“Embarrassing” Symptoms of Depression We Don’t Talk About

Not Showering

• “My favorite thing in life is showers and baths. My depression is so bad that l can’t even do that anymore.”

Brain Fog

• “Even people who know about my depression don’t understand that my “forgetfulness” isn’t just me blowing them off.”

Loneliness

• “The worst part is having no friends or anyone who supports or validates what it is like to live like this.”

“Flaking” on Plans

• “I am incredibly unreliable. There are different reasons — exhaustion, low confidence, fear, feeling overwhelmed.”

Weight Change

• “The more depressed I am, the bigger I get. Which has created a vicious circle.

Low Sex Drive

• “When I was depressed, it was not being able to have sex… It ruined my life.”

Not Being Able to Work Full-Time

• “Could never keep a job due to having no motivation to do anything, so now I’m on disability and constantly get hate for it.”

Dissociation

• “I’ve stopped in the middle of speaking during a meeting because I could feel myself starting to slip out of my body.”

Lack of Dental Hygiene

• My depressive episodes can go on for weeks meaning I can go for embarrassingly long times without brushing.

Feeling Emotional “Extremes”

• “Being too emotional or not emotional at all. There’s never an in-between.”

Not Cleaning

• “I never have the motivation to clean my apartment, so then it’s super embarrassing when friends or family want to come over.”

Feeling Tired All the Time

• “I can get eight hours of sleep or 14 hours of sleep and I will still be tired.”

Low Confidence

• “I need reassurance all the time.”

Not Knowing When You’ll Cry Next

• “I’ll be out in public and something will set me off and I’ll just cry.”

No matter what “embarrassing” depression symptoms you’ve experienced, we want you to know you aren’t alone.

Even though it’s natural to feel embarrassed sometimes,

it’s more than OK not to be OK and there is no shame in struggling with depression.