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Depression is no joke. It affects everyone differently and for me, depression completely takes me off my game. I know I can’t focus to write or do any other work, so I sit around and stress out. That does no one any good, least of all me. Because of this my health suffers, both mentally and physically.
As much as I want to curl up and go back to bed, hoping the depression is gone when I wake up, it doesn’t work that way. Depression is an ugly monster that follows you around and torments you whether you’re working, sleeping or just sitting around because you don’t feel like having fun. If you try to sleep, it just sits on the end of your bed d is right there when you wake up
There are blog posts, magazine articles and books all dedicated to overcoming depression, but there’s one simple trick that I was reminded of last night by my friend Jason Cotton on the weekly Mental Health call I host for Good Men Project. I tried his idea this morning and I don’t know that it helped, but I know it didn’t hurt.
The idea is this.
Texting a friend to check in and let them know your mental status is important
Find a friend, family member or loved one (maybe even two) that you trust and check in with them on a daily basis to let them know how you’re doing. It can be face-to-face via phone or text or even an email.
In the case of Jason, it works out great as he’s bi-polar and also needs someone to check in with. I sent him a quick text this morning asking how he was doing and letting him know that I was feeling a bit blah, but I knew that I could power through it.
I also told him that I’d see him at our local comic book shop tonight where we generally gather on Friday nights to play nerd games. I’ve written before about each of us having an inner nerd and that we need to let it come out and my type of nerd is a comic book nerd.
It helps to have friends who understand what you’re going through and although Jason is bi-polar whereas I’m high-functioning autistic, we share a lot of the same overlapping traits such as depression and anxiety. I get a lot of what he’s going through and he gets a lot of what I’m going through. It’s good to have friends who understand.
Friends are key.
When I think of having friends who understand and have your back, I think of the TV show Friends. Yeah, referencing that show proves how old I am, but it’s not just the show that I think of, it’s the theme song by the Rembrandts.
.
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The lyrics hint at a romantic angle to the relationship they’re talking about, but it can just as easily be a friendship like the one I was talking about earlier. One where you are friends with someone going through similar things as you. Someone you can share your worst with and you know that even if they may not totally get it, they’re still there for you and can identify with your pain.
My Challenge to You
If you’re suffering from any sort of mental illness or other neurological condition, try and find just one friend or loved one who you can check in with and who you can talk to about what you’re going through. Once you do, you have no clue how much better it will make you feel.
Depression is a bully that you can overcome, but only if you want to.
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This post was previously published on NotWeirdJustAutistic.com and is republished here with permission from the author.
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Photo credit: Pixabay
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