"I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on earth.” - Abraham Lincoln
Lots of people struggle with, or have struggled with,
depression in the past. Even really
famous people, even people you would have never thought, and even people who
have gone on to achieve amazing feats have struggled with a mental illness.
For example, Abraham Lincoln, Jim Carrey, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Winston Churchill are all know to have struggled with depression. Click here for a full list from Wikipedia.
No one likes to talk about depression. No one likes to admit that they are taking an
anti-depressant. And I’ve never met a
person who was not deathly afraid to even begin taking a pill such as an anti-depressant. So, we don’t know the reality of the extent
of this disease in our world today. But,
my guess is many people suffer with depression.
Still, despite the widespread epidemic, depression has a social stigma. It’s a mental illness. When people think “mental illness” they think
about hospitals, the white van, strait jackets, and ruined lives.
It is true, and very sad, that many have suffered severe
mental illness that merits them all the horrors listed above. Some mental illnesses are life-long, and some
are terminal. We have not yet found a
cure for mental illnesses like, schizophrenia and extreme bi-polar disorder. Living with these illnesses takes constant
vigilance, maintenance with medication, and medical monitoring for the
patient to have a seemingly normal life.
It breaks my heart.
But depression is NOT one of those mental illnesses. Depression can be temporary. If treated correctly, you can be cured of
your depression. It’s like comparing the
flu with HIV. They are both
viruses, right? They both cause pain and
suffering. However, you are more likely
to recover from the flu then from HIV. HIV has no known cure yet. Depression has a cure. Comparatively, you are more likely to recover from depression than schizophrenia.
I am not trying to devalue the pain of depression. I almost did not survive it myself.
Depression is terrible.
The worst part was that I felt like I deserved it - I deserved to suffer from depression.
A few years ago, I didn’t think I had any reason to get help
for the anxiety, despair, and worthlessness I felt on a daily basis. (This response is pretty common among
depression patients.) I didn’t feel like
I deserved to be happy. And, I couldn’t
go to the doctor because, what would I say?
It is easier to pinpoint on your body what hurts to a doctor. But, with depression, it was just an overall
sense of “______”. I still don’t know
how to describe how it feels with just one word. I couldn’t describe my depression or anxiety
to anyone else close to me, let alone a stranger or a doctor. So, because of these two reasons, I put off seeking help for my problems.
What does depression feel like?
Depression and Anxiety (two sides of the same coin) kind of feels like you’re walking
down a long, dark, never ending, descending corridor, there’s no sunlight, no
way back, and no way out. You have 100
pounds of pressure on your shoulders pushing you in the opposite direction and
weighing you down constantly. It is too
difficult to get out of bed in the morning because you know what you have to
face. Nothing eases your pain. You used to cry multiple times a day but now
you just feel numb to everything and have stopped caring. You might have occasional bursts of energy
but they are always accompanied by a lower low than before the high. So you are either spending each moment
searching for that next thing that will give you a high, or you are scared to
feel anything at all because of what you might do (i.e. harm yourself). It’s terrible.
I didn’t know that this condition wasn’t normal. And I didn’t know that I didn’t have to live with it.
Guess what? If you
struggle with anxiety or depression or both, you don’t have to live with it
either. Making the first step toward
getting help is the most difficult. But
it is the most important step. As long
as you never stop seeking help, you will make it.
Know that there is help available. And there is HOPE.
Depression is not a terminal illness. It can be if you don’t get the right kind of
help. It would be like dying from the
flu – tragic because treatment is so common and widely accessible.
“If depression had no termination, then
suicide would, indeed, be the only remedy.
But one need not sound the false or inspirational note to stress the
truth that depression is not the soul’s annihilation; men and women who have
recovered from the disease—and they are countless—bear witness to what is
probably its only saving grace: it is conquerable.” (By William Styron,
“Darkness Visible”)
I've quoted that paragraph before. You can find it here.
How do you know if you have depression?
- A depressed mood during most of the day, particularly in the morning
- Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day
- Impaired concentration, indecisiveness
- Insomnia (an inability to sleep) or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
- Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day
- Recurring thoughts of death or suicide (not just fearing death)
- A sense of restlessness or being slowed down
- Significant weight loss or weight gain
- (information taken from wedmd)
- take this test to see if you have depression
The causes of depression are not yet nailed down. It can be hereditary or genetic. And it can also be the result of your
circumstances. If you are under extreme
amounts of stress and anxiety over an extended period of time, you are more susceptible
to getting depression.
How do you treat depression?
I call it “The Tripod”: Medication,
Counseling, and Self-help methods (or healthy coping skills). These three aspects of recovery are all
necessary and required to achieve mental health again. Just like a tripod, you can’t have only one,
or even only two legs, because it will fall down. All three legs of the tripod must be equally
balanced.
Medication helps bring
your emotions and feelings to a stable level.
Without doing this, you won’t be able to hear or absorb the information that
will get you better. Click here to
read more about medication.
Counseling with a
professional helps because they can guide you in the right direction. They’ve seen it all before. And they know what they are doing. But be careful, no counseling is better than
bad counseling. So pick your mentor
wisely. Click here for more info on how to find a
good counselor.
Self-help methods
or healthy coping skills are the third leg of the tripod. After taking medication and getting good counseling,
you have to decide whether or not you want to get better. If your medication is working and your
counselor is helping, then this step shouldn’t be a problem. You have to put in the time and the effort
and the practice if you want to have a successful recovery. Before I started taking medication, of course
I wanted to get better. I just didn’t
know how. It was not for lack of desire
that kept me from getting better. After
taking the meds and taking to a professional, I was able to see more
clearly. I was able to make better
decisions that would help me on the road to full recovery. Click here to read more about self-help methods.
Keep in mind that everyone is different. You cannot compare your recovery rate to
anyone else’s. Just because so and so
recovered in two years doesn’t mean you will too. It might take 10 years, and it might take 10
months. But nonetheless, you WILL
recover and have a wonderful life again!
Have a Nourishing Weekend!
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