I was chatting with my good friend Caren a few days ago and after asking her how she was doing, her response was, “I’m giving ‘me’ back to ‘me’…” Naturally this statement caught me off guard so I then asked for a bit of clarification and she said, “I’ve finally decided to give myself permission to be myself again.”
You see, Caren is just emerging on the other side of a recent struggle that almost convinced her to take herself out of the game of life. She stated that life’s mounting problems in concert with prescribed medications was a cocktail combination for disaster that was leading her down a road of quiet desperation and possible self-destruction.
The constant subtle pressure to be someone she wasn’t coupled with a classic case of treating the symptoms and not the problems in her life and health was setting her up to be claimed as yet another victim of depression. And, the worst part was that she didn’t even see it coming.
As weird as it may sound, I can’t say that I was surprised by her story. You see, as it relates to depression, so often is the case where we become the most vulnerable is when we think that it can’t happen to us, and Caren was no exception. “I never thought I could ever make it to a point of such extreme in my life, but thank God for good friends who show up at the right time,” she says. As it turns out, this friend wasn’t afraid to be nosey and get involved and it ultimately saved her life.
Yes Caren is one of the fortunate few that managed to escape and is now completely okay with telling her story of survival. When asked how would she advise others who are going through the fire of life with similar challenges, she said, “Even the most level-headed person in the world is not immune to the death-grip of depression and medication. So listen to your friends if they’re recognizing signs and changes in your behavior that you may not be aware of and get proper help. I’m giving ‘me’ back to ‘me’ and I’ll be careful not to let this happen to me again in the future.”
Well said Caren… I’m not sure where her road of life will take her, but being on the right path makes the size of her steps obsolete. Just keep-on moving forward.
I invite you all to take heed to this unsolicited advice and just keep-on moving forward on your path to Making this ‘good’ life GREAT!
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