Comments on: The Deep End

By: B

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:37:25 +0000

I drifted in through a link from Crafting a Green World. I just wanted to say that I am battling similar demons, and it gives me a bit of strength knowing that there are others out there with similar demons - who are battling them every day. Best wishes.

By: The Worsted Witch » Hello, I Must Be Going

The Worsted Witch » Hello, I Must Be Going — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:58:10 +0000

[...] things? The perfectionist side of me—a side that has gotten mouthier now that I’m living antidepressant-free for obvious reasons—is tempted to scrape the whole thing, start from scratch. I’m still [...]

By: Harlem Mama

Harlem Mama — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:51:49 +0000

Umm, did I say your not the only one? Being shut out of my job like I actually did something wrong when I did the WORLD and beyond for a so called plantation of a company that disgusts me to the point I plan to never utter the words of the place again. But I digress. I just wanted to let you know I’m fine and I may be heart may be meek and mild, but my spirit is strong as a lion. Thank you for reaching out to me honey, while I suffer through my own bout of depression. I simply must have you over after the holidays for tea and knit time. I will email you next week.

By: amberpixie

amberpixie — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:32:59 +0000

thanks for your post. i suffer from depression and my friend suffers from MS. awhile ago i sent her the “spoons” article, which she has adapted and sent to all her family and friends. it’s a great image that folks can relate to and understand. i will also send my friends link to what you’ve writen. and thanks for your wonderful blog- i love reading it! keep your head up.

By: green la girl

green la girl — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 17:08:43 +0000

About the tiredness thing — Just wondering if you / your shrink have tried switching up the meds. I used to deal with a crushing mid-afternoon fatigue that either put me in bed for the rest of the day or drove me to drink a lot — but I didn’t wanna change up the meds because in general, I felt I was at least functional, and so why mess with that? Finally I tried a different combo and now I can stay awake during the day like a normal person, more or less. I s’pose I still drink a lot — Still, I feel more empowered to cut back on the drinking too.

That said, I’m not sure I’ll ever get as much done as I did before what I now fondly call my breakdown. And that’s okay — I don’t wanna break down again. Frustrating, often, though.

Thanks for sharing :)

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:19:19 +0000

This was such a beautiful, honest post. I don’t suffer from depression, but my mom does, and you’ve helped me understand her situation much better than I ever have before.

By: ellen

ellen — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:02:32 +0000

I used to think that depression was something you “got over”, but like much of life, it’s a process. You get the combo of meds, vitamins, and excercise that works for you, and you mostly don’t fall into the Black Hole. Still, occasionally you trip up. thanks for sharing. It’s always good to hear from people that have found the combination that lets them maintain.

By: melissa

melissa — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 01:05:32 +0000

there are no words. you’ve said it all perfectly. thank you for articulating something so many of us can’t.

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:08:14 +0000

Maybe I can help a little. I used to have a blue day once every month or two. So, I’m a little familiar with depression. What helped me the most is vitamin B. I started taking B complex (50 mg of most of the B’s) every day, and I haven’t had a blue day for over 25 years.
What also helps is uninhibited dancing, or taking your dog for a walk. The worst thing to do is get drunk - but hangovers do help you realize that things weren’t so bad yesterday.
I wish the best for you… here is a virtual hug.

By: marie aka the FertilityBitch

marie aka the FertilityBitch — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 18:56:30 +0000

Thank for this, J.

Big debate raging about SSRIs and pregnancy…You know how I feel about pharmaceuticals. Appreciate the candid layer to the whole story…great writing, too.

xo,
ml the fb

By: Brianne

Brianne — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:10:37 +0000

I had no idea October had been Depression Awareness Month either. I get to spend the rest of my life looking for the right medication to simply get me out of bed in the morning, so I feel you. There’s nothing like the sense of betrayal that comes with depression, like that the rest of the world gets to have something so basic, why can’t you?
To me it’s like living in one of those giant closet bags, the bottoms unstable, the seems are about to rip, there’s no air or room to really move and if you do the wrong thing the whole bag will come to shreds around you…
Depression apparently also forces me to use the much maligned ellipses in writing comments. See, depression is evil.

By: Circe

Circe — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 04:07:17 +0000

I’m starting to be aware of my own inner deamons that pull and tug me down during these dark months as well. Thank you for sharing.
BTW are you pagan, wiccan, witch?

By: Josiane

Josiane — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 03:47:01 +0000

Thanks for this post. You are putting together the words that mom can’t find, and it helps me understanding what she goes through a little bit better.
I’m totally with you on people’s reactions to invisible disabilities. I’ve been suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome for over twenty years now (and I’m 31), so I know all too well what it’s like. Thank you for the link to the spoon theory: that will certainly be very useful to me.
And thank you so much to use some of your spoons to write this blog. I really do appreciate it.

By: Kamrin

Kamrin — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 03:34:14 +0000

I have these same issues and it seems that this time every year I have to up my meds to keep moving. It is wonderful that you shared this, and I too am impressed with your wonderful site. I am glad that you use this forum in such a positive way! Thank you!

By: Harlem Mama

Harlem Mama — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 21:20:26 +0000

Hon, you’re not the only one. I put up with the annoyances of having a receptionist area cube because its closest to the big windows in my office. Not that it helps now because the sun is setting by 4 p.m. Its very hard to explain depression and its harder to deal with the people to tell you to be happy. But my way of dealing with it is really talking about it to the people around me. Yes, I’m an actress at my desk because I work in a crazy office, but I stopped trying to not burden the people who either love me or are around me because they have to be. For my own sanity (which is questionable), I reach out. And I knit like a fiend. Thank you for sharing and thank you for sharing your blog with me. It is so beautiful.

By: thissinglespark

thissinglespark — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 21:14:59 +0000

I get seasonal depression, which manifests itself primarily as raging insomnia, and then everything that goes along with that. It was only four years ago that I put a name to it and sought out help. First from a friend who understood how desperate one could become, spending long dark hours alone while the rest of the house slept, craving blankness so much that suicide seemed a reasonable option. Then from a psychiatrist. Third, from a bottle of prescription antidepressants. And finally from light therapy, which I use religiously from October to April.

I know all about trying to hide what is already hidden, as well. And I’m ever grateful to the above mentioned friend who took me aside and told me to ignore anyone who didn’t believe me.

The light therapy is perfect, but I can make it through the winter by using it. Probably the only “cure” for me is moving south of 49 to someplace where it isn’t dark half the year. (A quick note… for those of you not in Canada, we do get sun in the winter. Comes up around 8:30 and sets around 4:30 these days. Exactly when I’m at work. In my windowless office.)

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 20:39:08 +0000

So you have the raging beast and I have what I call my handy dandy pocket-sized pit of despair. Dark humor helps me a lot. I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t have depression to some extent. Over the years it’s become more of a regular personality trait than an abnormality to be ashamed of. Of course my family still hides the knives if I’m having an especially bad day. *shrug* You do the best you can with what you’ve got.

By: KathyB

KathyB — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 20:01:20 +0000

Thanks for mentioning this. You’ll laugh, but I view your clever domain-name pun and wonderful illustrations and nice design and unswerving efforts for the mother planet as a kind of epic achievement unattainable for someone like me who struggles with depression and anxiety. To know, now, that you feel the same as I do, fills me with hope that I can rock out, too, in spite of it.