With the benefit of almost 40 years of perspective, I can see the damage that depression has wreaked on my life and those I love. My question today is, why did it take so long for me to see it? I am smart, I am a thinker. I offer great solutions to problems and take so many people’s ideas into account. So, why did I spend 40 years listening to depression? What was … [Read more...] about Depression is Sneakier Than I Thought
despair
You Won’t Believe what I Wrote to Myself
“I am writing because you are enough.” This is the first line of the card I wrote to myself when I was in the hospital. I wrote this to myself over a month ago. The pastor who provided the cards mailed it four weeks later. I waited four days after getting the card before opening it. When I first took the envelope out of the mailbox, I did not even remember writing the … [Read more...] about You Won’t Believe what I Wrote to Myself
Did you know I have guns?
Well, right now I don’t. What I have is an indentation in the carpet in my closet where the gun safe was. I have an empty space on my shelf in the closet where the canvas bag of ammo was. All thats left is a cloth bag with a turkey call in it and a replacement peep sight for my compound bow. But no compound bow, and no guns. The morning I walked into the hospital; my focus … [Read more...] about Did you know I have guns?
How do I tell people I have depression? Or should I?
I have been struggling with how to share what my life has been like for the past four weeks. There are friends, relatives, and business associates that I want to tell. My dilemma is how to tell them, how much to tell them when to tell them. Is my need to tell them a way to justify my behavior? I’m telling myself it is a noble thing to do, to alert others who may have these … [Read more...] about How do I tell people I have depression? Or should I?
I’m afraid to tell you this
People should be able to have Depression without adding the fear of being labeled. Depression creates unhelpful thinking patterns that feed into our culture’s stigma about mental health issues. Feeling the need to be guarded about our condition only gives depression a stronger grip. I know, I have spent most of my life denying I have depression and hiding it from even … [Read more...] about I’m afraid to tell you this