Character with depression

 

Hello, friends!

Welcome to another post from the serie answering the question: how to write relatable and realistic characters suffering from mental disorders?

And today, we're going to have a look at DEPRESSIVE DISORDER.

BECK'S COGNITIVE TRIAD is very helpful in understanding what depression looks like. It consists of three important parts:

1. I'm worthless 

2. The world is horrible 

3. Future won't change anything 

Those are three beliefs present in the life of a depressed individual. When writing a character that's depressed, remember to include the triad.

Writing from a DEPRESSED CHARACTER PERSPECTIVE, those are some of the things they can experience:

→ lack of interest in anything

→ lack of energy and motivation to do anything

→ forgetting to eat / overeating

→ self-harming

→ having suicidal thoughts

→ wishing to disappear

→ believing they don't deserve to be alive, they are nothing, they're a waste of space

→ giving up on dreams, plans, hobbies, hygiene, work

Writing from a perspective of someone interacting with a depressed character, you may include:

→ noticing the character doesn't have enthusiasm about anything, nothing makes them excited

→ worrying for the character's life

→ wondering about the ways to help them

→ talking about therapy & medication

→ noticing the character lost/gained weight, stopped caring about their appearance

Very often folks with mental illnesses try to hide the symptoms and appear as if everything is alright. That may be because of various reasons, some of them being:

→ afraid of losing friends if they found out

→ afraid of family's negative reaction

→ wishing not to be a burden to anyone

When writing to a depressed individual you can choose whether you want them to be openly depressed or if they want to hide it - and WHY is it their choice?

A depressed character should be going to therapy and be on medication. You can write about their experience with it (positive/negative, why, how). 

You can also always choose for your character not to be going to therapy and taking meds. There are various reasons you can explore - finances, time, anxiety, lack of trust, etc.

Very often depression comes with SUICIDALITY. Below you can see the steps of how it develops.

1. Resignational thoughts (“I am useless”)

2. Suicidal thoughts (I will kill myself, I don't want to live anymore)

3. Suicidal tendencies - planning suicide (“I imagine how I will do it”)

4. Suicide attempt - taking steps towards suicide (even if they are stopped by someone before it happens, it is already an attempt)