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How can I stop letting my depression make me feel like a burden to others?

166 Answers
Last Updated: 04/27/2022 at 7:47pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
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Jennifer Patterson, LMFT

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Life can be messy. Sometimes you need a little support to make your way through it. I love to help guide people through their challenges & to find the beauty in our messes.

Top Rated Answers
organticBlueberry5504
March 25th, 2021 8:59pm
i believe going to therapy and getting professional help, as well as possibly being on medication, can significantly help ones depression not feel like a burden to others. i believe every person can benefit from therapy, but if someone has depression and needs an external outlet to seek help, therapy is definitely beneficial for them to talk about their feelings and emotions to their therapist rather than to others who they feel would be a burden to them. depression must be very difficult to control, so if one feels like they are a burden to their friends or family, professional help is always a safe bet, as it allows them to seek help while also getting professional advice.
Anonymous
April 25th, 2021 9:42am
That's quite a hard question, Our depression tends to make us feel like we are just some people who do nothing to the world, people who the world would be happy without, in short words, it makes us feel like a burden, but when you look at the positive side of it, You should not care much about what others think, this is the keyword to everything. Let yourself decide if you are good enough or not. do good things to others, be kind, help those in need, all those things will make you feel great! start practising gratitude, and stop caring about others. it is you who you should care about not other people. I hope my answer is helpful. Have a nice day!
bubblegumCherry4557
April 30th, 2021 9:12am
Having depression can feel isolating at times. I understand that you may feel like a burden but you deserve help. As some people say, 'a problem shared is a problem halved'! Feeling like a burden doesn't mean are the burden - the burden is the mental illness not you. Remember, if you had a physical illness you wouldn't be viewed as a burden so don't let any stigma make you feel like you are a burden to others. You are loved and your friends care for you. You are worth so much more than you can even imagine. Things will get better:)
Anonymous
May 22nd, 2021 7:35am
Take charge of yourself. In asking such a question, you have made the first step. Depression is real and several persons experience it. Recognize you are not alone in experiencing it also recognize your triggers and how you deal with it. Most persons will not consider showing concern for someone they care about a burden. So ask yourself is the feeling coming from you or others. Know that it is very natural to not want to be a burden, but it is also quite natural to want to help others. So recognize that once you are helping yourself as others help you then everyone wins.
KiyoshiLife
June 24th, 2021 12:36pm
I think it would be great to value myself so I wouldn't feel like a burden. I want to feel like I'm important and not a waste of time or too much pressure. I also think caring for others makes you worry less because when you feel like a burden you're thinking other people aren't liking you, you aren't worrying about their feelings as well as your own. So that part is really important. It helps you connect and care about yourself and others. It basically opens up your heart instead of being closed all the time which was a problem for me.
Anonymous
June 25th, 2021 5:59am
Try to understand that you are not a burden. You can only control your own feelings not others. Others feeling like you are a burden does not indicate you being a burden. If others truly value you, they won't see you as a burden. Focus on yourself. Try to be empathetic towards yourself. Depression is the burden, your mental illness is not your identity. You ARE NOT your mental illness. You are NOT a burden to others. So Stop thinking about how others feel about you and start focussing on yourself and focus on your battle with depression. best of luck!
Carter77
September 19th, 2021 5:22pm
In your head, it may seem like you are crushing others with your burden, but on the outside, it is usually barely anything. You shouldn't have to feel that because of your depression, you have to prove you aren't a burden. Your mental health should always COME FIRST. Figuring out what YOU need for YOURSELF is always important in your journey for your mental health. For me, I did little affirmations every day in the thick of my depression. I would sometimes tell myself simply "you are not a burden", while other times I would go more into depth like "You are enough and you are working and getting better each day". Hope this helped!
Anonymous
October 22nd, 2021 2:46pm
It’s important to understand that we all have people who care deeply for us and will listen to us when we need them. Find one person who you trust and can talk to about anything and let them know how you are feeling, let them also know that you feel like a burden. They will reassure you and make you feel wanted and safe. It can also be beneficial to talk to a professional if the situation is severe and just talking about it may not be entirely helpful. One good person is enough to help relieve some of the pressure and thoughts we have, people care about you more than you think.
