Talking To Parents About Depression
If you feel depressed, alone, or are having a problem you can’t solve, you need to reach out for help and support. Talk to a parent or to another trusted adult in your life, like a school counselor, teacher, pastor, or coach. Let them know what you’re going through.
A Letter To My Depression
Monday, 25 February 2019Meg
Meg writes a letter to her depression, exploring the impact it had on her life, and what happened when she asked for help.
Dear Depression,
I never thought I’d say this to you. I’ve loathed you, put up with you, been overpowered by you for so long. You’ve sapped me of self-confidence, of energy, of the enjoyment of things I love. But you’ve also taught me a lot, and for that I guess I should say thank you.
“Because of you, I am resilient.”
For the more you’ve hung around, the more I’ve dug my heels in and armed myself to fight. Because of you, I am resilient. I know that even in my weakest moments, I have strength, more strength than you’ll ever have. Because I am so much more than you. However many times you knock me down, I will always get back up.
It may be a dark cloud passing across the sky but if that is the metaphor you are the sky. You were there before it. And the cloud cant exist without the sky, but the sky can exist without the cloud.
For I am the sky.
You’ve made me have to reassess everything I know, to feel lost without hope of being found. You’ve turned daily activities I took for granted into great, huge tasks- mountains even, too daunting to try to climb.
“I’ve learnt to appreciate the little things.”
You’ve made me feel so isolated, yet still push people away. You’ve made me mask my emotions, feel unworthy of help. Youve made me believe I am a failure.
But not anymore.
“Unapologetically me.”
“I will be okay.”
One Shocking Letter That Explains What Depression Feels Like
Have you thought about what depression feels like when you see it in others? Have you ever tried to express your own depression to other people? Both things are so hard!
Depression is a condition millions of Americans suffer through each day. You probably dont know who they are. They dont always stick out. They are your co-workers, your friends, your family membersmaybe you. People suffering from depression are the ones that cant get off the couch but they are also the ones who never sit down. They are the ones who look so sad all the time, as well as the ones who always seem so upbeat and happy.
People who are dealing with depression come from every walk of life, every race, every region, every culture. Depression does not discriminate. It doesnt take a break during the holidays, or when life gets busy. In fact, it typically gets worse.
Depression is defined as a mental condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep.
But what does that actually mean? What does it feel like? Someone I know who has been diagnosed with clinical depression wrote this letter to me to describe how she feels. She allowed me to post it here. The hope is that others will read it and know they arent alone. Depression is an isolating mental illness, but it can be overcome.
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Violet Evergarden Is Profound & Moving
Violet Evergarden is a profound and moving anime, but there are some moments that will definitely make viewers reach for the tissues. Most people cite this anime as one of the few that left them destroyed by the end.
Violet Evergarden, the main character, was raised specifically to be a weapon used against enemies. But as the war comes to a close, she had to find a new purpose for her life. After recovering from her wounds, she began working as an Auto Memory Doll, her job to help translate people’s thoughts into words on paper.
My Journey With Mental Health
My anxiety and depression existed long before I received a formal diagnosis from a psychiatrist.
I experienced anxiety from a young age. I remember it inhibiting me from being social with other kids from as early as 4 years old. I initially thought I was just an introvert who was constantly nervous to raise my hand in class or order food for myself.
These behaviors continued into my teenage years and as a young adult. In college, I went through a few traumatic events that I affectionately referred to as when my brain broke.
When I didnt address these traumas, my anxiety and panic began to manifest in a way I had never felt before. Suddenly, I was unable to sit in a restaurant without feeling intensely anxious. The first time it happened, I was out to dinner with friends, celebrating the end of the semester. I kept having to leave the restaurant for air, but my hands wouldnt stop shaking, and my mind was in complete overdrive.
A few weeks later, when I returned home for the summer, I started having anxiety attacks. I began going to therapy to cope with these very confusing experiences. My therapist told me I had agoraphobia, a type of anxiety disorder that causes people to avoid places and situations that make them feel trapped or panicked.
It even got so bad that one day, I experienced vasovagal syncope, which is when you faint or pass out when experiencing intense emotions, like fear or fright. In my case, it was panic.
