Why is the automatic reaction to depression to build up an emotional wall of isolation?

[Jonathan Forbes]

Whenever I feel bad about my errors and times I have hurt others I dive into a sea of isolation and emotional distance from those around me no matter who they are. I don't care if they complain or if they cry, I don't want to be around anybody. Why is that? I guess it is an automatic reaction to depression is feeling no one will understand and aside from that they can't snap their fingers and take away the problem so the assumption is they can't help me. I guess it's called pushing people away feeling everyone will only make the pain worse or that it will only hurt more to confront the pain. When I felt suicidal earlier this year I got emails back from so many people I knew who were baffled by my feelings and telling me they loved me and keep my head up because it will get better, but I just felt I was on an island all by myself stuck in a cloud of guilt. I wonder why it is so easy to push people away when we get emotional.

 

[Rosemonster]

It's okay to want to handle your sadness by yourself. I tend to do the same but I think it's cuz I don't want to burden others with my sadness and also cuz no matter how hard they try, I know they won't make me feel better. But one thing I've learned is that it's easier to wallow in my own self-pity if I am alone. When I hang around others, even if I am sad inside, I don't show it on the outside - essentially, I fake it. But before long, I forget that I'm faking and the sadness seems to just dissipate sometimes. It's kinda like a cut on your finger. The more attention you pay to it the more it hurts. When you ignore it, you will eventually forget about the pain - although it is still there.

We take life so seriously, but in reality, this life, these bodies, they are all just an elaborate illusion constructed by our creator to teach us about life in this material world. Looks like you are currently learning what it's like to be sad... absorb the lesson... then move on and share what you've learned with others who need it. That's what I strive to do every day! :-D

 

[green_thumbed_one]

Depression causes us to feel shame.
We are afraid that people will sense our weakness and look at us with too much pity or too much love. We don't want people to look at us as being weak or flawed.

We isolate ourselves as though we have some type of virus that would threaten to infect other people. It is a natural tendency, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. The trick is to find someone that you can talk to, a friend, a family member, or even an outside source. Depression doesn't survive well when you get support!!!