Meditation vs. Medication: A Graphic Essay

Here is a short graphic essay by Deanna Zandt.  Struggling with depression and anxiety is hard enough without fighting an epic internal struggle about medicating.  This graphic gives a helpful perspective on the subject.  Reminder: You are not weak.  You are fighting a disease.  There is no shame in taking medication.

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

Oh my gods!  I can not begin to describe how wonderful this book is! I laughed so hard I cried; I hurt my face and back; I almost peed myself on the subway! If you are in a dark place and need a laugh, or hug, or support you will find it all in Lawson's new book.  I have never had a book make me smile so much.  She has been down in the guck and the mire.  Whether it's depression or anxiety she has been there.  And she is there with you.  Please read this book.  Thanks to Furiously Happy I know I am not alone and I now have an arsenal of funny happy memories to help me fight my monsters.

"Everything is Awful and I'm Not Okay: questions to ask before giving up"

This is a random document I found on Facebook one day. The questions are really accurate. It truly is amazing how much small items can make you feel better. Remember: stay hydrated...and fed.

Introductions 2.0

As promised I give you my revised introduction:
 
I want this to be a resource, providing short reviews about helpful books, websites, and other sources on grief, depression, and anxiety.  And as I get braver and bolder I will share my story.  I could be smart about this and make the blog be specifically about depression, or anxiety, or grief. But for me the three are so interconnected and entwined separating the tools for each would be disingenuous.

Above all I want to be honest.

For ease of access I will designate each resource for people looking for a specific topic.  And I will keep the posts short and to the point.  I can not focus well or for long when I'm in the middle of a depression, episode of anxiety, or grief wave.  It is unfair to ask you to.

As my therapist would say,"Aren't you doing this because this is what you wanted for yourself?"

   
Yes. Yes it is.  

Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide by Kay Redfield Jamison

This book was my refuge, my anchor, when I was in the depths and darkness of a suicidal depression.  Night Falls Fast was the only reading I could focus on.  The honesty, compassion, humor and the care that Kay Redfield Jamison writes with are truly amazing.  She is honest about the nature of statistics on suicide and the nature of discovering what lead up to a suicide.  Jamison manages to wrap heart wrenching stories of men and women's suicides together with such love and feeling for the victim and their family, without romanticizing suicide.  She always gives us an intimate view while still retaining the distance and subjectivity necessary to put suicide into perspective.

Remember: Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

If you or a loved one are thinking about suicide please talk to someone at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:   1 (800) 273-8255

Undercurrents by Martha Manning (long form)

This is THE memoir about depression.  It is amazingly well written to the point of being lyrical. She knows pacing and timing.  All this is from the journals of a woman who has trouble seeing herself as the great counselor she is, yet alone writer.

This book will show you that even your psychologist may have gone on a similar path through the darkness. Everyone is prone to this disease; it does not discriminate.

METAPHORS: Manning’s are mostly water based metaphors. ex: endlessly rowing a boat to shore but making no progress.

She also reinforces:

• You are NOT your depression. You are a person who suffers from depression.
• Sometimes the best help is just from being held and listened to.
• That you are INCREDIBLY strong for fighting so hard and doing so much just to stay.  Every therapy session you go to, every med you take as prescribed is a tribute to your strength and will power.
• That you will get through this!

Undercurrents by Martha Manning (short form)

Undercurrents is amazingly well written, to the point of being lyrical.  Martha Manning uses mostly water metaphors to describe her depression (ex: endlessly rowing your boat to shore but never making any progress). She illustrates that the following statements are true:

• You are NOT your depression
• You are INCREDIBLY strong for fighting to get better, even if all you can do is get out of bed for therapy
• Sometimes the best help is just being held and listened to.