Beating Depression

WHAT IS DEPRESSION?

Depression is defined by Webster as: a state of feeling sad: a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way.

I think practically everyone on the planet Earth has experienced 'a state of feeling sad'. That's pretty much a part of everyone's life. However, when that feeling grows and tips the weight in its favor - that's when you should probably do something...ask for help.

During my life, there were several times that I experienced the second part of Webster's definition - 'a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way.' I was almost there a couple of times. Or maybe I was there. But I was a total professional at hiding my feelings - even from myself.

I DON'T NEED HELP DO I?

There were reasons for my depression...very real reasons. And I knew, even then, that I should talk to someone, but I just didn't do it. I always felt it was too personal...too private. No one would understand. And back in the day, there was a stigma attached to seeing a therapist.

On one hand, I knew talking to someone would probably help me, but on the other hand, it wouldn't really change anything that'd happened to me. Events were out of my control - not my fault. Or so I told myself, but of course, that wasn't true. Some of what occurred in my life was my fault.

Yes. I should have talked to someone and gotten help. But I didn't.

In the end, not recognizing my depression would affect me for many years...probably leading to many negative impacts that I could have avoided. But if I had, you probably wouldn't be reading these words right now. Oddly, those feelings spawned my books, my music, my website and this blog.

ORGANIC OR INORGANIC?

Organic reasons for depression are things like a brain trauma, Cushings, encephalitis or hypothyroidism...some physical or clinical disease. Even side effects from medications can cause organic depression.

On the other hand, inorganic (non-organic) causes of depression are sometimes more difficult to define and identify. These causes include psychiatric conditions, like mood disorder. Of course there are many more, but I'm not a doctor, so I won't pretend to be one here. This is the stuff of great movies. Remember One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? But let's move on...

So what was causing my depression? My causes were inorganic, but I wasn't mentally sick. My depression was a emotional reaction from events in my life. That was pretty clear. Something bad happened to me which I won't take the time to go into here. Just read my book. Then...another bad thing happened to me. (Again, read my book.) I had no control over the first event, but I did have some control over the second event.

So I guess that's the first step - recognizing and acknowledging that you have a problem and the decisions you make in your life, at least in part, contribute to your problems. At this point, the cause is irrelevant. Admitting that you're depressed, whatever the reason, is a big step forward.

And nothing to be ashamed of...by the way.

WHAT HELPS YOU?

Depression is difficult to live with. It tests your strength...your faith...your determination and will. On the other hand, for me, it was a driving force in composing lyrics, songs, short stories, and the book trilogy represented on this website. Depression drove me to creativity.

I discovered, for me, that doing something...keeping busy and being productive in some positive way was key in beating my depression.

For a while, I needed to overcome feeling sad every day. And in the end, after many years of struggle, I finally reached a healthy perspective in my life by believing in myself. But most of all, believing in a higher power, which for me...is God. But I'm not a fanatic. While I'm not the kind of person that preaches it or teaches it, my faith saves me every day.

Do you struggle with depression?