A little help here!
Despite the fact that I consider myself primarily a poet, (people buy my books and everything.) it is when I write about my battle with depression that I have the most people read, the most people write comments and the most people send me email. It is an increase by about a thousand per cent. (Yes, you read that right.).
I am not the brightest light in the room, but even I can tell that people want to read, want to understand, want to feel hope about depression. Some are part of the 10% or so of the universe that fight it. The others want to understand it better.
So I am in the process of putting together a book. It’s not a self-help book. It’s not an educational book. I am not trying to save anyone. It will just be my story. My version of living with it.
Most of the book is done. I am shooting for a fall publication.
But… and here’s where I need your help. I am a few chapters short. And I know I have left something out. What I need is to know is…
- If you are fighting depression, what elements of you do you struggle with? This will allow me to consider and think about how I have dealt with those facets and write to them.
- If you don’t fight it (Lucky you!), what about depression do you wonder about? What are the questions you’d like to ask a depressed person, but don’t?
You can private message me on facebook, leave me a comment here, or drop me an email (tom@quarryhouse.us).
And thanks for your help. This is new territory for me.
Tom
Quarry House 
Tom, For me, I wonder if there is a link between uncontrollable anger and depression. Anger is so destructive. Have you dealt with anger?
Good thought. There is often anger in depression, borne out of frustration. But I am not sure it falls under the kind of destructive anger you are talking about. I’ll have to think on that one. Thank you for reminding me – that’s one of the things I had sort of forgotten.
My family is quite full of depression, in various forms and stages. I have had bouts, but nothing I couldn’t come out from under, so I don’t view myself as “classically depressed”, which may or may not be the case. A few times I have been so waylaid I just sat for hours and stared at nothing, refusing to answer the phone or interact with others. It happens very rarely for me, for which I am truly grateful. And I have no idea if this is typical or just how I dealt with it.
But I always wonder about the destruction that seems to go along with depression. My nephew became an alcoholic. His tendency was to just drink until he passed out and no longer had to deal with reality. My daughter sets herself up for failure then tells us all she knew it would happen. Once she’s succeeded in doing exactly what she seemed to fear most, she goes to bed and stays for days.
Another nephew alienates family members, including his children, who try to help. The older he gets, the fewer people want to be around him.
I wonder if they just don’t know they are wrecking their lives. Or if they do know, in the times when they are able to see things more rationally, and have no idea how to change course.
Isolation is the great enemy for most of us with depression. And yet the disease pushes us to isolate ourselves. It’s a paradox, but then again, most medicine tastes bad. At it’s worst, it’s paralyzing. If you are in a place where you just have an episode for a short while and move on, that’s great! I too sometimes surrender for a few hours, just not to bear it any more, but like you, then I get up and move again.