Are Depression and Anxiety Part of Your Life?

Are Depression and Anxiety Part of Your Life?

As much as I would love to present our family as picture-perfect, it’s not like that for us.

A few nights ago was a rare blood moon eclipse happening at 8:45 PM. We decided to walk down to the neighborhood park to watch it with our kids.

Just before leaving time, we had to make a parenting call. One of our children was to stay home due to behavior issues that evening.

He panicked at the thought of being left behind and fled out of the house. As he ran through the garage, he caught an elbow and junk of various kinds was knocked over, causing a spewing crash.

He took off down the sidewalk.

My husband ran after him.

Another child was knocked over in process.

We managed to get this child inside and help the hurt one. Our other kids waited patiently as is so often unfairly expected of them.

My husband and I bantered and argued about next steps to take. We work really well as a team but sometimes the stress of the day, the weekend, the moment — builds and we let loose on the person who doesn’t deserve it.

So this is the way our family looks to the neighbors sometimes.

This is what depression and anxiety look like sometimes.

And it’s so very hard.

What Depression Looks Like

We often think of depression as lying in bed for days at a time. Sometimes that is depression.

Sometimes depression takes other forms:

• Depression can include angry outbursts (especially true for men, but both sexes).
• Anxiety can look like hyperactivity, especially in children.
• Depression can be periods of go-go-go followed by a period of crashing, in milder forms in all types of depression but more extreme in bipolar and other mood disorders.
• Depression often feels like blah. It’s not sadness, it’s lack of much feeling.
• If you have a family member who is depressed, you are much more likely to experience depression.
• If you have a family member who has experienced trauma, you are much more likely to have depression. (Secondary trauma/Secondary PTSD)
  

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  Note: I am not a therapist: Please see your doctor, a therapist, or call 911 in an emergency if you are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or have thoughts of suicide. Help is available.

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Hope for Depression

This is the beginning page for our series:

Click here to go to: The Hope Toolbox: Practical Help for Depression and Sadness

I’ve also created a helpful printable to go along with the series:

Click here to go to: The Hope Toolbox Printable Kit

Use this to journal and note your own thoughts and jot down helpful resources. Create your own Hope List for when times are tough.

This series isn’t about wallowing in dark murky doom and gloom.

This series is about real, practical tools — REALISTIC ONES. 

By the end of this series, you will:

• Know you aren’t alone
• Have a list of realistic, specific tools for healing and wellness that work for YOU
• Be refreshed in mind and spirit
• Have a stronger faith
• Have a renewed understanding and ideas for how to cope if you have a loved who experiences depression
• Tons of websites and resources at your fingertips