Parker Palmer, Ph.D., writes, “When you’re depressed, it seems insulting, even insane for someone to suggest that the soul-sucking spawn of Satan that has sunk its claws into you is your BFF. And yet, as time went by, the image of depression as a befriending force began to work on me, slowly reframing my misery and helping me find a way through. Something in me knew what my therapist knew: down is the way to well-being.” Read the Blog
Down is the Way to Well-being: The Dangers of Living at Altitude
Settling Into Retirement: Six Years and Counting
Dr. Kathy McCoy writes, “Once the excitement of transitioning from the working world to retirement has become an altered version of real life — complete with dental appointments, tire rotations, bad habits and challenging friendships — there are some settling in realizations. It has been six years since Bob and I left our jobs in Los Angeles and headed for a new home in rural Arizona. Thinking back from the early days of our transition to the present, these are the realizations that have dawned as we’ve settled in”. Read her Blog
13 Ways of Defining Depression
From the Storied Mind website, blogger John Folk-Williams writes, “With all the conflict about defining depression, it’s not surprising if you’re confused about what it is, where it comes from and how best to treat it. There may not be much disagreement or confusion about what it does to you. But there is a difference of opinion about whether those impacts are a good or bad influence in your life.” Read the Blog
How Faith Helps Depression
Blogger Therese Borchard writes, “A substantial amount of research points to the benefits of faith to mitigate symptoms of depression. In one study, for example, researchers at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, found that belief in God was associated with better treatment outcomes. Of all my sanity tools, my faith is what has kept me alive during severe depressive episodes. When I’m convinced that no one else could comprehend the intense suffering I’m experiencing, I cling to my belief in a God who created me for a reason, who knows my pain more intimately than any other human being, and who will see me through to the other side.” Read the Blog
How to Support a Partner Dealing With Depression
Laura Hasha writes, “As a mental health counselor and someone who has battled depression for most of her life, I’m no stranger to the toll it can take on relationships.While it differs from person to person, at its core, the illness causes people to feel lonely, inadequate, and misunderstood—even isolated. Sometimes it’s because we don’t want to inflict our pain on the people we love. Other times, it’s because we’ve been hurt by (even well-meaning) others and don’t want to risk feeling even worse than we already do.” Read the Blog
The Ugly Truth About Major Depressive Disorder
Blogger, Courtney Bridgman writes, “Each step I am taking has 1,000 thoughts of why I should just go back to bed and forget about making any attempts. Everything hurts. Heaviness on my heart, heaviness in my head, a black and dark sadness in my eyes and soul.” Read the Blog
Dear Depression
When of the best new depression bloggers I’ve come across in quite some time, Amy McDowell Marlow writes, “dear depression, here you are again. uninvited. unwelcome. and, it seems, unavoidable. i knew you were coming back to see me. i felt it in my eyes, as I watched the brightness twinkle away. i felt it in my shoulders, as i started to droop and slouch. i felt it in my steps, as my feet became weighted. depression, i knew.” Read the Blog
Depression is a Drag
Psychologist Margeret Wehrenberg writes, “That old expression “What a drag!” Perfectly describes depression: Depression drags on your physical energy. If you have been chronically in a tough situation and getting depressed, your stressed brain wears your body out. Stress is physical, even if you think it is only mental. Your brain generates all the necessary physical preparation to take action, and if you do not take action, you suffer: Tension and aches, exhaustion, sicknesses, and even weight gain.” Read the Blog
Why Is Depression So Tenacious?
Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg writes, “Why has depression become so prevalent? An ancient mood system has collided with a highly novel operating environment created by a remarkable species. Depression is worse in humans than in other mammals not because our species has more flaws but because of our unique strengths. Advanced language enables wallowing; our ability to set ambitious long-term goals sets up new opportunities for failure; our elaborate culture presents expectations for happiness that cannot possibly be fulfilled.” Read the Blog
When Family Members and Friends Don’t Understand Depression
Depression blogger Therese Borchard writes, “Whenever I hit a severe depressive episode, I am reminded once more that I can’t make people understand depression any more than I can make a person who hasn’t gone through labor understand the intense experience that is unique to that situation. Some people are able to respond with compassion to something that they don’t understand. But that is very rare.” Read the Blog
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