Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world; in the United States, close to ten percent of adults struggle with the disease. But because it’s a mental illness, it can be a lot harder to understand than, say, high cholesterol. Helen M. Farrell examines the symptoms and treatments of depression, and gives some tips for how you might help a friend who is suffering.
This month, as survivors, let’s strive to do three things in this order. See ourselves as deserving to have our needs met, learning to care for ourselves, and striving to love others by giving them what they need.
I was chatting with someone the other day about this issue. In came up in regards to someone they know is who dealing with an overwhelming change in their life. The constant worry and fear of what’s going to happen has overwhelmed them to the point where they don’t eat, sleep or do much of…
Well, if nothing else, this past week proved that yes, there is still definitely a limit to the amount of emotional energy I can muster up, and when I hit that limit, while I’m healthy enough to know how t not dissociate anymore, I still want to do some of the same behaviors. This week…
Reading through the blogs today I saw a post about Thursday, Oct. 6 being National Depression Screening Day. Much like that post talks about, it’s never a bad idea to get a free depression screening. Trust me, if you’re thinking that you might be a little depressed, find out, get the correct treatment, medication, therapy,…
Pin I was reading this article last night, and I found it to be true. There Is No Simple Solution for Depression In it, Therese talks about how she went through so many “cures” in dealing with her depression, and that none of them really cured much of anything; some even made her worse. She makes…
Pin The people who helped me, and continue to help me, are the ones who will ask me questions and then just listen. They want to hear my story, even though they can’t fix it. They know that they can help by just giving me a space to tell my story, without worrying about the need to fight off their attempts at fixing something that may or may not be relevant at all to my situation. (i.e. I’m glad your cousin felt better after a walk in the forest, but that’s not what is happening here!)Â
So please, just listen. Make the space around you, even if it’s virtual, a safe space for your friends and loved ones to tell their stories. Find small ways to help, if you can, but also know that by just listening, just sitting with our stories, you are already helping so much.
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