While You’re Waiting

If you’re going through a depression, don’t keep the pain to yourself. Talk about it with your loved ones and a professional. You’re not alone. There is always hope.

After losing my wife, I felt I couldn’t go on living. I realized I needed to overcome my isolation, surround myself with people I trust—including professionals—and develop my interests. Fortunately, I’m still here today. 

I could no longer handle seeing my friends or going to school. I didn’t know how to live anymore. So I asked for help and now I feel stronger. The problems I thought were insurmountable turned out to be temporary.

In addition to psychotherapy, meditation, and sports, talking about my suffering with loved ones, naming things, and being transparent has really helped. I’m a better friend to myself and my relationships have improved.

Thankfully, through therapy and a lot of counselling I started healing. Eventually, all that suffering loses its power over us. Life is still not easy all the time, but it’s definitely brighter.

I kept everything bottled up and I wanted to deal with it on my own. But part of coping is getting help when you need it. Talking about my loneliness with a friend gave me a fresh perspective and helped me believe I could be happy again.

Despite my energy level and personality, I wasn’t immune to having a breakdown. Burnouts are sneaky. You really have to listen to yourself. Fortunately, I was able to respect my limits and regain my balance.