I lost a friend to suicide last week.
I am heartbroken.
Beyond the grief, I’m also even more aware that there’s still so much mental health work to do.
Depression has an end stage, just like cancer, heart disease, and other serious illnesses do. We need to think about it the same way, and reach people before there’s a crisis.
We must make it the norm to talk about mental health. To stress prevention and the need to get help as early as possible, just as we do with cancer and heart disease.
According to my partner, Mental Health America, if we ignore the early signs of mental illness, it typically takes 10 years from the time they first appear until someone gets a correct diagnosis and proper treatment. Ten years!
If you’re struggling right now, please know that you are not alone. There is help. And there is light, even though all you can see is darkness. The light will come.
I understand what it’s like to be deep down that dark hole of depression when everything is too much to bear. You desperately want that pain to stop.
My climb out was long and excruciating. I still slip from time to time, but I don’t slide nearly as far down. And I now have so many tools to help me stay out longer, and get my footing quicker should I fall. Therapy and the right meds have literally saved my life. More than once.
If you don’t know much about mental health, I hope you will take some time to learn more. You can find lots of information on risk factors, symptoms, screenings, and where to get from Mental Health America’s #B4Stage4 project here.
Sending peace and light. xx