Only Human

Thanks, Anne :) I am only human. 

I was talking to a best friend yesterday and told her I just wanna cry but I also felt that if I started crying I may not stop. Know what she said? Cry. 

Some may say, duh Vicky. Heck, I recall telling my mom a couple weeks ago that sometimes you just gotta cry. Yet why is it so dang hard for me to take my own advice? To just cry? To just let it all out? Who knows. Maybe it's my genetic makeup. Maybe I'm "just emotional". Or maybe it's the big D word that no one is allowed to talk about...depression. **gasp** Yeah, I said it. So what! 

I'm tired of depression being a topic that people push aside. If you've never been depressed, you may not understand. It's okay, really. The person who is depressed doesn't need you to understand and have all the right answers. The person who is depressed needs you to listen, allow them to cry and vent without judgment, and don't leave (not in a physical sense-more of an "always know you're available" sense). I am eternally grateful for people like that in my life. I won't list names right now but they have been amazing! Amazing I tell ya. They know who they are because I've been relying on them lately to get me through.  

I found on webMD, a feature on ways to treat depression naturally. (http://www.m.webmd.com/depression/features/natural-treatments)

Here are a few pointers:

✔️Routine

✔️Set goals

✔️Exercise

✔️Eat healthy

✔️Enough sleep

✔️Take on responsibilities

✔️Challenge thoughts

✔️Check with dr before taking supplements

✔️Do something new

✔️Try to have fun

That last one is a biggie. One of the common symptoms of depression is lack of interest in things you usually love to do. You just don't care. Wanna know what depressed folks could use? Sometimes the depressed person may say they're busy, or they can't, or they need to _____ (fill in the blank with whatever excuse you'd like) and that is certainly the case sometimes. But if you notice a change in behavior and they say this constantly, maybe they need (read want) you to come rescue them but don't know how to ask? Or don't want to admit they need help? Because then that would mean the depressed person is admitting defeat. And by golly, it sucks to admit defeat!! I'm thankful for friends and family who have rescued me. Friends and family who have not judged. Friends and family who have just listened without talking in platitudes. 

Let me backtrack a little...back to establishing a routine and setting goals. Here's a little secret from someone who has been depressed and has had to establish a routine and set some goals. Sometimes, those goals may be as "simple" as get out of bed by 8, eat breakfast, read devotion, and go for a walk. Let me be VERY clear........ It may sound like a "simple" and a futile goal to you. But trust and believe that it is not simple to the depressed person. It may very well be the highest mountain they are climbing in the present. So please, don't make light of their goal no matter how "simple" it may be. Just encourage. If they have not met the goal, encourage them to just get up. If they have met the goal, praise them for sticktoitiveness. Hehe I like that word. 

My hope today is that someone will better understand how the depressed person feels inside. Not every depressed person feels the same way, and they certainly have several different emotions going on in there. This only scratches the surface. 

I've been awake since 445 this morning...time to eat breakfast, read my devotion, and bundle up for my walk ;-)

Anne, I am only human and I definitely don't have it together every minute of every day! But today, in this moment, I do and it feels great :)

Vicky, out!