depression

It has been a really long time since I have been depressed. But I remember what it feels like, even if it is not as real to me as it once was. One of the things I do remember is a feeling of isolation -- of a deeper isolation than aloneness or even loneliness. Even when I was with loved ones or friends, I was always isolated in my own head.

As a "survivor" of such experiences (and worse), I think sometimes it is more difficult for me to reach across those barriers when I see someone who is depressed. It is almost as though I think it is still impossible to break the line. I find that I don't know what to do or to say.

In fact, because my own depression was so fierce, I tend to overlook other people's depression, and explain it away as "having a bad day" or at least just temporary. But, life throws a mean curve ball, and even the best of us sometimes strikes out.

If you've been down and I haven't tried to lift you back up, it is not because I don't care. It is because I don't know how to do that. I don't know how people (or even I) pulled out of my own. What I know is that everything passes, the world does keep going, and sooner or later, depression lifts.

If I am talking to you (even if I don't know that I am talking to you), hang on.