I had another run in with Depression this week.
An old friend of mine, a guy I actually used to work with, called me out of the blue. We've been on contact via text for years and years, but I haven't seen him in the flesh for around 2 years, and I've not spoken to him on the phone in that time either.
At first when I saw his name flash up on my phone, I ignored it, assuming he had dialled me by accident. But I called him straight back when he text me "are you free to talk?"
Now this guy was the life and soul of any party he went to. And was the guy that people talked about and told funny anecdotes about at the parties he didn't go to. Nothing ever brought him down, he always had a smile on his face, he always seemed happy.
But I wasn't shocked when he told me he had been suffering with depression recently. Why? Because I know from experience that Depression can hit anyone at anytime, and how people seem on the outside is often not how they're feeling on the inside.
My friend went on to tell me that he had been signed off work with depression. He was ashamed of this. He kept saying to me "but I have nothing to be depressed about".
My heart absolutely went out to the guy. Not only is he suffering, but he couldn't believe and didn't understand what was happening.
I referred him to Blurt, which is a fantastic charity that helps people living with depression and people living with people living with depression. I cannot praise the people at Blurt enough, if you're reading this guys, keep up the great work.
My sympathy for him turned to sheer anger when he told me that when he had gone in to his office to speak to HR about being signed off work for depression, he was met with a senior member of the HR team sighing, rolling her eyes and looking disgustedly at him when he used the D word.
And that's what sucks most about this illness. That people who are fortunate enough not to have experienced it, not only don't understand it, but doubt it exists. It's like saying you've never seen an iguana so you're not sure they exist. Same goes with unicorns.
Well it does exist, I and a million other sufferers can assure you.
Mental illness may not be visible, but it is no less serious than a broken leg and it's about time it was treated as such. A broken leg heals, and other than maybe a bit of scarring, you can go back to walking on it, playing football or whatever when it does. I'm not sure we ever fully heal from Depression, we just learn how to not let her take control of our lives and to keep her relatively quiet.
That's easier said than done, but we'll get there.
Thank you for reading.
Please show your appreciation if you took something from my thoughts.
And please check out Blurt - a great charity to support.
