My shadow

Depression: (n.) The believe that life does not get any better than the mist looming over your life.
               
Myth:
1. There is only one way the world will react to the sight of a depressed person; they are sad.
    This seems the only rose tinted opinion of people who have more trouble dealing with depression
     that anyone who could contract such an evil illness. The fear of the carrier 'spreading' their tainted
     life unto others conceives the idea that depression is sadness.
 2. Depressed people are surgically attached to sunglasses in order to block any light into their life
      and avoid the disgusting idea of 'getting better.'
             

The ugly truth:
 1. Depression is a silent passenger. You'll never know if you ride with them the same way you don't
     know if you're going to crash your car next time you drive. You can hit a speed bump to fast or
     another car can run you off the road. Sometimes the car just malfunctions.
2. You cannot contract depression from close contact. In fact depression works in opposite to the
     world; the closer you stand to them the better it becomes.
3. This does not mean that there will not be 'bad' days. The world is balanced on the edge of a pin,
     occasionally it will come crashing down.
4.  Depression is not sadness. Stephen Fry said 'depression is like the weather.'
5. Nobody ever asks to be depressed. Attention comes from isolation not from wanting a mental illness. Shaming only acts as a tornado destroying whatever foundations we may have built.
 6. We can be happy. Depression is not definitive. Being happy does not they are cured. On 'good'
     days don't wait with an umbrella expecting rain, this only reminds them of the avalanche that will
      come. Don't compare their happiness to their sadness. Let them take life as it comes, our emotions
      are not a competition.
  7. We want to get better. It's hard to image life without arms. We find it hard to live life without
      depression. Depression is safety, we know what to expect. We want to get better, we are just scared of how we are going to live without arms.

Where have I been?
Learning and facing the truth of depression. It has been there for a long time. But like the idea of living without depression,
I was terrified of life with it. The battle against myself has been settled in a peace treaty that I enjoy tearing apart
and re-writing every now and again. There's no cure. There's no triggers. I'm learning to live with a second shadow and
not be scared of the darkness that falls around me at certain times of the day. I'm learning to no allow the silent passenger
to drive. I'm not 'recovered.' I'm just not standing in the shoes of depression anymore.