The Absent Uncle: Depression

The Websters Dictionary in my office library lists as definition No. 3: (and the one I want to use for this column) as “low spirits; gloominess; dejection; sadness.”

What is depression? A state of mind? An actual feeling instilled in our thought process? Or is it, at its core, a reflection of our own mindset at the time? 

For the longest time I never could understand depression. I was too busy. It seemed that if people weren’t occupied with missions or tasks they were possibly a target of “the depression.” They just needed to get with it. Shake it off, get involved, move forward.

 I just never realized that depression was the reason that people didn’t get involved, move forward. Additionally, I’ve been told that if a person tells themselves negative things about themselves over and over that person may/will start to believe it regardless of the evidence to the contrary. It is the old chicken and the egg thing.  

Then one day, a slight tap on the shoulder, a bit of slight funk, and a realization that all was not as I always thought it was.

Was this depression? I had to think this through. Depression really does not have a standard definition. It means so many things differently to so many people. The affectations are not the same from person to person.  

But there it was. Undeniable. You need to consider depression. Like it or not. Really? Maybe. So undefined.

What to do? Recognize the feeling; deal with it; move forward. Simple? Not at all. Day by day. Steps backwards and steps forward – never at a regular pace. Certainly, never confidently. Quite a realization.

I can tell you that I have a totally refreshed view of people that have let me know about their feelings. I don’t always understand, but I try, and I try to accept where they are at, the feelings they have, and offer my support.