Just Smile!

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
May things can trigger a bout of depression, and it's the worst when it IS many things! All at once! StatsCan gives a statistical idea of how many Canadians are depressed, and for how many weeks on average they were that way, in 1996/1997. A little outdated (almost a decade) but so that's okay. They don't say what kind of depression; SAD? BiPolar? Clinical? Psychotic?

No matter. There were 1,314,000 Canadians depressed that year, and twice as many females then males. Yeah for guys! We should all own one, if for no other reason than support when we get depressed! (Hopefully they're respectful and loving, and actually support the women they care about when they get depressed.)

Other than that, 1million+ is a big number. That's just one country. Okay. So one person seeing the world through brown glasses, in isolation, is not alone. I think these websites acknowledge that very well.

One thing I hate at the bottom of a cycle, is that when I'm there, there are two main attitudes; those who are angry and impatient (if the solution I gave you isn't working, then it's YOUR problem; you're screwed up becuae the solution I offered didn't work), and those who are patronizing and take advantage of your situation. Then there are a few gems who are strong enough to genuinely help out.

Here. Let me show you. (Ignore the dots, they're just there becuase Blogger keeps collapsing my ASCII art on me!)
.................
..../.../..\
../....-/------\--------/----
.........\....../
..........\..../
-----------\--/-------
............\/

The apex is the best place. The vertex; the worst. Although not as steep as my ASCII drawing, this is the cycle. the upper line, or just above there, is where you want to be. People who aren't depressed or have mood disorders rarely go below that line. They rarely feel, and don't understand, that area underneath. The lower line is where someone who's depressed can stay for a long time, and when they're there, it feels like that IS the upper line. Scary. On the other side of things, that line can also exist at the top, and you can also think THAT'S reality for a while. It's like constantly tripping, but without the drugs.

When someone who is depressed is below that low line, they usually withdraw into themselves, and since they perceive that as their reality, it is a very difficult place to be. Almost like you're in another world; an underground cave and all of a sudden you realize the only door has just collapsed. Then sometimes you realize that you don't even care. And sometimes, you do care. You get clausterphobic and want out fast.

Anyway, enough of that for now. If anyone out there needs some reference point when they're depressed, they can read this blog.

And remember. Really. Just try it. Smile. Please.