Here Is The Most Frustrating Thing About Being Depressed

People who are trying to help someone with depression often go about it in the wrong way.

Allie Brosh of Hyperbole and a Half has an illustrated anecdote that perfectly explains why. Brosh has openly talked about her battle with depression on her blog, which inspired a book by the same name.

According to Brosh, well-meaning but misguided attempts to problem-solve can be the most frustrating thing about having depression:

All the hopeful, proactive solutions start to sound completely insane in contrast to the scope of the problem.

It would be like having a bunch of dead fish, but no one around you will acknowledge that the fish are dead. Instead, they offer to help you look for the fish or try to help you figure out why they disappeared.

The problem might not even have a solution. But you aren't necessarily looking for solutions. You're maybe just looking for someone to say "sorry about how dead your fish are" or "wow, those are super dead. I still like you, though."

You'll want to spend some time reading over Brosh's full story and checking out all the illustrations.

Here's what depression is really like >

And here's what it's like to finally start feeling better >