I am fighting a bout of depression right now that is pretty nasty. People are telling me to snap out of it. It ain't that simple.
Depression is a disease like any other. When someone is depressed, telling them to snap out of it is like telling someone with a cold or the flu to just not be sick...as though it were a choice. For those going through major depressive episodes, which I occasionally do, folks tell you to concentrate on the good in your life. Well, that's like telling a cancer patient to just focus on all those other cells in your body that are healthy.
I think people who feel most deeply tend to hurt the worst. It only makes sense that that would be true. Well, I'm hurting pretty badly right now. So, forgive me if I can't seem to "just snap out of it" or miracle myself instantaneously back to health; but also, please try to understand that these things take time.
The good news is that these episodes, just like a cold or the flu, just need to run their course. The patient will recover gradually. I've been through this. I know what's involved. And, if you don't judge people who are ill with colds, flu or other disease, please do not judge me for my disease.
"Unwell", Matchbox 20.
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