I read a few of my early blog posts this morning. Some of them I wrote just days after getting out of the hospital. There is a lot of uncertainty in these early posts. I am feeling my way towards something, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Check out this post I wrote 3…
Category: Facts and myths about mental illness
300 million people around the world have depression* and I am one of them
The statistics are compelling. What’s the first thing most of us do if we want to find out more about something? Google it. Every two seconds somebody Googles ‘depression’ in the UK. While anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., depression isn’t far behind. The most recent depression statistics are: According…
Celebrities are admitting they have depression. I am not alone!
I subscribe to some pretty awesome blogs. I have learned a lot about depression and mental illness in general from these talented writers. Their new blog posts appear in my in box daily. Yesterday, my jaw dropped as I read the headline for a new blog post by Chelsea Owens. Celebrities with Mental Health Issues:…
Do I really have an addiction?
Occasionally, I am really surprised. My motto is “I love getting up in the morning, because I learn something new every day.” Often, it is something small that I learn. A shortcut to the store. A new way to fold shirts, a new band that I had not heard before. But sometimes, what I learn…
Depression will not be my crutch
Depression is a disease, not a crutch. Many diseases get major attention and major funding for research. Their existence is not questioned and their status as a legitimate health condition is secure. Very few people, for example, would dispute the fact that cancer is real. People respect the havoc it can inflict on someone. Mental…
I’m ashamed I have depression. Then I discovered 10 reasons it’s not my fault.
“Just suck it up, grow a pair, stop acting like a girl.” These are all things I have heard hurled at myself and other guys as I was growing up. Society set certain expectations for men and women at the end of the 20th century. My formative years centered around Woodstock, Kent State, and the…
Why do the good times always end?
The more I learn about depression, the more I see how crafty and stealth it can be. It works just below the conscious level, moving things around at will, so in the end, it pushes you up against the wall. Well, at least that has been my experience. It sneaks around the edges of my…
Are you 1 in 4?
One in four Americans will have depression at some point in their life. That makes the odds almost 100% that it is you, or you have a relative who suffers from it, or a friend. Or you know someone who is supporting someone who has depression. Major Depressive Disorder– The leading cause of disability in…
It’s about time
2019 MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING Did you know this type of training existed? I did not until yesterday. Doing Google searches about depression, I stumbled on this. It deserves to be shared. The program has an adult and a child version, just like the Red Cross CPR classes. Here is their description of the…
