Kate Spade, now Anthony Bourdain….the numbers continue to rise. But the only time anyone talks about suicide is when a celebrity is struck down by THIS AWEFUL DISEASE CALLED DEPRESSION!!!

They say we (society) need to TALK about IT. Yet, those who suffer from IT feel so ASHAMED they often keep IT to themselves. They say “they didn’t have a diagnosis, they weren’t being treated”, “we didn’t have any idea”, “she seemed fine”, “he had so much going for him”. They say “why didn’t she get help”?

Have you looked at your insurance coverage for Mental Health? Well….many insurance policies are now eliminating this coverage. If you do have coverage, it is expensive and usually limited. So, even if you want to seek professional help, you can’t afford it. The government continues to SLASH Mental Health Resources year after year.

Even with professional help, Depression is very often a CHRONIC condition and the best you can do is try to manage IT. Do you know anyone taking medication for depression? Well most of these expensive medications DO NOT WORK!! If you do find one that may give you a little relief, the side effects often out weigh the benefits. Why is it that those who suffer from DEPRESSION are compelled to hide this HORRIBLE, DEBILITATING, HOPELESS DISEASE??

It is because those who are not afflicted do NOT understand, don’t want to understand. You can’t see it on an X-Ray, you can find it in blood work, you can’t touch it! They say “you need to TALK about IT”!! Those who suffer from Depression are often told “just snap out of IT”. YOU CAN’T JUST SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!

Those who suffer from Depression often miss work, lose jobs, have failed relationships, cancel obligations, have financial difficulties, retreat from people and things they used to love….fail, miss, disappoint over and over again. This just adds to their Depression. IT…IS…A…VICIOUS…CYCLE!!!! We are told “gee, you are just oozing with misery”, asked ” I can’t understand why you are so miserable”, told “You have so much to be grateful for”, told “count your blessings”. Boy…..that really makes you feel like opening up. A really good line is “you should exercise and lose weight, you will feel so much better about yourself”.

As a result we are misunderstood and thought to be lazy, irresponsible, crazy, ungrateful, selfish, miserable hypochondriacs who are just feeling sorry for ourselves, making excuses. No wonder WE DON’T TALK ABOUT IT!!

How powerful is Depression?? Well, that is easy to see….look at the rising Suicide rate in this country. IT IS A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS! Not everyone kills themselves.

Depression is not something new or unique to our times, it just keeps being pushed into the shadows. A lucky few find relief with medication and counseling. For some it is short lived. For most, it will never go away. We just have to find a way to put one foot in front of the other EVERYDAY. We try to put a smile on our face when we are dying inside. We just go through the motions because that is what is expected of us. It just becomes a new normal for us, we are NEVER the same again. We are miserable, but try to do the best we can, when we can. We hate ourselves because we DO NOT WANT TO BE DEPRESSED, WE WISH WE COULD SNAP OUT OF IT!!!

Soooooo…..you want to help? Well, STOP JUDGING and STOP SHAMING and STOP IGNORING. If you really do look at us and listen to us….you can see it a mile away. You will never understand it, but you could a least accept that IT IS REAL!