Depression: Raise Awareness and Erase the Shame

April 17, 2015
12:25 a.m.

I'm feeling negative at this time, and I don't like when that happens to me. I feel fortunate that it doesn't really happen often. It does cause me to think of those less fortunate than myself, however, those who feel negatively more often than not.

I recently came across a campaign to raise awareness of the debilitating effects of depression and other mood disorders, so I ordered this shirt. This particular campaign is over, but the next one is happening now at: http://represent.com/jaredjensen and at: http://represent.com/jaredjensencases .

(If you highlight the addresses above and right-click, it will open a menu that you can click on and go to the sites.)

This sort of promotion isn't something I do ordinarily, but I am more than acquainted with these disorders; people I love suffer with the effects of depression, bipolar disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder, schizophrenia and other issues. Some of us get the blues; some of us live blue.

I've seen my loved ones deal with these issues by self-medicating with drugs or alcohol (or both). I've seen them destroy relationships because they refused to seek help. I've seen them get help and then go off their medications and relapse. I've watched them laugh hysterically and cry uncontrollably.

I have even seen them choose to give up.

I was once in that black place myself, and the only thing that kept me here was knowing that my children would grow up without me if I went. The scariest part of admitting this is knowing that for me it was a period of blackness. So many others live in the blackness all the time.

Part of the problem--the biggest part, maybe--is that no one wants to talk about it. There's an element of shame involved.

How many times have we told a sad friend to "cheer up"? "Get over it"? "Deal with it"? I know I have said these things, over and over again.

But how do you "get over" something that may be physical in nature, something caused, perhaps, by a chemical imbalance or a hormonal issue? (Beyond PMS, ladies!) You need to seek medical attention, and stick to the treatments. You need to stop self-medicating, because it doesn't work--it adds to the problem already present and sends you spiraling ever downward. You need to know that it is okay to seek help and not fear the judgement of others who simply do not have enough information to understand what is really happening to you.

That's the reason I'm supporting this campaign, and the reason I urge everyone to please, please "Always Keep Fighting".

I don't want to lose anyone else. Do you?

Think positive. Do something positive. Find out more about depression and mood disorders, and support those who are too scared to seek the help they need by raising awareness and erasing the shame.

Thank you!