Depression is difficult to understand because it is invisible.
That's what professor and author Matt Haig writes in his book "Reasons for Living." That's why it's important to think about depression from a broader perspective.
It is easy to trivialize and confuse depression with a bad streak or with sadness., which is still a basic, normal and necessary emotion in every human being. The difficult thing is to understand depression or melancholic states in their nuanced complexity.
Depression is a condition that comes with many other emotions, such as guilt and shame. It's also accompanied by pain, grief, and a feeling of emptiness. But not all symptoms occur simultaneously. That's why it's necessary to move away from the caricature of a depressed person, alone and lying in bed all day. As Haig rightly points out: “You can be depressed and be happy, just as you can be an alcoholic and be sober.”
I have already written about how we can understand the depression and also about the importance of moving away from the myths that surround itToday, what I want to share with you is the quote that introduced me to Haig, and which I think in just a few words offers us an essential message for those times when we feel overwhelmed. He's talking, of course, about depression, but the quote encompasses much more:
Depression is also smaller than you. It's always smaller than you, even when it feels enormous. It operates within you. It may be a dark cloud passing across the sky, but, if that's the metaphor, you are the sky. You were there before it. And the cloud can't exist without the sky, but the sky can exist without the cloud.
Remember this and let anyone know. If depression is the cloud, you are the sky. Seek help if necessary, and don't forget that the weather, like everything else, changes.
Did you like this quote? Would you like to read more about it?
- Here you can read a free excerpt from Reasons to keep living
- And here you can find 8 recommendations to combat depression
- Finally, I invite you to read about how to help a loved one with anxiety or depression: Part 1 and Part 2