Recommended Reading: How To Help A Child With Depression
Steins gate Has One Of Anime’s Most Heartbreaking Story Arcs
While Steins Gate isnt classified or marketed as sad anime, it still has one of the most heartbreaking arcs in all anime. Steins Gate tells the story of Okabe Rintarou, a college student and self-proclaimed mad scientist who accidentally discovers a way to change past events, by sending so-called D-mails. After making use of the D-mails, Okabe and his friends find out that when one messes with time, it tends to mess back.
Okabe must race against the clock to save his childhood friend Mayuri, and ends up watching her die again and again. Eventually, Okabe arrives at the point where he must choose between Mayuri and the girl whose life he saved when he sent the first D-mail the girl who’s been helping him all this time, the one he fell in love with: Makise Kurisu. Watching Okabe fail time and time again and seeing the two of them grow desperate in the face of overwhelming obstacles is enough to break anyone.
Incredibly Sad Quotes That Will Give You Feelings
Sometimes you just want to feel the feels, embrace the saddness and just go with it. Below you will find the 20 saddest quotes that will make you cry found in YA books. Some of these quotes are sad because, well, they are just sad, but some of these are sad because you probably read the book and you know exactly which moment this quote comes from and now youre sad thinking about it.Dont forget to have your Use In Case of Feels tissues nearby when reading through this list!BEWARE! FEELS AHEAD!
Depression is like a heaviness that you cant ever escape. It crushes down on you, making even the smallest things like tying your shoes or chewing on toast seem like a twenty-mile hike uphill. Depression is a part of you its in your bones and your blood. Jasmine Warga, My Heart and Other Black HolesI wanted to kill someone and I wanted to die and I wanted to run as far and as fast as I could because she was never coming back. She had fallen off the face of the earth and she was never coming back. Melissa Kantor, Maybe One Day Theres death all around us. Everywhere we look. 1.8 people kill themselves every second. We just dont pay attention. Until we do.
Sometimes pain is so unmanageable that the idea of spending another day with it seems impossible. Other times pain acts as a compass to help you through the messier tunnels of growing up. But pain can only help you find happiness if you remember it. Adam Silvera, More Happy Than Not
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What If I Don’t Know What To Say
Don’t wait to talk just because you’re not sure what to say. You can keep it simple. You can start just by saying, “Got a minute? I need to talk.” Then say what’s on your mind. For example, “I’ve been feeling down a lot lately. I think I should talk to you about it.” The person you’re talking to might ask you to tell them more. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to get started talking.
Plastic Memories Gives The Audience A Bracing Dose Of Reality
Plastic Memories is one of those shows that gives the audience a bracing dose of reality and the reminder that nothing lasts forever. The entire premise of the show is about the creation of androids which are almost impossible to discern from real human beings.
However, the main difference is that the androids have a very short finite lifespan. They can only live for a maximum of about nine years and some change. The protagonist falls in love with one of these androids, and viewers must watch him realize that his time with her is running out.
Also Check: Taking Antidepressants But Still Depressed
Best Love Words To Make Her Cry In A Letter
I start each day with a lot of happiness because I know how much you love me.
The most important thing about every day is that I feel you in the air that I breathe and I see you in everything I do. Youre always in my mind all day and all the time.
I cant wait to kiss you and thank you for all that you do in my life. Youre my light in the dark.
You Are A Part Of My Life But You Do Not Define Me
Hey there,
We first met 10 years ago, and youre still here. Our relationship has been interesting, to say the least. You often show up when I least expect it, and when youre not around, in the back of my mind, Im always wondering where you are and when youll be back.
You are always lingering in my life, but while you are a part of my life, you do not define me. Though you make life very hard, you wont bring me down. You wont bring me down because Ive learned more about you over the years.
Ive learned how to cope. Ive learned how to talk about you in therapy. Ive opened up to others about you and theyve shown up in a big way to support me. And Ive learned things that help when youre around.
Ive also found a medicine that helps quiet your voice. Your voice is still there, making me question myself, making me feel sad and lonely, making me feel Im not worthy of being loved. But the medicine has helped make your voice a little quieter. And for that Im grateful.
Ive found other things that help, things like moving my body, eating right, getting lots of sleep, and crying. Yes, you make me cry a lot. But crying has empowered me, and its given me the strength to face you head on. And after I cry, it weakens your grip on me.
When you appear in especially strong ways and make my life extra dark, she shows up with a glowing light and reminds me love and light conquer the darkness. She comes down into the darkness with me and reminds me Im not alone.
