You might be sitting there saying, SHEESH who *doesnt* have depression?! And I would say, Well, pretty much no one escapes it their entire lives. Those of us that are admitting it because of the news of Robin Williams, or because we have been admitting it all along, are no different from the un-depressed. Life will certainly have you depressed later, if it hasnt already. So maybe you arent diagnosed. Maybe you dont have clinical depression. But know this: Maybe depression is caused by brains with wonky chemistry, grief, unemployment, poverty, cancer, divorce, more grief, addiction, negative and defeating ways of thinking, painful relationships, abuse, ETC... And sometimes we have the tools to overcome It, and sometimes we dont. Its terrifying. Its not something to see from the outside and judge. It is something powerful and real and thats the point of all the truth-telling. We say it is nothing to be ashamed of or judged harshly because of common sense. Our brains are organs in our bodies. Like, you know, a pancreas or a lung. There are a million ways for our organs to not work right. It just so happens that when your brain doesnt work right, it can look like laziness or an inability to choose joy. Thats just a mirage or something though. It looks like what it isnt. It isnt laziness or intentional negativity. You cant just get over it. It takes time and support and love and healing. The pathways our hormones, biochemistry, and ways of thinking make in our brains have a memory. Sooner or later those pathways have been traveled so many times that our brains want to stay stuck. Healing is possible, but for so many, that healing cant come because of the roadblock of stigma. So sitting back and rolling your eyes and saying that depression is trending or evidence of someone who doesnt have enough faith is not only ignorant and just plain wrong, but terribly unfair and self-righteous. You are not exempt. It will not skip you. I hope for you that when it comes, you will receive nothing but understanding and love.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 19:03:32 +0000
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