Depression kills
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Williams -- how many more talented, sensitive, articulate, brilliant people must we lose to the isolation of pain, depression and addiction? It's all because the pain became too hard to cope with. It's all about getting rid of the unbearable pain of despair. And we lose all humanity if we presume to judge this condition.
Pain steals all judgement, logic, strength and contorts them all into something small, slippery, and utterly impossible to manage on our own after a certain point. And often, it's our most sensitive people who dare walk out to the edge of these places. We need to call them back to us when they do. It takes a village to save our friends from this place. It only takes one moment to turn someone around, at least for that day. They may continue to need turning around, but every day is a gift and worth fighting for.
Clarity lies in knowing when a tolerable pain, which life is naturally filled with as the inevitable byproduct of existing in an imperfect universe, to knowing when someone's personal journey has simply, irrationally just become too unbearable. They won't be able to tell you once they are there. Not in the words you'll expect to hear. There will not be, I suspect, a typical cry for help when someone has chosen to stop hurting anymore. It will be something easy to overlook, because despair can be very clever about sucking people under. Pain, especially that which springs from despair, is the ultimate con-man.
If you suspect someone has lost their clarity to discern between handling one of life's setbacks to a giving oneself to the ultimate black cloak of silence and stillness death is -- truly the only possible way we can help others from making that final choice is to stay connected and really look and listen to those we care about. And we might still not be able to save everyone who has chosen to leave, but we will always hope we tried to.
We must stay connected to those who are struggling, even if our doing so seems, that day, to be just slightly abnormal, just slightly illogical to listen closely, or even a tad inappropriately acceptable to ask "are you really okay?." This might be that one small step which can save a life, even if just for a few hours. But, every hour is precious. We can only do so much, but I know I want to make sure I've tried.
It's all we have to offer: Our time, our listening, our being there. Its such a simple thing to do, really, just be there, even in one's ugliest, darkest hour, just being there is the best gift you can offer.
When one has already silently taken a road which has no return, they might not be so obvious about letting you see they have planned to go. So, if we care, we need to keep telling them this, stay by their side at least till we can be sure the pain they are in is less intense, and that logic seems to have returned. I know we can't save everyone, but I'm pretty sure I want to try to.
No more losses of good, pure, vulnerable souls to the great trickster deep despair is.
I would never presume to judge the amount pain someone is in. I would never presume to know why someone is less available or happy than you think they should be. We all have private wounds to carry inside us, and frankly, some carry more than others would ever expect.
Living is an active verb.
Death, is not.
Keep reaching out.
And never stop practicing kindness and concern for others.
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Below is a video I only JUST found that comes even close to what Depression (with a capital D) looks like, feels like, and what maybe, just maybe YOU can do to help those with it.
Please watch this is you have depression or someone you love, does.
Pain steals all judgement, logic, strength and contorts them all into something small, slippery, and utterly impossible to manage on our own after a certain point. And often, it's our most sensitive people who dare walk out to the edge of these places. We need to call them back to us when they do. It takes a village to save our friends from this place. It only takes one moment to turn someone around, at least for that day. They may continue to need turning around, but every day is a gift and worth fighting for.
Clarity lies in knowing when a tolerable pain, which life is naturally filled with as the inevitable byproduct of existing in an imperfect universe, to knowing when someone's personal journey has simply, irrationally just become too unbearable. They won't be able to tell you once they are there. Not in the words you'll expect to hear. There will not be, I suspect, a typical cry for help when someone has chosen to stop hurting anymore. It will be something easy to overlook, because despair can be very clever about sucking people under. Pain, especially that which springs from despair, is the ultimate con-man.
If you suspect someone has lost their clarity to discern between handling one of life's setbacks to a giving oneself to the ultimate black cloak of silence and stillness death is -- truly the only possible way we can help others from making that final choice is to stay connected and really look and listen to those we care about. And we might still not be able to save everyone who has chosen to leave, but we will always hope we tried to.
We must stay connected to those who are struggling, even if our doing so seems, that day, to be just slightly abnormal, just slightly illogical to listen closely, or even a tad inappropriately acceptable to ask "are you really okay?." This might be that one small step which can save a life, even if just for a few hours. But, every hour is precious. We can only do so much, but I know I want to make sure I've tried.
It's all we have to offer: Our time, our listening, our being there. Its such a simple thing to do, really, just be there, even in one's ugliest, darkest hour, just being there is the best gift you can offer.
When one has already silently taken a road which has no return, they might not be so obvious about letting you see they have planned to go. So, if we care, we need to keep telling them this, stay by their side at least till we can be sure the pain they are in is less intense, and that logic seems to have returned. I know we can't save everyone, but I'm pretty sure I want to try to.
No more losses of good, pure, vulnerable souls to the great trickster deep despair is.
I would never presume to judge the amount pain someone is in. I would never presume to know why someone is less available or happy than you think they should be. We all have private wounds to carry inside us, and frankly, some carry more than others would ever expect.
Living is an active verb.
Death, is not.
Keep reaching out.
And never stop practicing kindness and concern for others.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is a video I only JUST found that comes even close to what Depression (with a capital D) looks like, feels like, and what maybe, just maybe YOU can do to help those with it.
Please watch this is you have depression or someone you love, does.
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