Posted in depression, Uncategorized

Depression-A Killer

Posted on by Penny Wilson Writes

How long will this subject remain in the shadows?  How long will it have such a stigma attached to it that people dare not even use the word ‘Depression’?

Life has no value to depression.  EVERY DAY 121 Americans commit suicide.  50% of those people suffered from depression.

More than 38,000 people a year commit suicide.  Yet 80 to 90% of those that seek help for depression are helped  using therapy and/or drugs.

The problem with that, is the fact that only about 50% of those that suffer from depression seek help. Why?  Because it’s a dirty little secret that no one wants to talk about!

Kurt Cobain, Robbin Williams, Mindy McCready, director of the movie Top Gun Tony Scott, linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs; Jovan Belcher, actress Lucy Gordon and Jonathan Brandis-star of The Never Ending Story.  These are all people that committed suicide.  I could easily fill a page with names.

Depression is sneaky and deceptive.  It creeps into your life in such subtle ways, you don’t even know it’s happening until one day, you look around yourself and your entire word has gone grey.  What I mean by grey, is that your world no longer has any color to it.  It has no life.  NOTHING matters any more.  NOTHING brings you joy.  Depression has stolen that from you.

(this is one of those things that No One wants to talk about or admit to) I am one of the lucky ones.  I’ve struggled with depression off and on for most of my life. I never attempted suicide, but I did think about it at times.

Right now, I’m good.  Hell, I’m great!  Life is wonderful, alive and quite rich for me.  But I never know if or when it may come into my life again.  I hope never.  But I can’t be certain of that.   

WEB MD says that some of the signs of depression are:

  • Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
  • Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day
  • Impaired concentration, indecisiveness
  • Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
  • Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day (called anhedonia, this symptom can be indicated by reports from significant others)
  • Restlessness or feeling slowed down
  • Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
  • Significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month)

If you know of someone that might be depressed, reach out to them.  Start a conversation.  Let them know that it’s alright to talk about it!  Let’s bring depression out of the shadows and into the light.  This is the only way people are going to feel safe enough to talk about it and seek help.  

* I found my information/statistics at various websites.  Here are a few that have wonderful articles on depression and how to seek help:

WEDMD

SAVE.ORG

Mental Health America

Copyright (C) 2018 Penny Wilson

Author:

Penny Wilson is an international writer who writes in several genres. She has written articles for WOW Women on Writing. Her poetry has been published in online journals, such as Ariel Chart, Spill Words Press and the Poppy Road Review. Penny is a member of the Austin Poetry Society. Her poetry has been featured in the publication America's Emerging Poets 2018 & 2019 by Z Publishing and Poets Quarterly and Dual Coast Magazine published by Prolific Press. Most recently, you can find her poetry in an anthology by WordCrafter Press called Poetry Treasures. Penny is an advocate for Mental Health Awareness and has the page "Mental Health Help" on her blog. She writes about the struggles of mental illnesses and Depression. She is passionate about spreading awareness for Suicide Prevention and Domestic Abuse. She expresses her passion through her writings of poetry and life experiences. You can find more of her writings on her blog at https://pennywilsonwrites.com/

69 thoughts on “Depression-A Killer”

  1. Pingback: New Year and Depression – Penny Wilson Writes
  2. Pingback: Depression-A Killer — Penny Wilson Writes – MHA Re-blog – Stoner on a rollercoaster

  3. Spot on description of depression. Thanks for sharing. I have sought help in the past, but find that it doesn’t do any good. Therapists always want me to go out and be social, and I’m thinking, “Wth, I can’t even bath regularly, and this person wants me to go out?”. I find counseling to be stupid and sometimes demeaning. I’ve been on Paxil for almost 20 years now. It doesn’t really help but it keeps me from slipping into oblivion (no, I’m not suicidal – never have been). Anyways, sorry for venting but thanks.

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  4. Audrey of Minnesota Prairie Roots sent me to your excellent article. I am going to share it with others. So important. Thank you Penny.

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  5. Pingback: Opening up about mental health | Minnesota Prairie Roots
  6. Pingback: New Year and Depression | Penny Wilson Writes

  10. Very good article and posts like yours will help raise better awareness of this terrible illness. I am writing my own blog on anxiety and depression and will post very soon.

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  11. I can relate totally, I am a sufferer of depression, one of the things I do when I am feeling bad is write poems, the poems reflect how I feel in that moment and often helps, sometimes it won’t sometimes it does.

