Beating Depression

This morning I while I was drinking my morning cup of coffee a commercial came on television with the message that most people suffering from depression will not talk to their doctor about their symptoms.  The commercial went on to say that most people are ashamed or too embarrassed to talk about depression with anyone, including their doctor.  The voice on the commercial was not telling me anything that I didn't already know.

I am also aware that every one in four Americans age eighteen and older will suffer with a diagnosable mental disorder in the next year.  That would mean that of my 160 social network friends about 40 of them will suffer from some sort of depression in the next year.  I have often said, and written, that depression is the worst illness of all.  I say that because virtually all sufferers contemplate suicide and many of them eventually succeed in ending their torment in this way.  What other illness is so horrific that people want to kill themselves?  Patients with cancer or heart disease want to live.  Depressives want to die.

Normally Planet Kirby is all about making people laugh and for those of you looking for a chuckle I will give you this..."There is one good thing about depression - you never have to make your bed because you are always in it."

Those of you who are close to me know that depression is serious business.  They have seen first hand the struggles that I went through over a 10 year period before I finally broke through the dark clouds and beat the monsters that plagued me for so long.  The Phoenix tattoo on my arm bears witness to my new beginning and rising from the ashes.  There is hope for people with depression.  Trust me, I know.  Don't be one of those people who doesn't seek help and try to ignore the symptoms.  Depression is a serious illness and it can destroy your life if not treated.

Depression doesn't care whether you are white, black, male or female and it certainly doesn't care whether you are a Christian or not.  And yes, Christians can suffer from depression.  So, if nothing else you ever read in one of my blogs impacts you, I hope this does...If you think you have depression - get help.  Here's a link to a great website that helped me a lot in my struggle: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_tips.htm.

Now, on the other side, I know that there are things I need to watch for and there are things I need to do each day to keep my ugly monsters at bay.  One of them is writing...it helps me cope with my world and the feelings that I sometimes have trouble processing through my Kirbyoblongata. 

Be Well.

Bill