 |
| Taking Ownership of My Mental Health |
Question:
- I was diagnosed with severe depression last year.
- The thing about mental illness is, when you are mentally ill, you become weak; you lose all will and strength to thrive, to survive, to be alive (do basic life responsibilities – including staying alive, getting out of bed, having one’s bath, etc.). You basically depend on the strength of your family, friends, health providers.
- Depression is like you being in a pit and not having the strength to come out of that place.
- It might be difficult for depressed persons to adhere to counsels. They might think saying, “saying it is a choice,” is rather being inconsiderate.
Answer:
Yes, depending on the level and stage of depression, what I wrote can either be healing or offensive. That is why I tried to clarify at the beginning.
When one starts playing around with the things that lead to depression, it is very much a choice. One can decide to desist or not. One can decide to build resilience or not. It is a choice. Once captivated by depression, one becomes a captive, and it is as if one does not have a choice.
Yes, it is as if one does not have a choice, but that is not true. The choices are limited, but one still has a choice. Even in the weakness, one can decide to fall back and enjoy the weakness or continue focusing on recovery. It is a choice.
One can continue to surround him or herself with the things that help or not. That is a choice. At every level of depression, there is always something one can do. These are the choices I am referring to. Do you understand me?
© 2021 Akin Akinbodunse.
Links to Questions and Answers Series:
Link to Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment