Is Captain America depressed?

In this article it will be discussed if Captain America shows signs of being depressed, it will discuss how the character was created, the view of masculinity that is perpetrated in the story, and how it can impact a person’s mental health.

Aside from that, the article will discuss what depression is, how it affects people, its main symptoms, and what are ways to cope with it.

Who is Captain America?

Captain America is a character from Marvel. Its first appearance was in a comic in 1941. It is a patriotic hero that fought in the Second World War. The character was the child of immigrant parents from Ireland.

His name is Steve Rogers, he had health concerns that prevented him from joining the army, something he wanted deeply. When he was refused in the army, he said that he would accept anything to be a part of it.

Because of that, he becomes part of an experiment to create super soldiers, in which he becomes Captain America.

Is it possible to say that Captain America is depressed?

Yes, it is possible to say that Captain America is depressed. When observing the story behind his movies and his actions in them, it is possible to say that he shows some symptoms of depression, and how the role of the strong man can be overbearing at times.

He expresses intense sadness in the scene from The Avengers that shows him trying to adjust to the loss of most of his friends while he sits in a dark room.  Aside from that, Captain America: The Winter Soldier shows how he lost interest in activities he used to feel pleasure doing. 

In the movie he doesn’t show any interest in having fun, he is just focusing on his work. He is also asked, further in the movie, he is asked what makes him happy, and he answers he doesn’t know. Aside from that, during the movie, he even expresses he wouldn’t know what to do to himself if he wasn’t serving the country, showing his lack of hope for the future and purpose.

In The Avenger it shows how he is going through a change in his sleeping patterns. The movie leaves open to interpretation if that might be because he is having nightmares, flashbacks, or insomnia. He also expresses intense guilt about the death of a friend.

In Captain America: The First Avenger and in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it appears how he starts developing some risky behaviors, in a way that can put his life in danger.

With all that said, it is possible to say that Captain America might have depression. But to clear it up, let’s understand better what depression is.

What is depression?

Depression is a mental illness that according to the Word Health Organization affects around 5% of the world’s population. It can happen to anyone, at any moment of their life, but according to research, women have a higher tendency of developing depression.

Aside from that factor, others can make a person more susceptible to depression. It might be that a person that has a family history of depression has a higher risk of having it as well at some point in their life.

Another thing that might make it easier for a person to get depressed, is the fact that they are going through a trauma, this can be the loss of a loved one, a divorce, or even some financial or legal problem.

Depression can also happen easier with people that have gone through a previous episode of depression. The disorder can also come from an imbalance in the person’s brain chemistry.

Depression is described as an intense sense of sadness that affects all aspects of a person’s life. It can make the person feel empty, with a lack of purpose, and hope about the future. It also affects the sense of self-worth and self-esteem.

People usually feel depression in different ways, but it is determined that a person is depressed if they intensely experience its symptoms for more than two weeks. The most common symptoms of depression are:

• Change in appetite pattern
• Change in sleeping pattern
• Lack of interest in activities that the person used to enjoy before
• Irritability
• Difficulty focusing
• Isolation
• Fatigue
• Guilt
• lack of energy
• Excessive crying or inability to cry even when the person feels like it
• Pains and headache
• Thoughts of death and suicidal thoughts

How can one cope with depression?

Depending on how a person is experiencing depression, many ways might help a person cope with it. If a person is experiencing severe depression, it might be important to look for a psychiatrist, and consider starting a medication treatment, that will help lessen the intensity of the depression symptoms.

Depression is considered severe when it makes it difficult for a person to do even the most basic activities, like getting out of bed or going to work. Aside from that, looking for therapy can be a good way to treat your depression.

Through therapy, a person can find a safe space to talk about their feelings. It is a place to feel supported and not judged, in which a person can reflect about what may be causing their depression, or what triggers the symptoms to get worse, along with creating strategies to deal with all of it.

There are other things that a person can do on their day-to-day to feel a little better when dealing with depression. Let’s understand what they are.

