Depression

In the wake of the tragic death of another celebrity, I have a lot of acquaintances on social media saying that he was selfish and now has no hope. That his suicide is being glorified. From the insensitivity of the words in these posts, I can tell that they have never been there. I can tell that this isn't something that has ever been a struggle for them, so I wanted to say something here about how I feel about their posts.

Depression is not something you can know about until you have actually experienced it. You might have days where you feel down, but you will KNOW when you experience depression. It is not something that is easily changed. It is not something that you want to even admit that you are struggling with. It is something that you would like to bury deeper in yourself and hope that no one notices this blackness that is creeping over you. It is something that you wish would just go away but you don't have the strength to seek the help needed for it. It is something that you need your friends and family to rally around you and point out that things aren't right in your life. They need to advocate for you and help you get the help that you need. You don't have the strength on your own so you need your family and friends to have the strength for you.

I'm so sorry for the family of this most recent celebrity who felt the need to take his own life, but one thing that I'm glad is happening in the wake of this tragedy is that people are being made more aware of how devastating depression can be. The dark hole that is depression is having some light shed on it and hopefully more people will be reached and helped through their darkness and find the light at the end of the tunnel that seems never ending. I'm so thankful that I had friends and family who didn't allow me to retreat into myself during my hardest point in my depression. If they hadn't been there for me, I don't know where I would be today.