Cut and Paste, Start Again ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- something I wanted to save Well... I guess you could say that to an extent, my depression and my self destructive behaviour, is exactly the thing that changed my outlook on life. I don't get frustrated with other people for their sadness because I know that when you're in that place you're already frustrated enough with yourself for not understanding how to break free of it. Most of the time, what someone really needs to hear is that what they're experiencing is understandable, that it's normal, and that it's going to end. They need to know that someone is willing to listen to it and not be angry at them for experiencing unpleasant emotions. People need to vent in order to get to the point where they can change their outlook, you have to release the negative in order to make room for the positive. That's what I've learned from my depression. I've also learned that it doesn't go away. Not permanently. Not for most of us. There are certain thoughts, once they've entered into your consciousness, they don't go away. They sit and wait for the opportunity to come back to you. Living through depression is sometimes about learning to live with those thoughts, and embrace a less idealistic version of happiness, one where you learn to love the little moments of contentment, but to accept the downs that come in between them. If more people learned to talk about depression without fear, without guilt or shame, without worrying that someone was going to be frustrated or annoyed with their inability to "just be happy" ...depression would have a different face. So much of what makes it so hard to break free of is the spiraling in that takes place when you think that your sadness makes you unwanted and unloveable and misunderstood. 21:49 - 03 May 2008 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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