Wednesday, July 1, 2015

The #1 Key: How to Help a Person Dealing with Depression

Unhappy Depressed WomanDon’t look for someone who will solve all your problems. Look for someone who won’t let you face them alone.” — Unknown

Depression for me is like constantly walking up a hill.
Most of the time the hill has only a one percent gradient. You can hardly even tell it’s a hill. I walk, run, jump, skip along, doing cartwheels and stopping to smell pretty flowers and listen to bird-calls; it’s sunny and warm, with clear blue skies.
Even though I have to put in a little bit of effort to walk up, times are good.
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And then something happens in my life, like I lose my job, I have to move, or I’m having ongoing arguments with my partner, and my hill starts to get a bit steeper.
It’s still reasonably easy climbing, but it takes a little more effort. It gets a bit darker around me, like the sun has just gone behind the clouds. But it’s fine. I can do it.
And then some other things happen, like I’m feeling stressed out because it’s exam time, and I call my friend to hang out but she doesn’t have the time, and I injure myself and can’t do my usual activities anymore — and my hill gets even steeper.
And then all of a sudden, almost without me realizing it, I’m on hands and knees, crawling up this really steep hill.
It gets kind of dark around me, and pretty windy, like a storm is brewing. The temperature drops, I get goosebumps. But I don’t look at the darkness around and behind me. I am still aiming for the spot of brightness at the top. I know I’ll get there soon.
I struggle to make eye contact with people, go out to social events, or call friends back, because I’m so focused on just making it up the hill.
And then some other things happen, like I get a virus, or someone I love dies. And then my hill is so steep it’s like climbing a ladder, but slippery and made of grass and dirt and rocks.


http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/06/28/the-1-key-how-to-help-a-person-dealing-with-depression/
 
 


 


 


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