This community is dedicated to spouses, children, relatives, co-workers and others who are actively supporting someone suffering from depression or other serious mental illness. De...
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Depressed Me/You, Real Me/You...
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I posted this in the Depression community also, thought it might help... Hope it does.
I have struggled for a long time to try and explain to friends and family that when I am in a bout of depression, I am two people (so to speak). There is the Real Me and the Depressed Me. Often times in DS I have come across a lot of us here that feel, our friends and loved ones don’t understand us. My first BAD bout with depression I believe now) took a bad hold on me because nobody separated the Real Me from the Depressed Me. I was lumped into one being, and looking back, I felt like Depression controlled me instead of the other way around because of that. Maybe this can help our loved ones understand that the Depressed Us is not the Real Us… Here’s what my Kids (ages 25, 21, 17) had me do to help them understand what I meant... they asked me to describe the Depressed Me and the Real Me… here is what I wrote down (shortened version): In 15 Words or less, express the Depressed You and in 20 Words or less the Real You. Depressed Me: Low self-esteem, no smiles, no laughter, tired, negative, angry, hopeless, unworthy. Real Me is: Loving, affectionate, compassionate, giving, helpful, creative, able to laugh (even at myself), able to see/appreciate the beauty in Life, confidant, adventurous, playful. I don't know if any of you have felt the same way, but this helped us. I hope in some way it helps some of you. Posted on 09/12/07, 04:09 pm |
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What you say is so true. I can remember people telling me in my first depression episode, "what is going in on with you, you are not like that, that's not you", and I can remember telling them, of course it's not me, it's a health condition, that changes me. I think that your little test is a great thing, and could help a lot of people. Thanks for sharing. 
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Thanks, Cri, I too hope it helps families, friends, husabnds, children to understand that it might be easier to both parties if they remember that the Depressed One is NOT the one that they love or fell in love with...
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You are so right! I've often reminded my husband when he goes to his dark place that he does so with a mask on and that while he's in there he should remember who he really is and fight his hardest not to let it bring him down further and come back to the light.
My husband is a wonderful person and I encourage him everyday to fight the illness that robs us both of that great man.
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