Yes, Depression Hurts

[LisaW]

Have you seen the commercials on TV for a depression medication that claims that depression hurts? When I hear these words I wonder about those who don't suffer from depression and how they might perceive the words. They might relate to the pain of a burn or cut, but no one who has not suffered depression can even begin to grasp the breadth of its devastation.

If you are a victim of depression, let me say that you have found an understanding ear. I am 4th generation in a family torn apart by mental illness and since I married a man who suffered to his death with debilitating depressions, my children got the worst of both gene pools.

This may sound like a bleak landscape, and believe me there is a great deal of Siberian scenery on the journey, but there is also great hope. Depression is a dark valley, but all valleys are surrounded by mountains. My hope in this and following sharings is to help you walk a little closer to the foothills. Together we can raise our gaze from where we step now to the hills around us. Mountain ranges are our fortress, not our limitations.

We are on a journey, dear ones, and we are not alone.