What Does Depression Look Like?

By Irene Migwi -

 Are you wondering whether you are experiencing depression? Do you have feelings of hopelessness or sadness that just won’t go away? Feeling down and unmotivated during certain moments of your life is a normal human experience. However, where does normal boredom stop and depression begins? 

What does depression look like

Keep reading to find out what depression really is and understand what depression feels like. 

What is depression?

People who have struggled with depression can describe depression as feeling void, empty, soulless, or lifeless. Others describe depression as a mental illness where one feels like they are falling in a bottomless black hole. Additionally, some people say that depression is having a constant feeling of impending doom, like having a dark cloud hovering over your head wherever you go. 

What does depression look like?

So, what is depression? Depression is a mood disorder that causes persistent severe feelings of hopelessness, lack of interest in activities you love, sadness, and emptiness. If you notice that over the past few weeks or months, your mood has changed, you get easily irritated, you do not find anything interesting any more, and doing normal tasks like going to work, bathing, or making your bed is becoming more difficult, then you could be dealing with depression.

What does depression feel like?

Depression manifests itself in different forms. Here are some of the best examples of what depression feels like.

Lack of joy or pleasure in life

Depression is more than a feeling of sadness. It slowly robs you of the things you used to enjoy about life. For instance, if you used to enjoy hanging out with your friends, you slowly end up losing interest. Eventually, leaving the house to meet up with people starts feeling like too much work. 

What does depression look like?

Depression makes you feel like you will never find happiness or joy again. The idea that one day you will be able to laugh again and feel happy or joyful seems completely impossible.

Poor concentration

Depression affects your concentration span because you lose interest in everything. Once your focus and concentration is affected, it becomes really difficult to make important decisions. Depression makes you feel like your mind is in a fog. You are unable to think clearly and sometimes you may find it hard to follow or keep up with things happening around you.

What does depression look like?


Feeling hopeless with no way out

Have you ever felt like there is no light at the end of your tunnel? Depression makes you feel like your situation may never change and you are doomed to suffer forever. This leads to feelings of low self esteem, worthlessness, and failure.

What does depression look like?

In more severe cases of depression, a person begins to develop suicidal thoughts because they feel hopeless with no other way out. Depression should be taken seriously and anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts is encouraged to seek help. If you are at a point where you feel hopeless, stuck, and you want to take extreme actions, kindly reach out to us today to talk to a mental health professional.

You are not alone. Despite how big your problem might seem right now, we assure you that there is always another solution. There is a better way to deal with the matter. You just need to seek out help. Talk to us. We are here for you.

Common signs of depression

Depression is not an illness that one develops overnight. It is a sneaky mental health problem that slowly creeps into your life without your knowledge until it is too late, and you realize nothing excites you about life anymore. You find yourself stuck with persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness.

What does depression look like?

However, as a mental health advocate, I believe that by spreading awareness about depression, we can be able to fight it. Instead of depression sneaking up on you, you can learn to be more self aware and recognize when you begin to lose interest in things you love and identify those repetitive thoughts of hopelessness, sadness, and worthlessness.

This will help you fight depression by taking measures to look after your mental health e.g. talking to a mental health professional, reading self help books, getting out of toxic relationships/situations, and listening to positive content. Depression can range from mild to severe. Knowing how to fight depression can help you deal with it during its early stages.

What does depression look like?

So, here are some common signs of depression to look out for:

  • Withdrawal from social activities
  • Constant thoughts of death or suicide
  • Suicide attempts
  • Poor self care e.g. not bathing, wearing dirty clothes, poor grooming, etc
  • Lack of energy to perform simple tasks e.g. making your bed, doing the dishes, taking a bath, etc
  • Lack of sleep or poor sleep patterns
  • Constant sadness
  • Loss of interest in hobbies and activities you used to love
  • Being easily irritable
  • Pessimistic thoughts (you expect bad things to happen to you)
  • Feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness
  • Difficulty making decisions, concentrating, or remembering
  • Lack of appetite (you no longer find any food appetizing)
  • Drug abuse (in some cases, a depressed person may begin abusing drugs and alcohol to cope with their mental health)

Get help today

Do you think you are struggling with depression? Perhaps you know a friend, neighbor, colleague, relative, or classmate that is struggling with depression. Coach Wangari Migwi offers counseling to people suffering from depression. You do not have to bear the burden alone anymore. We understand what you are going through and we can help you deal with the depression.

Call us today on +254 716605610 or text us on WhatsApp to talk to Coach Wangari Migwi, a certified mental health advocate. Coach Wangari Migwi has experienced depression before and was able to overcome it. 

Coach Wangari Migwi

If you want to talk to someone who understands what you are going through and can give you the tools to improve your mental health, then call us today. Don’t give up on yourself. You have so much to live for. Let us help you fight. 

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