    The amount of suicides and attempted suicides because of depression is sad, never assume because someone is smiling and just getting on with life they are fine but it is usually hidden.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Great post! Thank you for sharing. It seems that people only want to talk about these issues when a famous person commits suicide. For example, Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington. Both huge Idols of mine, and it really hit home when I heard the news.
    A huge amount of famous people kill themselves, so why can’t people understand how many people are lost to suicide, that aren’t in the limelight? Most people are willing to talk about depression, but nobody wants to do anything about it. Reaching out for help is said to be the hardest part, but I find the hardest part comes long after that, such as waiting and waiting for help. We wouldn’t be on a waiting list if our arms were hanging off. So why is mental health being pushed down the ladder of importance?

    Would greatly appreciate it if anyone is able to give my blog a read, and a follow if you like the content, (Also mental health related) https://wordpress.com/view/dpdisorder.wordpress.com

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  14. May I ping you? Is that what it i called. I wrote a divorce blog 5 years ago and it was really popular and I had the stats … I thought I was soaring high, and then the guy who I started seeing dumped me. I was soaring because I thought I was finally going to prove my husband that I too could find love, real love. And then I was that is ok, I moved on and met a Homicide Detective…Oh I will show him…A month later he dumped me, and another and another and now I am back at my husbands house..yes still married but he found love forever after and is still with her. So I rent a room from him as the house that was to be ours, was an inheritance so now that we are not together. I found myself sleeping on couches because I got so sick I cant work. So my blog is going to take a turn towards depression and the stigma. Your blog said the words that I struggle to say because…who wants to listen to me whine still. You are remarkable thankkkkksss

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Girl, you’ve had a rough time of it! Oh yes, please Ping away! I’ve written several pieces on depression. If you would like to see them, I can send you the links. Thank you for looking in on me! ❤
      Penny

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  15. Pingback: Getting Help For Depression | Penny Wilson Writes

  17. Thanks for this post, Penny! I am particularly interested in first responders who suffer from depression and commit suicide. There are several organizations gaining momentum talking about depression and suicide but it’s still so dark a subject.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Great post Penny. Depression is totally out of control. I have a Category dedicated to Mental Health in general. It seems that nobody wants to focus on this issue. The ones who are suffering are afraid to reach for help. Hopefully our mission as Bloggers will open up the door for assistance in curing depression.

    Liked by 3 people

  19. Depression is something that a lot of people just doesn’t understand. They believe in order for you to have it must be seen or show up in blood work. This definitely not the case when it comes to depression. I suffered from Post Partum Depression and it took doctors forever to listen to me so that way I could get the help I needed. I’m not sure why it takes so long for them to figure out that depression is real and that they need to be taking steps to help the patience that are having depression. I’m new at this so please follow me back, I talk a lot about depression and anxiety because I have both of them really bad. This was a great article.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. I’ve struggled with depression off and on for most of my life. I never attempted suicide, but I did think about it at times.

    I was just gonna ask you that. How did you manage to get out from it?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Get out of the depression? Or the thoughts of suicide?
      If you are referring to the depression, I think it has just been the right combination of anti-depressants at the right time. I feel better now than I have in more years than I can remember!!
      The thoughts of suicide? When I was truly at the depths of the darkness that had a hold on me, the thing that always brought me back from the abyss was remembering the pain that was caused by a loved one that attempted suicide, more than once. I didn’t ever want to cause that kind of pain.
      Thank you for the comment and thank you for stopping by!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sorry, the thoughts of suicide, I guess my depression usually lead to this thought.

        remembering the pain that was caused by a loved one that attempted suicide

        It is a good one! You’re welcome!

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  23. Excellent post, Penny. Sometimes in the midst of depression, every little problem can seem so insurmountable that getting help, or even knowing where to go to get help, can feel impossible. The more we talk about this, the more awareness is out there, the more we can help ourselves or people we love with depression.

    Jo-Ann

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you Jo Ann! Good to see you! I haven’t seen you in a while! I don’t know if you remember, but for some reason, I do not get your posts in my Reader feed. I just went to your blog and Unfollowed you and the Re-followed you. Maybe that will help. Thank you for stopping by and thanks for your sweet comment!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Good to see you too Penny! I took a hiatus for a while there…Depression took me down a few notches. Still struggling at times, but doing better now.

        I think because my blog is self hosted I have been having problems with my post showing up in the reader. Also, my hosting service needs to be upgraded, don’t know what kind of problems that’s causing but I’m due to renew in April. Being self hosted can be a real pain! lol

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  30. Thank you, Penny, for continuing to expose the darkness of depression to the light of awareness. Only through such efforts will the stigma of depression vanish. There is hope. There is help. There can be a reclaiming of life and subsequent joy. You are proof of that.

    Liked by 3 people

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