Set small goals  

When a person is depressed, it might be hard to even consider doing some basic things such as getting out of bed. But it might be a good idea to set small goals to do at a time. By that, you won’t get so frustrated and feel so guilty, and you might even feel a sense of accomplishment by doing things.

Reward yourself

Recognize how hard doing your activities has been recently, and when you manage to do it, reward yourself. It can also be a way of motivating yourself to do a little more.

Count on people you love

Having people close to you that you can count on, whether they are friends or family members, can give you a place to vent about your thoughts and feelings. It also gives you a sense of being connected and belonging, all of these can give you some comfort when you are in pain.

Meditation and breathing exercises

Putting in your day-to-day life the practice of meditation and/or breathing exercises can bring you some benefits. It can help you focus, while practicing, on your breathing and how your body is moving, instead of all that is going around you and the thoughts in your head. It will help you relax, and it might even help you sleep better.

Move your body

Find some exercise you might enjoy and try to stick to it. When you move your body, it will help you focus more on that than the sad feelings you might be experiencing, but you might also find a sense of well-being that can come from the endorphins.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ): Is Captain America depressed?

Is it possible to say Captain America had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Yes, it is also possible to say that Captain America had PTSD. He shows, along with the movie, a few symptoms that can be related to PTSD. They are: 

• Hyperarousal: meaning that he is always having a hard time sleeping since being frozen in the ice and being in the war.
• Flashbacks: he has many flashbacks from the war while he is using the punching bag.
• Avoidance: he avoids having conversations about what happened in the war, including losing his best friend.

Does Iron Man, AKA Tony Stark, have anxiety?

It might be that, what he shows in Iron Man 3, can be called a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, he has been exposed to torture and was maintained captive in Afghanistan, and although it is hard to give certainty, It might be, but he surely fills the profile of a person who has gone through many traumatic experiences.

He indicates he is having trouble sleeping, he also avoids talking about things related to his trauma, and also has intrusive thoughts and flashbacks.

What were Steve Rogers’ health problems before the serum?

Before he took the serum, Steve Rogers had multiple health problems that prevented him from joining the army. The movie Captain America: The First Avenger, it is shown a long list of his health issues. 

From it, it is possible to say that he had asthma, scarlet fever, sinusitis, cardiovascular problems, a prior infection that reduced his life expectancy, and chronic conditions. With all those conditions, it would be impossible to hope for someone to overcome it all and still be able to join the army, even after 5 attempts. 

Does the actor Chris Evans have anxiety or depression?

Ye, the actor has come forth saying that thinking about accepting the commitment of being Captain America made him very anxious. After all, it was a 10 years and 6 movies commitment, not only that, it would be a life-changing opportunity, that could also be overwhelming.

It is comprehensible why this could cause a person to develop anxiety, as this disorder is your reaction to a threat or a fear, be it real or imaginary. In this opportunity, he had to consider and be open to planning the next 10 years of his life.

When talking about what ways he found to cope with his anxiety, he said that it was through silencing his mind, and he learned to do that with a guru in India. Of course, not everyone anxious can go to India, but knowing how much breathing exercises help, can be a relief.

How Marvel movies are talking about mental health?

Although people would expect that a chain of superheroes movies would bring on how powerful they are, Marvel has been spinning that in another way. Even though they still show superheroes as people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for others and that may be larger than life, they are starting to show another side.

The Marvel movies have, for the last years, shown its heroes in different situations, showing their feelings, even if it is by avoiding them, it has become common to see the heroes fragility as well, and how they might cope with it, being a great encouragement for people who see it.

Conclusion

This article discussed if Captain America shows signs of depression, what were the signs and symptoms shown across the movies, and how it relates to the description of depression brought on by the article.

Aside from that, the article gave a detailed explanation of depression, its main symptoms, and the ways people may find to cope with it.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to write it in the space below.

References

https://the-artifice.com/captain-america-depression/