Huffington Post: What if People Treated Physical Illness Like Mental Illness

I loved this article most recently published in the Huffington Post: What If People Treated Physical Illness Like Mental Illness by Lindsay Holmes.

Yesterday, I heard of someone who ended their life. I didn't know him, but I was deeply impacted by this news. Lately, I have been surrounded by persons so affected by sadness that is deeply entrenched and has become such a profound part of their lives, they find it hard to escape.

At first, depression was something I didn't understand. I remember having endless conversations with roommates who tried to explain to me that there is more to it than 'choosing to be happy.' Depression is not something someone chooses, it just is. 

Lately, I have learned that depending on the person, depression can just hit out of no where. One minute someone will seem like they are on top of life and the next minute, they are curled up in their bed wondering why they are feeling the way they are feeling. Granted, each person varies. Knowing and coming to understanding of this information has been eye opening for me.

A repercussion of my sweetheart's ADHD is depression. After going to an incredible 'brain' doctor, one who practiced EEG in terms of behavioral health, we found out that my sweetheart's brain never rests. Therefore, my sweetheart never feels fully rested. Imagine never feeling fully rested and how you would react being tired all the time. 

Because his brain doesn't rest, he often finds himself in a space he can't explain. He gets down on himself often, and finds it hard to be motivated to do things. While he struggles through these endless emotions, we have to remind ourselves that what he is experiencing is less him and more about this thing called depression.

The Huffington Post article was a good reminder to me that I can't expect my sweetheart to get up and get going and put his depression behind him. There are things that he can't explain because all he knows and understands is how he is feeling - and that feeling is often not something he can control. 

The articles states, "...despite the staggering evidence and rhetoric aimed at helping people understand, many people still don't get that being diagnosed with a mental illness isn't something that's in their control -- just like having the flu, or food poisoning, or cancer isn't in their control."

I will have more to say about this, but for the time, I wanted to also share this cartoon as seen in the same article. The graphic is illustrated by www.robot-hugs.com.