Print This
Email This
What good is writing if you’re not being completely honest? When I was in second grade, I used to write in my daily journal complete and utter lies. ‘I can’t wait to get glasses!’ ‘Next week, I’m going camping.’ If you knew my family, you’d know we would never survive overnight in a tent. Lying to your own journal is pretty amusing when you’re in second grade. Now, in this age of blogging, it’s hard sometimes to decipher where the line is between being really vague and over-sharing.
Since I’m not sitting here penning a fiction novel, I want to be real. Blogging doesn’t have a lot of rules, so when I’m writing, I want to write about what’s going on in my life, but at the same time- this stuff is going to be out there for anyone to read. I think that’s where I’ve been thinking about it all wrong. Because anyone can read it, I’m opening myself up to be judged. The thing I’m forgetting is that I’m also able to reach a lot of people, and maybe even be of help to someone in need.
It’s a rainy, dreary Tuesday (my least favorite day of the week), and I feel inspired to write this because it’s a topic I’m fairly passionate about, seeing as it’s effected my own life in such a surprising way. This Tuesday brings out the worst in me. The big, ugly “d” word. Depression.
Depression is a word that is probably one of the more greatly overused and misunderstood in American society. Anyone can feel depressed for a day or two, but when you’re 22 years old, and everything in your life rocks, but you still have trouble getting out of bed in the morning- there’s a really good chance you’re officially and clinically depressed. I have been living with this condition for almost 2 years now, and it has been really hard. Half the battle is in dealing with the fact that this might be something I’m going to have to deal with all my life because (perhaps) it’s something that is genetically a part of me. The good part is, I know how I want to deal with it and how I don’t, and I know now that I want to talk more about it. There are so many other people out there my age that are going through the same thing, and it’s important for them to see, they’re not alone.
Now that I’ve broken the ice, I probably will be talking more about this later in time. Most importantly for me, writing about it has helped me break free of those initial feelings of sadness, and hopefully get on with my day in a better light!
Clincal depression has been the scourge of humanity for millenia. Mike Wallace talked very frankly about his bouts of depression, especially after the death of his son. Winston Churchill had bouts of depression so well known, he called them his black dog.
Get a full medical check up with fill biochemical work. There are a new generation of medications that can correct the chemical imbalances that are one of the causes of clinical depression, with far fewer side effects than Paxil or other more well known meds.
Good luck and know you are not alone. A good support group or an understanding friend can do wonders in helping you over the rough spots.