Zen of Depression, Common Sense, and Trust Your Feelings
JANE’S FEATURED PICK Therese Borchard’s stream of consciousness in “Confessions of a Suicidal Yogi” sums up what I consider to be the zen of dealing with depression: by living through it.
My thoughts have been where Therese’s thoughts have been, and in the depths of depression I had asked those forbidden questions. Why bother? Who cares? What difference does it make? If I disappeared who would notice anyway? From the concerned comments of readers who responded to Therese’s post, I want to emphasize that this was one of Therese’s recollections, as she had followed up in a subsequent post. It is similar to the chronicles of my personal journey through depression; I cringe when I read it, and if you happen to read that page without knowing the context of this being part of my past, you would feel grave concerns (especially around June of 1998). But the only way to deal with pain is to live through it. And the only way to deal with depression is to live through it. Yes, we can run and we can hide and we can numb ourselves in different ways. But the only tried and true method that has always worked in keeping ourselves alive is - living through it. Read more
Learning Courage and Changing Minds
Welcome to this installment of the carnival of depression, bipolar disorder, and mental health journeys. I really enjoyed your submissions. I thank you for sending them, and for your passion in what you write about.
JANE’S FEATURE PICK Scott Davis has a mission with his blog: he wants to provide informative, friendly and helpful advice and life tips to people suffering from mental illness. I visited Scott’s website and I love the pictures of the marbles and the honesty that Scott’s writing projects. Read more
Work Place Depression, Pursuit of Money, Loneliness, Exercise Addiction
Welcome to this edition of the mental health carnival. Thank you all for submitting entries and while I cannot include everyone’s submissions, you can be sure that I visit and read all of your entries.
Mother Jones RN shared a touching story of her encounter with a homeless woman who suffered from a mental illness in The Abandoned House and is my featured personal story of this edition. I enjoyed Mother Jones RN’s photographs that accompanied her story as well.
Congratulations, Mother Jones RN!
Shaheen Isabella’s Mental Illness - It’s Not Talked About reminded me of the time when I was filling out an employment application. There was a line that asked whether I had been treated for a chronic illness (or mental illness, I forget which), and I paused, wondering if my new manager would look at the form and treat me differently. At the end, I wrote down that I had been treated for depression. Read more
Affordable Dual Diagnosis Treatment - Addicton, Depression and Bi-Polar Help