Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Depression - When it's time to quit
Depression - When it's time
to quit (Part Ⅰ)
It can be a popular subject, depression. Some
people like to talk about it, to claim a seat at the table of woe. For them, it's
like there is a competition, to get on the list; be the most qualified, have
the worst story. Speaking as someone who dealt with depression (after decades
of indulgence) I can honestly say it is far better to be without it, have a
mind that is under control, rather than being under the control of the mind.
The fact is, once the manipulative fingers of
this vile condition take hold, they grasp with a hold that is so persuasive, so
familiar, so comforting, the grip is impossible to shake off. You'd think not,
you'd think that the looming spectre of death, dancing before the eyes of the
victim, put there by the victim, created as the solution, the final solution to
all the weight of angst and misery dragging the dying spirit down to the
bedrock of hopelessness would frighten and terrify the crushed soul into life,
into a fight for survival. After all, the will to live is strong in us all,
including the depressed. Not so. When you hit rock bottom, when you can fall no
more, when the world is surely at its worst, its most unforgiving, at its most
despicable, you start to dig, to find a way to go deeper, lower, beneath the
surface of total despair: to bury yourself further in self-pity.
Depression is a dark place, lonely, and yes,
like that much overworked phrase, an 'abyss'. An endless pit filled with dark
thoughts that gather in some kind of mad ballet, dancing around, endlessly
churning over, pirouetting and leaping, gathering momentum and style, accumulating
refinement and their own beauty. The thoughts capture the mind and take over
the will. Depression becomes a reason for being. The self-pity drives a person
to wallow, to think only of themselves, how bad their life is, or how sad they
feel, or how cruel the world is to them. They stop thinking of others
altogether. They care less about another's pain or suffering. It also becomes a
bolt-hole used for comfort, a state of existence that justifies a condition of
alienation and selfishness.
The problem is, of course, when someone is in
the midst of all of this they are completely oblivious to depression's true
character, nor is there anyway for them to be told - the mere suggestion of any
such truth could be fatal. Even when the sufferer reaches the first step
to recovery, the need for extreme delicacy dictates that harsh realities remain
untold. Sympathy is key - no matter how hard such a stance may be. Any
suggestion that the disease is anything other than a condition requiring the
deepest compassion, the most vigilant care and the utmost consideration can act
as just a little too much pressure on a very finely set hair-trigger.
The first step to recovery is
simple though. It is nothing more than the acceptance by the sufferer that they
want a cure, that they want to stop the insanity. Although simple, it is
also major. Till this point is reached no amount of pills or counseling will
achieve anything. As long as someone want to be depressed, as long as someone
willingly wraps their inner conflicts in the comforting familiarity of
depression, nothing can be done.
Taking the first step will not stop the pain, or any
damaging behaviour: that comes later. But once past this point the way out of
the madness will slowly present itself. A revelation will come into view that
will lead to the components of recovery assembling in the mind... but the time
to quit is still some time off.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
New Horizons
Trying is the
first step to failure. So the infamous cartoon character Homer Simpson said to his son, Bart. Fear of failure
can overwhelm the desire to succeed – a warning meted out in sales training
rooms around the world.
 |
| A new day a new way? |
Robert the Bruce
reputedly once shared a cave with a spider and later an observation - a story
of an epiphany - with an appreciative audience.
Sherlock Holmes,
one of the greatest fictional detectives, would have deduced nothing less. “How
do you know the audience appreciated anything?” Watson may have asked.
Elementary, dear Watson, for the story made it into the annals of history; a
fair body of men must have liked it for its repetition to succeed so
comprehensively.
Trying is not the
first step to failure, starting out with one eye on the exit may be and beating
the drum ahead of the march of anticipated criticism will certainly dampen any
desire to succeed: an occasion perhaps when getting in first does not gain advantage.
Be bold; love your work, refuse to be the first to
criticize and above all share your ideas, your story, and if at first you don’t
succeed…
Step 1
Step 2
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