Nina Hastie Reacts To Nellie Tembe’s Death With An Insight About Depression

A thread about Depression -I’m not a medical health professional but this is my experience

Firstly, there are different forms of depression & different ways that they manifest. Personally I suffer from manic-depression.
This is the most difficult to identify – and why people

— Nina Hastie (@THATninahastie) April 11, 2021

Find it difficult to understand that someone who is super bubbly could possibly be someone that is depressed. These super high episodes are called “mania” or “manic episode” & can be identified when someone is hyper, spends money overtly, has sex without thought of consequence.

— Nina Hastie (@THATninahastie) April 11, 2021

These moments where someone is the life of the party and goes for long without sleep – is often followed by a crash, absolute depression, lethargy, it feels like a dark cloud is over you, and that the sensation will never end or relent. It can even be physically debilitating

— Nina Hastie (@THATninahastie) April 11, 2021

The problem with those crashes – is that (I) isolate when they happen – because it’s embarrassing, you’ll often suffer memory loss, not knowing what you said and you get extremely paranoid, thinking people hate you and are plotting against you.

— Nina Hastie (@THATninahastie) April 11, 2021

Because no one sees that side of it – and you can get good at hiding it, and used to your own patterns, and only venture out when you’re on an up swing again – people think you just have one gear “party time, happy person” etc.

— Nina Hastie (@THATninahastie) April 11, 2021

Now, it is imperative for people like me that suffer extreme swings like this (I’ve been hospitalized twice from the down swing being so hectic that I attempted suicide) but even if you CONSIDER it, obsess about it, and are preoccupied with your own death… this is indicative

— Nina Hastie (@THATninahastie) April 11, 2021