The Depression Discussion Part 3

I think everyone goes through depression at one time or another in life. It is perfectly natural to be sad. I think that people who are perma-happy are fake. There’s a difference in having a big cheesy grin all the time and a real smile. It’s all about how we deal with it that contributes to the success of overcoming any sort of depression problem. If we think positively and don’t let ourselves get worked up about things, there is a good chance we can be successful at being happy people.

-Violet

Death is something I have never been able to deal with very well. Going to funerals has always given me a sick feeling in my stomach. There are times when I may not even know the person that well and I am in tears and finding it hard to keep it together. It isn’t a long time after that I feel sad, but I am devastated for days and unable to eat and it really throws me off from my daily routine. Maybe I am just an emotional head case.

-Emily

Surrounding yourself with negative energy is a sure way to become depressed very quickly. The environment we live in has a direct impact on the way we feel. If we don’t like where we are, they chances are we aren’t going to act in a good way.

-Bill

I am depressed when summer comes around and I can’t fit into my swimsuit.

-Barb

When my dog died it was a life-changing experience. I was sad at first but I think it gave me motivation to accomplish things and not sit and cry about things at home anymore. I don’t know what that’s all about, but I think it worked for me!

-Marcy

FEATURED STORY THIS WEEK:

“Changing the way I thought changed my life”

I was terrified to tell my friends and family that I am gay. This was something I would hope would just go away and that I wouldn’t have to face it. Growing up in the United States it is essentially taught to us that being gay is wrong. This is proven by the strict laws and discrimination that gays face on a daily basis.

It all started when I was 12 and realized that I liked boys. I didn’t realize at the time that I was gay. I thought people were attractive so it was no big deal. I was hanging out with girls in school and found boys attractive. I had heard the word gay before but didn’t think it was me because I liked girls too. After all, I was playing with the girls in my class.

But I guess the realization that I was sexually attracted to guys made me see the difference in me from the rest of the boys in my class. They were all rough and tough and I wasn’t feminine but I certainly wasn’t one of them. My friendships with girls got stronger and the boys started to notice that I was different as we approached high school.

Pretty soon all the girls wanted to be hanging out with the cool boys and the ones they could date. The guys wanted to do the same thing. That left me with no one really to hang out with or to call a friend. High school was a depressing time for me because I would just go to class and then leave right away. Everyone else would hang around in the hallways and talk over lunch hour but every second I could have free, I was bolting to go for a walk outside or go home or anything just to get me out of there.

It’s not that people were treating me bad or harassing me in any way. If anything people liked me and found me funny. I just didn’t feel like I belonged. Don’t get me wrong, people were nice and no one bothered me, but I just didn’t really get any attention and I faded into the background. I was one of those people who was a friend in school, but then when the bell rang and class let out for the day, I was just a forgotten face.

So I figured that if I was this insignificant in school as an outside, what would telling my classmates I am gay do? I figured that the situation couldn’t get much worse since I already seemed like we were in two different worlds. But at the same time I didn’t want to take the chance of getting my butt whooped by the guys for being gay.

I figured that my family would be supportive of the whole gay thing. But of course there is the nervousness that they will hate me and not accept me; they would kick me out of the house or pretend like I never existed. Much like in high school, at home I decided not to address the sexuality part of my life and just carried on with what I was doing. Keeping minimal conversation with people and making myself invisible in a sense so as not to draw attention to myself.

My dating life started and I was sneaking out of the house to go for coffee or dinner with guys and I had them pick me up down the street or we would meet somewhere so we could get together without my friends or family in my neighbourhood would see. I guess they wouldn’t really know we were on a date, but at the same time because I didn’t really hang out with anyone, I’m sure it would have been pretty obvious what I was doing. So we would hang out and then I would arrive home at night and pretend as though I just went for a walk or that I had to go help a friend (that doesn’t exist) with homework or something. My family didn’t know that I had no friends from school that I talked to or hung out with but I put up a front to make it appear as though I had a great social life.

But in doing this I became quite upset that I wasn’t being true to myself. I was hiding who I really am just to make other people happy and not cause problems in their lives.

I finally decided to tell my family about being gay and they seemed pretty cool with it. After high school is when I told some co-workers and other family friends about who I was and it was a great experience. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I haven’t lost anyone and I didn’t need any medication. So I think just the idea of clearing my mind of thoughts and having guts to be me is what got me through.

-David