November 2011
7 posts
4 tags
Is it name-calling? An Advent reflection.
Have you ever heard someone tell a person to ‘chill,’ ‘take a chill pill,’ or ‘you’re being bipolar?’ Have you ever told yourself these things? What behaviors prompt such comments? Do we really know that what we observe in another is simply a passing mood? Do we understand that what we may be seeing is a symptom of a hidden deeper problem? It may be, you know.
We all know when we are...
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Wordless Gratitude
We often make our list of things we are grateful for on Thanksgiving. You know the ones: health, family, a good year. If we don’t feel particularly grateful because of difficulties we have suffered we usually force ourselves to find something, often out of guilt. Truly it is ok to not feel grateful once in a while. We all feel that way sometimes.
This year gratitude seems wordless for...
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Friends and Depression
Since I moved to a new state I have bemoaned the absence of friends. In the state I had lived before I had many friends, having lived there for fifteen years.
Having friends is one of the best antidepressants there is. Many research studies say so. But life experience says so too. I’m sure that is true for you. It is for me.
I discovered this week I have friends! The funny thing...
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When in Doubt, Check it Out!
Have you ever thought one thing, spent hours perhaps days finding all kinds of confirmation that the thing (usually bad) was true— only to find out it was all in your imagination? I just did!
I thought a friend was mad at me. My “evidence” was that she had not contacted me in several days. We usually converse regularly and I had contacted her last. Did I call? No. Did I text or...
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Veterans, Depression, and Soldier Saints
Today is Veteran’s Day, the day we honor all those who have served our country (USA) in all wars from the Revolutionary War to present.
The recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have yielded a great many wounded service men and women, particularly traumatic brain injury, loss of limb, and paralysis. The hidden wounds of post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and depression also have taken...
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Flexibility in the Face of Change
Being flexible in the face of change is a trait of someone who is less likely to get depressed. The wind blows, the tall grass sways and all is well.
I’m about as flexible as a piece of plywood three inches thick. It took me two days to get used to the fact that the phone someone bought me was not the color I wanted. It took me years to adjust to moving across the country against my will.
...
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Why Can't I Do Anything Right?
Why can’t I do anything right? I’ll never be good enough. This is too hard. I don’t fit in. I wish I were someone else.
These are the words of someone who is depressed or who soon will be.
We often compare ourselves to others and find ourselves wanting. Or we look back at a time when we seemed happy, fulfilled, and on top of our game and then go over the made-up-in-our-mind list of failures...