Read Also: How To Find Angle Of Depression
Love Letters For Her That Make Her Cry
1. Loving you is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I wake up every morning, filled with a smile, new hope, and new strength, all because of you. My love for you know no bounds. You came into my life and transformed me into the man of my dream. Thank you for being the source of my inspiration, and the only reason I smile every day. I love you, babe.
2. Where I am today is as a result of the journey we started together. When everyone else abandoned me, you decided to stay. I know what love is all about today, all because of you. Thank you for being a helping mate for me. Thank you for your support, love, and benevolence. I love you and will continue to love you until death separates us.
3. Loving you is the choice I made the first day I met you. If I should reincarnate 100 times, I will look for you in different languages and continents, and make you my partner. I never knew what it was like to be in love until I met you. I love you, babe.
4. Love becomes a beautiful experience once you find someone that truly loves you. I dont know what I did to deserve the affections I receive from you, but I want to assure you that I will never stop loving you. You first loved me. You made me understand what it means to be in a healthy relationship. Im grateful I found you, not because you are the most beautiful woman, but you are the most gracious woman with a heart of gold. I love you, sweetheart.
Love Letter To The Special Kind Of Woman
To the one who brought happiness in my life,
I came to you with tears in my eyes, you consoled me and gave me all the reasons to smile again and be happy in life. This is a rare act of love and kindness, youre full of compassion and the best woman in the world, your love for me makes me feel on top of the world.
Thank God for the day I met you.
Also Check: How To Get Work Done With Depression
Letter From A Depressed Person
This is the third in a series of letters written by people with bipolar disorder to the people who care about them. The first, Letter from a Dysphoric Manic Person from Aaron explains the cold and calculating thinking we can have when our mania is filled with depression and anxiety. In Letter from a Euphoric Manic Person, we met Patricia for the first time. She is pretty darn happy. The letter below shows how Patricia feels when the depression hits. I suggest reading the other letters before this one!
Dearest Daddy,
I woke up crying. I know. I know! Its depression. I have my plan. When I wake up with this depression, I have my plan, right? I have to get out of bed. Beds are for sleeping. I no longer spend the day in bed when Im depressed.
I have learned this.
So I found myself sitting in a chair in the living room in my bathrobe. I went to switch on the TV and thought, oh God no! Not this! Its the same as lying in bed all day. I will NOT do this. I will not sit in this chair and watch daytime TV.
I got a bit of energy and made it to the bathroom. I will brush my teeth and I will do something with my hair. I will. I will.
Hands of cement dad. Cement. I dropped the brush. Why do we drop things and trip and cry so much when we are depressed? I mean this in a technical way. I know my symptoms and I know dropping, tripping and crying are on my list of symptoms. I KNOW what this is, but what is happening in my brain for it to happen?
I can not and will not give in to this.
Where Do You See Yourself In The Future
Youll want to consider the tone of the letter. In terms of your depression, where do you see yourself in the future? Observe your thoughts and consider sharing your optimism or doubt about how you feel.
Allow friends and family to see where you are so they know how best to support you. The key is to be open and honest.
Read Also: Will I Be Depressed My Whole Life
A Letter To My Children About My Depression
Dear Children,
I try to be a good mother to you. Ive memorized your favorite books, the ones we read over and over and over. I hang your artwork on the refrigerator so you can see how proud I am. I let you play with glitter. We bake cupcakes and I even let you crack the eggs, though I know Ill have to pick shell out of the batter when youre done. We play Hot Wheels. I try to always be happy for you.
But, sweet babies, I just cant.
See, there is something wrong with my brain. The best way to explain it is this: Imagine there are special potions that get poured into your brain. These potions help make you happy. The vast majority of people have these potions, and they can laugh and dance and play games. My potions dried up. I dont have enough of them anymore and that means its very hard for me to do the things happy people do. Not having those potions is called depression. When youre depressed, its hard to laugh, dance, and play games, even though I want to. I cry sometimes. I cant help it. Its because people with depression dont have the special potion.
Depression doesnt mean we cant be happy sometimes. We can make cupcakes and splash in mud puddles. We can eat watermelon for breakfast and play tag in the front yard. Ill even pitch baseballs for you. But sometimes, depression makes it hard to do anything fun. It makes me angry, and stressed, and sad. It makes me feel like nothing.