Depression is a serious PHYSICAL illness. The causes are physical and the effects are physical. The term Mental Illness irritates the crap out of me! I have battled severe chronic clinical depression MOST OF MY LIFE. My first thoughts of suicide came when I was in first or second grade. There have been a couple of close calls where suicide was definitely an option and ultimately avoided. When I had unremittent periods of despair some people would say things like: Buck up., or Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!, or You shouldnt feel that way., or what have you got to be depressed about? and the old standards Think positive., or Try God (insert name of your personal Higher Power here). None of this is helpful. Its kind of like telling a diabetic to Think positive. or Pray to reduce their blood sugar. Dont get me wrong I believe in prayer and thinking positive. I know that my Higher Power sometimes miraculously heals incurable illnesses. HOWEVER, if I buck up, pull myself up by my bootstraps, count my blessings, think positive and PRAY and I am still depressed, does that mean I did something wrong? NO.IT.DOES.NOT. There are things that I can do that help mitigate my symptoms. I can take medication, I can go to bed a little earlier, I can take a walk, I can talk about problems with friends or loved ones that I can trust, I can read books, I can write a gratitude list and I can pray. And I DO. I am not currently suicidal, however I STRUGGLE to do everyday things like cleaning house, laundry and pay my bills. I dont invite friends over because Im embarrassed and ashamed of my messy house and its sometimes hard to admit that what seems so easy to many of the people I know is really, really hard for me. I am a champion isolator and if it wasnt for Robin Williams, I probably wouldnt be telling you ALL this. Famous successful people get cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease AND depression. So do ordinary people like me. Please dont judge us. Reach out - ask if you can lend a hand, go for a walk, or just quietly sit with a friend or loved one. You never know, you might just help save someones life (and itll probably make you feel pretty good too). RANT COMPLETE. peace out.........
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 04:25:15 +0000
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