Depression: Visualizing Feelings

Welcome to Day 3 of our “Suffering in Silence” week. If you stopped by yesterday, you will know that we took a look into a day in the life of someone who has suffered depression. Over at drakejbarber.com we learned about a celebrity, Alicia Keys, who recently spoke out about her experience with depression. Although more and more people are starting to speak out about their mental health struggles, there is still shame surrounding this topic. Sufferers feel that it is their fault that they experience depression and society doesn’t help with that either. Many people who don’t experience the painful effects and the emotional drain of a mental illness don’t know how to effectively communicate with those who suffer. As mentioned yesterday by our contributing writer, those who don’t suffer treat depression as something that can be turned off and on as if it is a choice.

The purpose of our “Suffering in Silence” week is to not only educate and bring awareness to this topic, but to show support to those who are suffering. Drake and I both have a mental health background and this is a passion of ours to help those in need especially those who are misunderstood. Sufferers of depression aren’t just sad or lazy. They don’t lack motivation by choice and they certainly don’t enjoy their current state of mind. Yesterday our contributing writer helped us imagine what life is like as one who suffers from depression. Today we want to take it a step further and help you visualize what life is like as one who suffers from depression. Take a look at a couple short videos digging deeper into exactly what it’s like:

Living with Depression

By: Call Me Kat

Hope this helps you understand the process. I made this because many people seem to think that being depressed is something you choose and that in the end, it all comes down to looking out the window and listening to sad music. – CallMeKat

Let’s Talk about Depression in Black Women + Girls

By: For Harriet

Shelah Marie leads a discussion on Black girl depression by opening up about her own experiences and how she’s working toward her own mental wellness. – For Harriet

One thing that both these women talk about when it comes to depression is the shame surrounding it and the lack of discussion and education about it. Shelah Marie in the ‘For Harriet’ video talks about medication and how she has chosen to not go that route as she prefers meditation over medication in order to get to the root of the problem and not just treat the symptoms. In the heavily medicated world that we live in, medication is favorable over treating the source of our issues whether mental, physical, emotional and so forth. You must determine what works best for you, but know that getting to the source of the problem, of any problem, is the truest way to treat and overcome. Having discussions and bringing awareness to your struggles is a great way to getting to the root of the problem. Because of the shame surrounding mental illness, it is kept silent.

Join me and Drake over at drakejbarber.com as we continue to bring awareness to depression and speak up for those who are suffering – drop by his site to see what’s going on in the entertainment world!

Until next time…