Recently, my best friend reached out to me. She wasn’t feeling herself even though everything in her life was going well. As I have been very vocal with my close friends and family about my clinical depression, I decided to tell her a story . . .
I started out by going back several years reminiscing about a remarkable vacation Greg and I had visiting San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma, and ending in Big Sur. I explained in detail how we drove along the mesmerizing Highway 1 coast up to Big Sur. If you’ve never driven along Highway 1 to Big Sur, California I highly recommend it! It was a perfect adventure filled with city life, wine, sea lions, and beautiful coastal panorama views of the west coast all next to the love of my life.
Once we arrived home, I was thrilled about our trip but felt completely exhausted. While managing through the exhaustion I realized I also had no feelings . . . just numbness. I thought to myself, this is odd because everything in my life, at this moment, was so fabulous. I continued to share with my friend how low I felt after that vacation and how my mind went into the depths of darkness to find a way to end the pain.
The reason I shared such a raw and vulnerable experience with my dear friend was because I wanted her to know she was not alone. Sometimes when life feels completely perfect, depression can show up out of nowhere.
Has this ever happened to you or someone close to you?
It’s important to talk to someone, whether it's to a close friend, family member, professional, or counselor. Also, like diabetes, medication may be required to regulate depression. Remember, we are not broken . . . we are just human. Together, we can remove the stigma associated with mental illness and improve the statistics one story at a time.
I started out by going back several years reminiscing about a remarkable vacation Greg and I had visiting San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma, and ending in Big Sur. I explained in detail how we drove along the mesmerizing Highway 1 coast up to Big Sur. If you’ve never driven along Highway 1 to Big Sur, California I highly recommend it! It was a perfect adventure filled with city life, wine, sea lions, and beautiful coastal panorama views of the west coast all next to the love of my life.
Once we arrived home, I was thrilled about our trip but felt completely exhausted. While managing through the exhaustion I realized I also had no feelings . . . just numbness. I thought to myself, this is odd because everything in my life, at this moment, was so fabulous. I continued to share with my friend how low I felt after that vacation and how my mind went into the depths of darkness to find a way to end the pain.
The reason I shared such a raw and vulnerable experience with my dear friend was because I wanted her to know she was not alone. Sometimes when life feels completely perfect, depression can show up out of nowhere.
Has this ever happened to you or someone close to you?
It’s important to talk to someone, whether it's to a close friend, family member, professional, or counselor. Also, like diabetes, medication may be required to regulate depression. Remember, we are not broken . . . we are just human. Together, we can remove the stigma associated with mental illness and improve the statistics one story at a time.
