Disclaimer: this may not be be the most coherent thing I've ever written, but it is from the deepest places of my heart and it is deeply important to me.
Thinking about Robin Williams' death today as I wake up and start my day. After the immediate shock from last night, I realize that beyond the raw grief of losing such an amazing man with such an amazing ability to touch my heart in so many ways (Patch Adams, What Dreams May Come, Hook, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, et al.), I'm also grieving for a more general problem that touches everyone as silently as Robin Williams did aloud. Depression hurts. Depression is real. Depression is silent. And depression can be deadly without help and support. But all to often people suffer is silence, alone and ashamed. I blame our society, our cultural constructs. So many people look the other way, or worse shun those who suffer from depression. But suddenly, when the news picks up a story about a depression - related suicide, everyone suddenly cares about depression. It's almost as if that celebrity was worthy of being depressed and so can be forgiven the shame of having been so. And it becomes a tragic end that people talk about for fora few days and then forget about because it doesn't affect them personally. And it makes me angry. Not at individual people. At the whole construct. Depression affects EVERYONE. Whether they consciously know it or not. Everyone likely knows someone suffering from depression, whether openly or silently. And as long as depression - related suicides continue, it IS a problem that touches everyone. It is still everyone's concern.
Depression hurts. It hurts mentally, emotionally, and physically. It consumes days, weeks, entire lives. But it's not just just the depression itself that hurts. It the knowledge that so many suffer alone due to lack of support and lack of proper insurance coverage for access to mental health services. It makes my heart break for every person out there who doesn't know that there is another way out besides suicide.
Depression does not have to be a death sentence. It does not have to be a silent weight to carry like Atlas with the weight of the world. Because I am lucky enough to have help and support for dealing with my own depression, depression has made me strong, more compassionate, and more alive. Depression does not have to be something scary and negative. It is simply another part of life for some of us. It helps shape who I am. And my sincerest wish is that others may come to see their depression in in a similar light.
My other wish is for those individuals who do not suffer from depression. I wish for you to understand why depression is not a mark of weakness or shame. I wish for you to realize that depression is not contagious (yes, I've actually been asked that before). I wish for you to stop giving advice on how to "pull yourself out of of it when you're feeling blue." I wish for you to help create a supportive society in which people with depression feel safe speaking up. And I wish that you actually read all of this and will take away something that will make you think twice before judging the next person you encounter with depression.
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