Sometimes it creeps up on you slowly, and sometimes it comes all at once, leaving you incapacitated. Sometimes life events cause it, and sometimes it’s cyclical or just what your body seems to want to put you through at the time.
Those that don’t have reoccurring Depression often really don’t understand it. Even still, in today’s ‘more enlightened’ age people with Depression hear platitudes and judgmental ‘truths’ from people that have no understanding of the disease itself.
Depression makes you sleep more, and think about death all the time. Sometimes it comes out as anger instead of unbearable grief. Your heart and chest feel so heavy they seem to sink to the ground, and if you could, you’d do nothing but cry and sleep 24/7. And Depression is felt physically, not just emotionally. Every interaction you have with others that is light, feels like a farce.
Medication and exercise help a lot, but sometimes it’s as if they only mute you. Hanging out with friends or family, if they’re uplifting, can take the edge off for the time that you’re with them. The upside of depression is that it can be some of the most creative times in your life. It also allows you time to put closure on situations in your life that you hadn’t put closure on yet.
If you’re suffering from Depression, especially reoccurring or life-long Depression, you’re not alone. People with this disease tend to think deeply, about everything, and although it may seem like it, it’s not a bad thing. The self-hatred is the worst, and even though you may feel a need to isolate yourself completely, try to fight it. The trick to weathering Depression, is to strive to find beauty in the everyday, and no matter what to try your best to grasp on to hope, even when it least seems probable.
There are many hotlines out there for you if you’re suicidal or just really need to talk: http://depression.wegohealth.com/depression-hotline.html
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Judyth Piazza chats with John McManamy, Author of Living Well with Depression and BiPolar on The American Perspective Radio Program
