“The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality.”
This quote from writer Andrew Solomon contains some important wisdom about the nature of the beast we call depression. It is normal to experience sadness, to have days of feeling grumpy or down. We all have days like this, sometimes a few in row. It is normal to feel sad in response to distressing life events – these are the bumps in the road of life, and for most of us, we navigate over the bumps and get on with the life we recognize as ours. However, when the obstacle is not the normal vicissitudes of daily life, but rather a run-in with depression, this can be altogether a different story. Life becomes a foreign and exhausting experience, where it feels like there is no respite and no hope for a more engaged tomorrow. Here are some things to look for if you aren’t sure whether or not you might benefit from help for depression. ”