BridgetB
November 3rd, 2021 12:52am
One thing I've found helpful is surrounding myself with people that I know love and care for me; people that I don't question when it comes to how they feel about me. Another thing I've found helpful is expressing these feelings to the person that I am concerned about feeling burdened. Usually, this reassures me because the person loves me and wants me to get better, so they don't feel burdened at all. I also try to surround myself with people that will be honest with me, so they'll tell me ways they think I can work towards getting better and working my way out of the depressive episode that I'm in.
freshParadise7184
November 26th, 2021 9:34am
Think about what such attitude does to you and others. What are positive and negative outcomes of such behavior. Which one is greater and more useful for you (negative or positive)? I, personally, try to find a point at which I start having the depression and do something to cheer myself up. This may help you to relax. After the negative emotions calm down, try to think what causes them and how you can avoid the situations or people who make you feel in such way. If it is impossible to get away from those people, what are the ways to change your attitude? Hopefully, I could help you🙏🏻
LazarGlaushev
December 16th, 2021 10:58am
you can't, you really can't. Because depression is not just some sickness you control or go against with pills and cold water. It is not a fever but emotional and mental condition which is not directly under your control. You need to change, your routine needs to change, your life... and I know it is hard, it needs a push but doing the same and expecting different reasults is unlogical. And the feeling of being burden to others? yeah... it never fades away fully. But thinking about it makes it a lot worse. So, perhaps, stop thinking about it that much by thinking and doing different things, things that bring you joy.
Anonymous
January 5th, 2022 1:53pm
Depression occurs because life happens. It is only because of differences in circumstances that makes one more vulnerable than another but it can happen to anyone. Considering this premise, the feeling of being a burden to others when one has depression could not really be avoided sometimes no matter how much assurance s/he receives from his/her support group. Instead the feeling of gratitude should be exploited to inspire hope and confidence that things will get better even though how much the void and emptiness inside seem paradoxically too heavy and exhausting to bear. Help cannot get through a person if s/he will not be receptive of the help that is being offered. It is only in dark times that one can be brave to accept help and relearn to trust the essentially benign universe.
cmelissaw
January 8th, 2022 2:26pm
The first move on any journey is taking the first step. Knowing you have something to work on is already a step in the right direction. Look for opportunities to strengthen yourself and how you interact with others. Talking out why you feel the way you do is very helpful. Getting to the root of why you started feeing this way and having the right help for you is very important to making this journey a success. The fact that you want to be better for others is commendable, however want be better for you first. What you think about yourself matters more.
Anonymous
March 20th, 2022 1:17am
You do not need to worry too much about this issue. This is because your depression is not something you chose, it is not something you have full control over, and you are not burdening others on purpose. So be kind to yourself and focus on your wellbeing, because when you feel well you will feel less worried about your unwanted effect on others. If the people you are concerned about are close to you, they would know what you are going through and they would be understanding and supportive. If the people are not too close to you, such as work colleagues, you don't have to explain to them too much, you can just say something like "I have some hard days occasionally so forgive me if I am not myself on those days". Everyone goes through a lot in life, so people would be more understanding than you think. Don't worry.
PreciousReflections
April 9th, 2022 7:45pm
I can realize that everyone suffers, everyone has a burden to bare, but even in my depression I can be useful to others. I can realize that those that are helping me through my depression actually enjoy and get something out of providing help. While I certainly don't want to wallow in depression, getting help is critical for both the help seeker and helper. I can realize that people can learn from all moods and experiences, personal and of other people. I can make an effort to judge nothing that occurs as bad or good. Rather I can accept what is, and in doing so I can gain the strength to move through it.
KGibbs99
April 27th, 2022 7:47pm
You should never feel as though you're a burden to others. one method I used to use to make myself get over the "burden" stage was building up my Self-Esteem around others and I worked on improving my relations with people I knew. I personally felt that people around me didn't always understand what I was feeling and building relations with them to show them and explain to them properly what I felt like also helped me not feel as such a burden as they understood a lot more. Its not an easy process to do and it took me nearly a year to do such but it was definitely worth it for me.