What do those words mean to you? To me it sounds like prison, especially when used together. It’s been a month to the day that someone close to me chose to swallow a bunch of prescription medication than to try and faced another day of pain and suffering from depression. LUCKILY, they are alive and doing much better and getting the counseling necessary to help manage the depression and anxiety and struggles of every day life. I have been through the whole ordeal of talking someone down from the proverbial ledge before, so it makes sense that those are the reasons I went to college and got my bachelor’s degree in counseling and psychology…because I am a great listener; I like to help people. Getting someone to see more than just black and white is something that I excel at, and I’m damn good at it! I have never had to fight through deep, depressing, dark times like some people have. I have suffered loss and heartbreak, divorce and disappointment, but never to the point that I felt I couldn’t continue with life, but I do understand we don’t all have the same coping skills. We don’t all have supportive friends and families. We don’t all understand that there are ups and downs in life and that in some moments “the end of the world” is just a phase of discomfort that will pass with time.
While I am NOT a licensed counselor or a psychiatrist, I HAVE been trained to watch for the warning signs and symptoms of depression, and am knowledgable of the additional symptoms of antidepressant medications. If you have someone in your life that suffers from depression, pleeeeease check on them often. Make sure they have resources available to them and are able to communicate their feelings with someone, even if it isn’t you. Even with the knowledge of the signs and symptoms, it is possible that they will appear ok and still attempt suicide, such was the case for the person mentioned above. It was a normal day, no known additional stresses, no seemingly physical upset or signs of distress. It was abrupt. It was shocking. It was heart and gut wrenching. It was eye opening to just how brutal depression seeds itself deep down inside of a person.
Be an ear, be a shoulder, help them to not feel alone and isolated in their feelings. Let them know that it’s ok to not be ok, but that sometimes when it’s too overwhelming, they NEED to reach out for help. While it is not the popular opinion; for the person suffering, suicide is an option to end the pain and suffering, yet avoidable if they get the help they so desperately need.
Damn Hell Blog 