Today on Facebook, I saw a status that, while well-meaning, incensed me:
The seeds of depression CAN NOT take root in a grateful heart. DAILY, write down 5 things for which you are grateful.
I completely agree with her that we all need to be grateful for everything we have when so many in this world have so little. I also believe that if you aren't grateful for what you have, you will never have enough (which might explain the credit crisis in this country).
But she doesn't know shit about depression.
I do. I've gotten the help and the medication that I need, and I live a happy and fulfilling life as a result. But I suffered for years before that because of the stigma attached to something society deems a weakness that can be overcome by pulling one's self up by their bootstraps.
Recently, a 23-year-old Denver Broncos player committed suicide in his home. From an outsider's perspective, he had the world by the tail. It came out later that he'd had problems with depression for years. He always had a smile for everybody and he never reached out to friends, family, or teammates. Depressives are very good at hiding their conditions.
Abe Lincoln had crippling bouts of melancholy.
Clinical Depression is a horrible, debilitating disease. It's a chemical imbalance, not simply a case of the mopes. The "seeds of depression" can take root in anyone (and it tends to run in families). And when you're in such a deep, dark hole that it's a miracle you can get out of bed in the morning, having someone belittle your situation is unbearable.
Suggesting that depressed individuals are simply ungrateful and feeling sorry for themselves is insulting. And it's that kind of stigma that keeps people who need help from seeking it.
If you don't suffer from depression and you don't have any friends or family who suffer from it (that you know of), let that be one of the five things for which you are grateful today. And if you're going to speak out, do your research and have a little empathy or keep your mouth shut.
(Steps off of the soap box, promises to write silly posts about movies, work, and nacho cheese from here on out.)
Abe Lincoln had crippling bouts of melancholy because he knew he was a very unattractive person.
ReplyDeletePreach on. There's really just no way of describing actual, chemical depression to people who haven't experienced it; there's absolutely nothing self-inflicted about it.
ReplyDelete