Trending
The trending word since Robin William's passing is: Depression. There, I said it, and you know, I probably can say with some certainty that a good portion of the world population either has it or has dealt with it on some sort of level. Actually, according to the CDC, over 121 million people worldwide suffer from some form of depression. That's some substantial numbers.
Someone once said that the funny people of the world have so many masks that they forget who they are, they get lost in the "funny" because that is what distracts them from the depression. When there is no longer a response to the antics, the jokes or the anecdotes, reality hits. Depression hits with all its got.
That is not to say that all funny people have depression. That is to say that this is one example. Depression rears its ugly head in many forms. PTSD. Post-Partum Depression. Bi-Polarism. SAD. Psychotic Depression. Neurons that don't fire properly. A wronged spouse. A child of divorce. A child of abuse...the list is longer than a city block. The plain simple fact is anyone can be a victim of depression. I know, I've been there.
No, I haven't had the extremes, but its been there. I was able to address it with my doctor who helped me through it. Am I cured? Maybe, but I have some mighty low valleys sometimes. Will I ever get to the low of hopelessness? I would like to say that my faith would prohibit me from being there, but being a fallible human being, I couldn't tell you that for sure.
I have some friends who have been there, in that valley that you can't tell up from down. Visible scars are there to remind them of where they were and that they conquered the Beast, at least for now. Invisible scars remind them that life is but a whisper that is more than precious, but oh, so precarious. I can't know how desperate they were to remove themselves from this hopelessness, but I am certainly thankful to God that they are still around to tell their stories, to maybe help someone on that slippery slope know that they are not alone.
So why am I writing about depression? To help friends and family. To make others aware of the signs of depression. To keep depression from claiming someone I love. If I can do that by writing this, by giving you links and encouraging you to see your doctor if you suspect you might be even a little depressed, then I've done my job. Please, don't lose hope. Don't give in to the lie that you are worthless or that your family would be better off without you. Don't give in to the lies that would take you to that valley and hold you down. It may be a temporary fix for you, but its a life of questions that can never be answered by those you leave behind. It is a life of "what-ifs" that will always hover in the background, tapping them on the shoulders.
If you suspect that yourself or a loved one has depression, please see a doctor. You can also find some information and articles on the links below.
http://www.webmd.com/depression/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2014/08/12/five-common-myths-about-depression/
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/basics/definition/con-20032977
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
God Bless, my friends.
Someone once said that the funny people of the world have so many masks that they forget who they are, they get lost in the "funny" because that is what distracts them from the depression. When there is no longer a response to the antics, the jokes or the anecdotes, reality hits. Depression hits with all its got.
That is not to say that all funny people have depression. That is to say that this is one example. Depression rears its ugly head in many forms. PTSD. Post-Partum Depression. Bi-Polarism. SAD. Psychotic Depression. Neurons that don't fire properly. A wronged spouse. A child of divorce. A child of abuse...the list is longer than a city block. The plain simple fact is anyone can be a victim of depression. I know, I've been there.
No, I haven't had the extremes, but its been there. I was able to address it with my doctor who helped me through it. Am I cured? Maybe, but I have some mighty low valleys sometimes. Will I ever get to the low of hopelessness? I would like to say that my faith would prohibit me from being there, but being a fallible human being, I couldn't tell you that for sure.
I have some friends who have been there, in that valley that you can't tell up from down. Visible scars are there to remind them of where they were and that they conquered the Beast, at least for now. Invisible scars remind them that life is but a whisper that is more than precious, but oh, so precarious. I can't know how desperate they were to remove themselves from this hopelessness, but I am certainly thankful to God that they are still around to tell their stories, to maybe help someone on that slippery slope know that they are not alone.
So why am I writing about depression? To help friends and family. To make others aware of the signs of depression. To keep depression from claiming someone I love. If I can do that by writing this, by giving you links and encouraging you to see your doctor if you suspect you might be even a little depressed, then I've done my job. Please, don't lose hope. Don't give in to the lie that you are worthless or that your family would be better off without you. Don't give in to the lies that would take you to that valley and hold you down. It may be a temporary fix for you, but its a life of questions that can never be answered by those you leave behind. It is a life of "what-ifs" that will always hover in the background, tapping them on the shoulders.
If you suspect that yourself or a loved one has depression, please see a doctor. You can also find some information and articles on the links below.
http://www.webmd.com/depression/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2014/08/12/five-common-myths-about-depression/
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/basics/definition/con-20032977
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
God Bless, my friends.
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