If this is your first time here, you might want to read in reverse order, from the beginning. "Testing Depression" is my true story about being hospitalized for depression.
A quick summary up to this point:
I arrived at the hospital in a police car. I was examined by the entry nurse, and then by a doctor on the unit. I met two nurses, Meg and Dorothy, and two other patients, Charlie and Louisa. I was on fifteen-minute checks. I struggled to remember the causes of my depression. My only medication at this point was Ortho-Tricyclen (birth control pills).
I think that I am made sad by the fact that people seem to be burying a figure-head rather than a person. It’s odd.
Comment by Ally — April 8, 2005 @ 2:17 pm
Society often forgets that the individuals at the center of the news are human, just like any one of us.
I think that’s also why there are so many jokes about the pope, Terri Schiavo, Michael Jackson, mental illness, homosexuality, anti-depressants, etc. floating around. People get caught up in thinking about the ideas, and simple human compassion and emotion become forgotten.
Comment by testing depression — April 8, 2005 @ 5:57 pm
Aurora, thanks for sharing. I have 5 children, one is bipolar and the other has had depression issues for a while. There is hope!
Comment by athanasios — April 8, 2005 @ 8:42 pm
There is definitely hope, athanasios! I am doing much better now than I was a few years ago. I still struggle but it’s not so bad now. I’ve learned (and am still learning, of course) so much about myself.
Comment by testing depression — April 8, 2005 @ 11:21 pm