"Living with the black dog can be overwhelming, a feeling of being trapped in a dark haze. It can manifest as extreme lethargy, irritability or sadness."
It is frustrating to say the least. Being awake but not aware is one of the things that make you feel like a...I'm not sure what, but you know that your mind is not quite there with you. You start to fail to do the simplest everyday things - i.e. getting out of bed. You know it's useless just sitting or lying there, but that's what your mind tells you to do -- [in my experience] you can barely move. If your mind is nice enough to you, it'd let you sleep and rest more or perhaps use your gadget for a little while. Though most of the time, even with a TV in front of you, the mind do not absorb any information.
I could be generalising but people with such an illness do not go out in the open and wave a giant flag in the public going: "I AM SOOOOO DEPRESSED/BIPOLAR/SCHIZOPHRENIC." I understand that mental illness are becoming easier to talk about/understand, but most people do attempt to hide it all. Denial? I don't think so, but to feel 'normal'.....whatever that is.
The use of such casual statements, in my opinion, are different to cries for help, or someone to talk to. I do see these statuses floating around on social media at times, and I do take the time to ask my friends if there's anything they want to speak about, or if they need to engage with professional help. In the end, it is never what I consider as being clinical depressed, but issues such as 'my brother took the last cookie'. Not saying that their issues is not important/significant/severe enough...it's just sometimes you'd like them to know that depression is really a relentless disorder.
