Running on - Let's Talk...
It's Bell Let's Talk Day - a day dedicated to bringing mental illness out of the shadows and facing it head on instead of hiding it away in shame. A day for all to realize mental illness is not 'all in your head' and to treat it the same as if someone had cancer or MS. It may not be real to those looking in, but to those living with...
It was not a good day for me (apropos for a day dedicated to mental illness). January has not been a good month. I refer to my 'depression' (and I use quotes because I've never been diagnosed) as 'The Dark Clouds'. I believe it was Winston Churchill that compared his mental health to a black dog (although a quick Google search suggests he was quoting someone else and he was not depressed - only 'down' once in a while).
And there in lies the issue. 'Down' once in a while - not depressed. What is the difference? The author also suggest that Churchill only mentioned the black dog once. Again, is that not what the issue is these days? No one wants to admit to being depressed. Thus the 'let's talk' day!
I digress. My Dark Clouds bring lethargy, melancholy, angst. I can see them coming...I can feel them slowly creep across the sunny sky. Sometimes, I can turn away - hold on to the sun - sometimes, I am unable to stop the shadows. Running helps - exercise helps - but on those days when the clouds loom and the blue sky recedes, I am lucky to simply live.
Yikes, this has become more than I had planned. The voices of my past insist I don't hit 'publish' - don't air that 'dirty laundry'. But I will - not for the empathy, not for the pity, but for a step toward writing a brave new ending.
When we deny the story, it define us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending. - Brene Brown
J
It was not a good day for me (apropos for a day dedicated to mental illness). January has not been a good month. I refer to my 'depression' (and I use quotes because I've never been diagnosed) as 'The Dark Clouds'. I believe it was Winston Churchill that compared his mental health to a black dog (although a quick Google search suggests he was quoting someone else and he was not depressed - only 'down' once in a while).
And there in lies the issue. 'Down' once in a while - not depressed. What is the difference? The author also suggest that Churchill only mentioned the black dog once. Again, is that not what the issue is these days? No one wants to admit to being depressed. Thus the 'let's talk' day!
I digress. My Dark Clouds bring lethargy, melancholy, angst. I can see them coming...I can feel them slowly creep across the sunny sky. Sometimes, I can turn away - hold on to the sun - sometimes, I am unable to stop the shadows. Running helps - exercise helps - but on those days when the clouds loom and the blue sky recedes, I am lucky to simply live.
Yikes, this has become more than I had planned. The voices of my past insist I don't hit 'publish' - don't air that 'dirty laundry'. But I will - not for the empathy, not for the pity, but for a step toward writing a brave new ending.
When we deny the story, it define us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending. - Brene Brown
J
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