Chronic Illness and Depression

According to WebMd: In people with chronic illnesses and depression, patients themselves and their family members often overlook the symptoms of depression assuming that feeling sad is normal for someone struggling with disease. Symptoms of depression are also frequently masked by other medical problems, resulting in treatment for the symptoms -- but not the underlying depression. When both chronic illnesses and depression are present, it is extremely important to treat both at the same time.

Around my junior year of high school, I knew I had developed some level of depression. However, this was also the time I was getting shuffled in and out of the hospital the most due to cellultis infections in regards to my chronic illness. Because of all the was going awry medically due to my chronic illness, it became very easy for me to hide the underlying despair I couldn't seem to shake. In retrospect, I wish I had opened up about my feelings before they all boiled to the surface years later. Depression wants to keep you in, but it doesn't have to. Telling someone that you are feeling glum is the first step in fighting the battle with depression and essential in beginning to gain some of your former self back.