O! that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew;
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world.

-William Shakespeare

This is a state of depression with which we all are probably familiar. We would like to be removed from all awareness. We may think about suicide. Nothing feels good. Nothing tastes good. Nothing appeals to us. Nothing at all.

When this mood descends like a dark cloud, it is helpful to remember that we have felt like this before, the others have felt like this before - and that the mood will pass.

We may help move it away - though it may be hard to muster energy for that - by doing something physically demanding, like going for a strenuous walk, or for a swim. Or by tending some plants. Or talking with a friend. Or cooking. Anything to get us into a different frame of mind.

One friend suggested that at such times it was helpful to her to repeat the phrase "The worst is over." It might be worth a try.

--Healing After Loss by Martha Whitmore Hickman

All of us at one time or another have wanted to die, if only in a passing thought on a particularly depresssing day. A careless oversight sabotages years of work. A heartless comment ends a promising relationship. A devastating mental or physical illness eradicates our hope in God. Feeling powerless, we retreat to our beds, weeping bitterly and praying never again to see the light of day. Most people wake up the next morning knowing the world has not come to an end. They somehow gather the strength they need to walk through the despair. But some of us choose differently.

Once every minute, someone attempts to choose death over life - and some succeed. Worldwide, more than half a million people commit suicide every year, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, more people die by suicide than by homicide.

---When Someone Wants to Die by S.J. Anderson

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This pamphlet is dated 1988..I don't know todays figures.

http://www.survivingsuicide.com/breaved.htm

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I meant to post to this and forgot but here I am now! (whoopee)

Having chronic depression for as long as I can possibly remember, I know how difficult it can be to sometimes even lift your head off of your pillow.

But this reminds me of something both my general doc and my most awesome therapist once told me. To try really hard to remember, it will pass. It will get better. Keep remembering...it will pass, the light will get brighter.

Having been through some serious episodes of depression (the kind where you can't even stand up and just collapse to the floor), that helped, to an extent. It doesn't erase the howling, balling, crying, screaming I-feel-like-I'm-dying-inside feeling, but it helps to remind myself to hang on and fasten my seatbelt and anticipate the day when the overwhelming sadness and depression starts to lift.

Living with chronic daily levels of depression is another thing. I hate it. Who ARE those people that stay on a regular kind of wavelength and don't have drastic highs and lows like being on a roller coaster? I never feel like I'm totally on 'even keel'.

Anyway, I'm blathering. Remembering that there will be brighter days is important.

Thanks Ms. Alffe.