Do you have chronic depression? If so, do you feel understood by friends and fam!
Question: I've battled chronic depression for over 26 years. I've been off and on meds and to so many counselors I can't count them all. I had a breakthrough last year and decided my family and friends needed to recognize and accept that I have this disease. I started talking about it more and they learned ways to productively help me and support me. For the first time in 36 years, I'm getting better. Not just from meds, but from counseling and being forced to face it and deal with it. It's the goal of my entire family to "get me better". It will happen. I wonder if other depressed individuals have realized the importance of reaching out to family members and opening up. I used to hide all the ugly things that go along with depression. Now I tell people and they encourage me to get out of bed, do a load of laundry, do the dishes. It's wonderful and it's very healing. I'm also aware that not everyone's family is as understanding and supportive as mine. Just want your thoughts on this
Answers: I've battled chronic depression for over 26 years. I've been off and on meds and to so many counselors I can't count them all. I had a breakthrough last year and decided my family and friends needed to recognize and accept that I have this disease. I started talking about it more and they learned ways to productively help me and support me. For the first time in 36 years, I'm getting better. Not just from meds, but from counseling and being forced to face it and deal with it. It's the goal of my entire family to "get me better". It will happen. I wonder if other depressed individuals have realized the importance of reaching out to family members and opening up. I used to hide all the ugly things that go along with depression. Now I tell people and they encourage me to get out of bed, do a load of laundry, do the dishes. It's wonderful and it's very healing. I'm also aware that not everyone's family is as understanding and supportive as mine. Just want your thoughts on this
What is unique is the fact that many have experienced depression and did not reach out. If it were not for the support of friends and our Lord, I would be dead. However, my grandchildren were more understanding than my children. It got to the point that my grandchildren were not allowed to visit.
My family thinks depression is a weakness and if I revealed this to them, I feel they would treat me worse.
Depression can be a great strain on the family, and hard to deal with. it may seem sometimes that they don't understand you or that they seem inaccessible (because of your own distorted thoughts) but it is certainly not that way. Most of all, they would want you to get better as one of the party is ill. I'm not sure of how to deal with it in the best way, as I am going through the same thing. All in all though, I'm really thankful for the family that I have, without them I would've been brought down a long time ago...
Unless you actually have depression, it is impossible for someone else to know what it feels like. Friends and family might love and care for you, but it's like that Tv commercial for depression where the people just sit while the dog looks longingly at the man to take him for a walk. It's like having a ceiling of dark clouds hanging over you all the time and being unable to relay that feeling to anyone, because they just can't understand it. I hope you find a med that works. You might also try going out into the sun and just trying to enjoy the fresh air. Sometimes that helps. Good luck.