Depression is NOT a Character Flaw!


Depression is not a character flaw! Do you believe that? Do you know that?

 Would someone with cancer ever beat themselves up mentally by saying "I am such a loser, I have cancer" or "why can't I just make this cancer go away?"

 Would someone with diabetes decide to quit taking insulin because taking medication makes you weak?

 Of course not.


We all know that cancer and diabetes are legitimate illnesses right?

 But do we accept that depression is a legitimate illness? Do you really believe that depression is a real and not imagined?

 Would you ever speak these lines to someone with cancer or diabetes?


 Of course you would not be so cruel. 

 Cancer is not a character flaw. Diabetes is not a character flaw. Parkinson's, mutiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, etc. are not character flaws! Everybody knows that.

 But there are still some people who don't know that depression is not a character flaw.

 Just don't let that be you. 

 Depression is real. Thinking it away will not make it go away.

 It is not your fault.

 It is not a character flaw.

 Yes, like any illness it needs to be managed, but it is not your fault that you have it.

 You may not be able to change the way other people think, but make sure you are thinking straight about depression.

 This blog is all about depression getaways - ways to get away from depression, for a moment, an hour, a day or even longer. It's about getting breaks from the endless negative thoughts that are symptoms of this legitimate illness. Good management will give you a lot of depression getaways. Stop blaming yourself for another great getaway.

 And today's getaway is to let yourself off the hook of blame. Remind yourself that depression is a legitimate illness.

 WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? Do you sometimes blame yourself (or someone else) for your own illness? A great depression getaway today would be to 'be kind to yourself', as kind as you would be to someone else with a legitimate illness.

 Don't give up! There is hope for depression.

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