Depression Perceptions

What some people think or say.

‘You’re mental’

‘You’re psycho’

‘You’re crazy’

‘You’re mad’

‘You’re disturbed’

‘You’re evil’

‘You’re pathetic’

‘You’re bad’

 

‘You hurt those around you,

You don’t seem to care.’

‘What’s your problem, what’s with you?

Is anyone there?’

 

‘It’s abnormal’

‘It’s alarming’

‘It’s atrocious’

‘It’s harming’

‘You’re not like yourself.

You’re like some devil’s spawn.

Earth to your planet.

What is it you’re on?’

 

‘No-one can get you

While you’re head is a mess.

Get some help, see a doctor,

See a priest, go confess.’

 

‘You must have done something

Barmy, I think,

Go see a psychiatrist

Go talk to a shrink.’

‘Someone who’ll listen

And know who you are,

Someone who knows

Why your lid is ajar.’

 

What people need to hear.

 

‘Whatever your ache is

Whatever your pain

We’re in this together.

You’ll be well once again.’

 

What it can feel like.

 

‘The pain that’s inside

Is pressure on mind

It’s a panic, a fear,

Ahead and behind.

Don’t know why I’m troubled

Don’t know what’s the root

Can’t find me a reason

Can’t find me a foot

On the ladder that’s up

And if I could ascend

I’d be here fully with you

To heal and to mend.

My mind feels so broken

My hormones gone wild

I feel like an infant,

I behave like a child

Who is hurt, who is troubled

Who feels a great dread,

Love me, help me,

Guide my poor head.

Hold me, caress me

Sing a song so I’ll sleep

The phantoms will flounder

Delve into the deep.

The recesses roar,

Their might is aflame.

My monsters are calling

My name once again.

I’m slipping, I’m sliding,

The path is too steep.

Hold fast beside me

I’m afraid and I weep

For sanity’s safety

Its shores with a pier,

Its harbour, its anchor

To hold back the fear.

I urge you, I implore you

Please persevere

There’s aid for this illness

But I need loved ones near.’

 

One possible answer.

 

The pills they provide

Hold a key to the tomb.

Serotonin rises

Despatches the gloom.

 

Why do some suffer

The pain of the mind?

Why is it hidden?

Afraid to find

No-one will talk?

Or they’ll say that

You’re weak?

So hold it inside

Too  ashamed to speak

Of  mental illness,

The stigma attached.

 

The sink has a crack

Where the hormone leaks out

The levels diminish

The brain screams a shout

Fix me, repair me,

Do whatever it takes.

Why do you hesitate

Till your body it shakes

With tremors and torments

And rocking anew

This mind that is troubled

With thoughts gone askew?

 

The answers you seek

Lie in one little bottle

The inhibitor prevents

The desire to throttle

The life from your body

The thought from your mind.

Be assuaged, be helped

So some peace you will find.

 

There is more than one type of depression.

 

Different answers may need to be sought.

 

Help is out there.

 

Attitudes to mental illness need to change.

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14 thoughts on “Depression Perceptions”

      3. When we purchased our second house, I was off work for 5 years raising the 2 kids; the notary asked me what my profession was to put on the sales contract, I said, chest out, head high, “I’m a Household Engineer”:)

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    2. I read the whole thread, and I can’t agree more. Experience is the mother of all educators.

      I had to quit working while I was pregnant with my son. My pregnancy was too difficult, and I didn’t qualify for FMLA. When we prepared our taxes that year, the CPA asked, “What’s your occupation?” I replied, with a baby in the carrier, “As you can probably see, I’m currently unemployed.” And he wrote “Homemaker” in big letters. I was offended. Don’t you mean, Domestic Goddess?!

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  3. This is incredibly brilliant. It really puts all of the attitudes, experience, and treatment of depression into such a descriptive, but clear package.

    Attitudes do need to change. I remember when I first broke the news to my family after I had received my diagnosis. Not even my own husband agreed with it. It was extremely painful to be doubted and to have to battle it alone.

    It’s four years later, and the label is generally accepted now. Unfortunately, no one is very clear on symptoms and how to handle it on their end. Anytime I have an episode, it’s always, “Did you take your medication?” And the medication clearly states, “This is not a cure.” I’ve tried to explain it. No matter how much medication they shove down my throat, I will always be at risk for different episodes that manifest in different ways.

    Education needs to happen. Most everyone is aware of the various developmental disorders, and the special needs of the people who have them. They accept that people with developmental disorders can’t help that they were born that way. But, it seems that just because a mental health disorder takes so much time to manifest, that there must be some kind of reason or fault.

    Keep up the wonderful writing. Every voice out there makes the mental health community that much stronger! We can make a change in this world!

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