It can also be a teacher! “What the hell are you talking about?”, I can hear all of you who have suffered (maybe suffering) are saying. Well it taught me a lot, and I have suffered with depression twice in my life. I became entangled in a deep, dark and totally hopeless relationship with depression.
Both episodes were triggered by life events that were happening at the time. My second bout of depression happened back in 2016, and was one of the most difficult challenges that I have ever faced in my life. I wanted to give up and I wanted desperately to stop breathing, but I didn’t. With the help of my family and an amazing doctor and therapist, I clambered out of the pit. It took me a couple of years to fully recover and to stop taking the medication which had kept me alive. Meeting my now husband was a turning point for me, and the addition of such a pure, caring and kind love, helped me on my path to recovery. And the teacher part, well I learnt a huge amount about life! I learnt that in every step forward there is hope, even if it’s the tiniest glimmer - IT’S STILL HOPE. Hope gave me a reason to go on and a reason to take that next breath. Hope allowed me to find light in the darkest days. “HOPE” instead of “HOPELESSNESS” is what I found and what I learnt about and what I still keep close to my heart every day. Depression sucks, it really does. But I am grateful that I experienced such a terrible, terrible place as it was and still is my ultimate teacher of life and death.