would tell me not to sit at a couch after they cleaned it if someone was to come visit. So now I have this urge too, and also you can imagine how freaking hard it was living with my grandparents and having such problems with cleaning. I am a cleaner now and I am really good at my job, so it never ceased to amaze me how messy I can get in my own space until I learned that it might be just another symptom of my years long fight with depression. Funny that. I'm gonna clean today or tomorrow because my friend is staying over. Looking forward to it, actually :P
Oh sweetie,please get help. You are not alone you just have to reach out. Don't let pride stop you get help with house and depression.
Load More Replies...The tiny size of that first room would be enough to depress anybody.
I go through the same thing as that person does. With depression, and any other kind of mental illness, keeping up the cleanliness of even just your bedroom can be exhausting. Kudos to the person who posted this.
This just happened with my car the other day... Ashe from cigarettes, gross food that had been sitting in Georgia heat for weeks... Bottles and cups filled with mystery liquids. My room was less nasty but also happened recently, but with a lot less elbow grease. I find the way your surroundings are can truly reflect how your emotional stability is, especially in the most drastic displays. It's so freeing to shed just a little of the burden and be able to breathe (hah).
The saddest thing is that his room is gonna be a mess in less than a week.. Been there, done that. Well, I might be wrong as he is getting so much attention now and it might help him I really hope so. But if nobody cares u r back to square one it's so hard when nobody gives a damn..
Plot twist: The before and after pictures are in reverse chronological order.
I wish...these pictures make it look so easy...maybe because it was only one room. I have an apartment...and haven't cleaned in 4 months...I hate it, but when I try to start...I feel overwhelmed and quit...and then I feel guilty, and angry at myself...and it starts again...
I wish sometimes that loved ones could see inside so they'd understand why things get the way they do, and how hard it is to fix it.
These guys are just depressed. I am pushed from every direction until they will kill me, in a way or another. If one way is less feasible, they will make another.
. Interestingly I have to keep everything as ordered and clean as possible. It helps give order and some clarity. Else everything becomes chaos in my mind. Plus it's one thing you can control. A lot of the other negative feelings are caused by others of which you have no control over.
I have a couple of friends who clean as therapy. I just don't always have the energy. Depression is an energy sucker.
Load More Replies...That first photo reminded that I need to collect and recycle the bottles in my room.
What if you have a different problem, you can't stop cleaning... every stain, every little thing that is not in place makes you wash and clean.... It's not ocd, my home is not sterile, I have 3 cats, their fur is everywhere. On my good periods I keep it normal, but when the monster comes and takes over I can't stop irritating myself over every little dustbunny..
That COULD be OCD. OCD isn't necessarily about being sterile, if your obsession with cleaning is causing you distress then it *is* a problem.
Load More Replies...When it's clean and tide around you, then it gets clearer in your mind as well ;)
aha that pile of bottles isn't alcohol, it's all or mostly pepsi :') you can go to the original imgur gallery and zoom in, most of the labels are visible.
Load More Replies...For people with any mental illness linked to depression, "just clean your room" is easier said than done. If you don't have this illness, then you really do not know what we go through each and every day.
Load More Replies...It's not just a "state like the clouds in the sky". It's like "being in a dark tunnel with no exit. I know this because I suffer from this.
Load More Replies...trust me, that's not it. I can get up to a lot of things if I'm forced to it by circumstances. I am one of the best workers at my job (effing cleaning) and I am really fit and can hike mountains. However, sometimes I struggle for weeks just to get out of bed. My room gets really messy, I have nothing to wear, I get up only to eat and give up on routines of exercise I've been doing for weeks or months, and even getting to work when I don't have to (overtimes) gets hard. Depression is freaking crippling. It doesn't always mean crying for little to no reason, it's actually never that, it's a very steady descent to a state of complete numbness accompanied by the worst thoughts a person can have.
Load More Replies...
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