One of the greatest words in the English language is “weekend.” These are the two days of the week most of us look forward to. We plan things to do. We decide to work on personal projects or possibly do chores around our home that have been neglected. The choice, however, is ours to make. There is no one giving us instructions or ordering our day. The weekend can be the best time of the week and for some the worst.
These past five days have been difficult, problem after problem arose. You may read about some of my adventures in the last installment of this series. There were few bright spots, if any at all, and by the weekend I had become very depressed.
I see a physician’s assistant instead of a doctor. His name is Jim and he is the best medical practitioner that ever existed. I saw him on Friday. This was a follow up appointment. He had suggested the week before that my blood sugar had gone too high and I might have to go on medication. I take 15 doses of meds a day. I was in no mood to start another one, and suggested we wait a few days and do another blood sugar. He agreed, and I stayed away from bad foods as best as possible. As I saw him the first time on New Year’s Eve, I knew I was planning to change my diet the next day.
This past Friday I saw him again, and I am happy to report that the blood sugar had gone down and no further treatment was necessary. But it was a scare for the whole week, and even though the news was positive it didn’t help where I was emotionally and I sank deeper in depression.
The good news is that in the depression I did not seek out a lot of extra stuff to eat. I did cheat a little. But it was not that much and though the food I chose was not the best for me, it was not sugar based. So it was a win lose situation.
Chronic depression is not something anyone likes to talk about. I know this from experience. There are some good people out there that will listen, but most people are really not that interested or they are a little uncomfortable with emotional illness. This makes things difficult. You have to wisely choose who you tell and try to explain what you need or may need.
It’s great to have therapists, but therapists are not part of our daily existence, we need to build a network of friends to help us along. This should never be one sided. You may need help with depression but they have needs too. In fact true friends have each other’s backs so in receiving you should also be giving.
That brings up one other point. Chemical depression does not just go away, but it can be relived a little. When things begin to go wrong, when our emotions seem out of control, when we find ourselves in a dark place, look to help someone else. It does not take the feelings away, but it does make the load a little easier to bear as we focus on someone else instead of ourselves. Whenever we help another person we truly help ourselves.
Depression is not to be taken lightly. If you find yourself in serious depression go to the hospital, It is imperative that you get the treatment you need. If you don’t want to go but someone is strongly suggesting you go, do what they say. If you are having thoughts of hurting yourself or hutting others go to the hospital. We have lost too many people to suicide. Good people, who just didn’t ask for help. People that kept their pain inside until it broke them.
If you would like some encouragement I suggest the web site, Rebuilding Love. It is a good place to start. http://www.rebuildinglove.com/ this sight has stories and blogs of real people that are going through depression and made good choices. The site is in its infancy so the stories are real and fresh. You will find one of mine there.
If you know someone who has chronic depression help as you can. Studies have shown that a 15 second hug actually raises your emotions to higher level. You can help by holding on to someone for 15 seconds. We can all spare 15 seconds. Not only that but it raises both participants levels, so you walk away feeling better too.
Weekend can be deadly for some people. Those who trying to stay healthy, and are changing their habits, will find the weekends the hardest part of the week to keep to their chosen program. Those who struggle emotionally may find weekends hard to deal with in general. We can all make it. That’s the point. The resources are there if we choose to use them. Every day has potential for good.
