Almost every newscast, newspaper, or magazine these days has an article or story featuring someone talking about depression. Celebrities, athletes, and media personalities are speaking out to bring awareness to this widespread epidemic. As the long-time stigma starts to break down, depression is finally becoming a mainstream conversation.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 280 million people in the world have depression. In the United States, 21% of adults experienced some kind of mental illness in 2020. That’s about 52.9 million people, or 1 in 5 adults.
But these numbers may be skewed. Around two-thirds of those who suffer from depression aren’t diagnosed
For decades, I was one of those people. I was in my mid-forties when I was finally diagnosed with clinical depression. All those years before, I suffered in silence, never understanding why life felt so hard, why I felt so inadequate, why I was so deeply sad so often with no apparent cause. Only much later, after being diagnosed, did I begin to see the threads and patterns that had been playing through my life and the triggers that inevitably sent me down my personal rabbit hole.
I was one of the fortunate ones. A brush with suicide at age 14 could have ended very differently. I might never have gone on to live the full and rewarding life I have. I would never have had the opportunity to make sense of what I’d been dealing with all those years, nor would I have come through the other side of that complex maze.
You may know about my book, You Aren’t Depression’s Victim. It chronicles much of my journey and details many of the lessons I learned along that path – the path that led to freedom and peace and a balanced life. There’s a reason for that title. You’ll want to find out what that means and see how it can apply to your own life.
This is the first of a series of short articles about my journey and what I’ve learned. But I work best in partnership. So let me know some related topics you’d like to see me write about – elements related to depression, anxiety, finding balance, issues you may have had or seen in family members, friends, or colleagues that relate to living with depression. I welcome suggestions, ideas, and examples you’ve seen that might help me in letting readers know there is hope when it comes to living with depression. If I can, I’ll include your idea in one of my articles, which I’ll then post on my website.
Thank you ahead of time for joining me on my path to make a difference for those who suffer in silence. It’s time to shine a bright, warm light for all of us.
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