The Winter Blues

Depression is much like a hunter. It quietly stalks its prey under camouflage. You often don’t know it has been stalking you until it is right there, until the first shot rings out. It can knock you to the ground, breathless and stunned.

It can be indiscriminate in its targeting methods. It can be difficult to know who the next victim could be. For some it comes on quietly like a snake slowly slithering around its prey. For some it is a sudden assault that strikes from nowhere.

Even after all this time and with all the information out there. Depression is still viewed as something that happens to the weak, the unprepared. There are those who would like to think that they could spot it a mile off. That they would never know its grip since they are so strong, so wise.

Others view it with the same fear that they view a contagious disease. If they can avoid people who have it, then they won’t catch it themselves. They see sadness as a symptom of something potentially terminal. They inoculate themselves against the danger with avoidance and ignorance.

Depression, much like any abuser, feeds on silence. It operates on stealth and under the cover of darkness. Keeping the subject of depression taboo only inflames the stigma associated with the struggle. Depression knows that its power lies in keeping its victims separated from support. Its tentacles of shame wrap around the throat, squeezing shut any attempt to speak out. It spreads lies about its own character; it only targets the weak, the foolish and the doubting. The truth is that it targets whomever it pleases.

It is an abuser of the soul. It goes for the jugular. It singles out hope.

Hope is its greatest enemy. It knows that if it can snuff out hope then it has won. Hope inspires courage and bravery. Hope inspires movement. Change is birthed from the womb of hope. And when we don’t have enough hope for ourselves, others can lend it to us. Empathy is the midwife that holds the hand of the broken and despairing to see hope spring forth.

Depression wages war against hope and empathy. That is why we must empower hope and empathy even more. In lending our hands and hearts to one another, we set a match to the timber. And with enough of us, we cause a fire to blaze strong against the night. Together we shine light on the darkness, exposing the deeds of the evil one. With our voices we disrupt the web cast by silence and secrecy.