Lifestyle

Before-And-After Photos Show Drastic Effect Depression Has On Everyday Life

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It's estimated that 350 million people around the world are diagnosed with depression.

While those who struggle with this condition may not seem visibly ill on the outside, depression can have a variety of debilitating mental symptoms that turn common chores into daunting tasks.

Recently, a Swedish Imgur user with depression posted before-and-after pictures of his room to show the world just how deeply this mental illness can affect your daily life.

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The first photo, which was taken while the user experienced extreme symptoms of depression, shows a messy bedroom along with the caption,

I suffer from severe depression and have a really hard time with cleaning and doing other kinds of household work. My room have been this messy for several months beacause i cant push myself to take care of it. But this friday i decided to finally do it!
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The second photo, taken when the Imgur user was in a better mental state, shows the same exact bedroom after it had finally been cleaned up. The caption for this photo reads,

You can finally see that I have a floor! Say hi to my teddy Nalle on the bed! I know its not a big victory, but for me it means the world to just be able to have my door open if people come over. I feel so at peace right now, just wanted to share with all of you wonderful Imgurians! Me 1 - Depression 0!

The internet seems to be in awe of the drastic difference between the eye-opening comparison. Over the past few days, this Imgur post has racked up a long list of comments and over 350,000 views.

In fact, these fearless photos have actually inspired others with depression to share pictures highlighting their own struggles, like this Tumblr user who posted a similar rendition of the original photos.

The simple comparisons do a pretty good job of helping people visualize a condition that's often hard to understand, and it really shows those without depression just how crippling the symptoms can be.

Citations: Me 1: Depression 0!' Powerful before and after photos of a sufferer's bedroom reveal the reality of living with mental illness (Daily Mail)