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I'm two days late but wanted to acknowledge that Sept. 10 was World Suicide Prevention Day. A couple of my favorite bloggers wrote posts on that day and I wanted to share an excerpt from a blog post that I thought was beautiful. It's by actor Wil Wheaton.
depression lies
"I haven’t ever talked about this in public, but today’s a good day to start.
I haven’t ever felt suicidal, but I do have Depression and Anxiety. I
suffered for no good reason for decades, until I couldn’t reconcile my
awesome life with feeling terrible all the time. Talking therapy wasn’t
ever enough for me, and I was very resistant to medication, because I
believed (and continue to believe) that we are an over-medicated
culture.
But, still, I wouldn’t just sit around and suffer if I had a
treatable non-mental illness, so I went to a doctor, and I got better.
Now, I take some medication every morning, and it has made all the
difference in my life.
I remember the first week after I started meds, Anne and I were out
for a walk. I felt her hand in mine, and realized that I didn’t have any
lingering tension or unhappiness just buzzing around in my skull. I was
just enjoying a walk with my wife, and holding her hand.
And I began to cry, because I was so happy.
“It’s like I was in a loud room for so long, I didn’t know how loud
it was,” I said, “and all I have now is the ringing in my ears.”
She squeezed my hand and I said, “I’m going to remember that ringing in my ears, so I never go back into that room again.”
That was about four years ago, and I’m happy to say that I’ve stayed
out of the room. I can actually enjoy my friends, my family, and my
life. I have bad days from time to time, but I know they’ll pass, and —
most important of all — I may have Depression, but Depression doesn’t
have me. I know that’s sort of corny, but it’s pretty accurate, too.
So, please, if you or someone you know suffer from Depression — with
or without thoughts of suicide — please talk to someone, and get help
from a doctor. As Jenny says, Depression lies, and you don’t need to let
it control your life."