SO much writing consists of angsty depictions of depression and other mental illness, but it often ends up being insensitive and weirdly glorifying. depression is complex and comes in many different forms. sometimes it has specific causes and will go away after a while, and sometimes its just part of the brain and has to be treated with therapy or medication and just doesnt go away (which sucks but whateva)
its one of the most common mental illnesses, as well as anxiety
i feel like i might brush up on more specific stuff based on either research or my own personal experience; for example; my own experience with PTSD
post traumatic stress disorder isnt just something soldiers get. it can come from any traumatic experience, whether that be a single event or a long term situation. i developed ptsd from being abused (in different ways) by a friend of mine (as did many of my other friends). the fact that we all were so helpless for so long and that no one did anything about it worsened the situation a lot.
essentially, if you put your characters through a lot of fucked up shit including death of loved ones, violence, abuse or other traumatic incidents, you have to consider the mental affects of the events- you can't just brush it over.
PTSD isnt just flashbacks or bad dreams. its got so many interconnected symptoms and without treatment its not very likely gonna get better. when people have ptsd, theyre gonna have certain triggers. this isnt just ur typical "uh oh self harm trigger warning uwu!!". triggers are often gonna be really weirdly specific. for example, some of mine include my abusers name (idk abuser is the right term for it?? but whatever the reason for my trauma anyway), the show rick and morty (which sucks ass bc its a good show-), a specific type of gas mask. no ones gonna know what those are, but the person (i.e. your character) is gonna associate specific triggers with their trauma. thinking about or being around the cause of the trauma will cause extreme anxiety, possibly panic or irrational behavior.
basically do ur research and dont expect ur characters to come through traumatic events without any emotional damage
SIDE NOTE: trauma before the age of nine can lead to dissociative identity disorder. just smth u might wanna know :0