it's okay to have AIDS, diabetes, cancer: yet the stigma for Mental Health exists.
Man, speaking of his brother: He'd rather tell me he's on crack than he's got schizophrenia.
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When I was depressed, no one thought I might want a covered dish, or someone to come wash my dishes. (God bless Sally, who feeds me when I show up at her house and sometimes gives me food to take home.)
But when I think of the people that get months of meals when they give birth--a happy event that generally gets a lot of support. And when I send out an email saying that I am depressed, I get asked if I'm okay, awkwardly. I got more support when I broke up with Max than any time I have asked for help from depression.
If you know someone with depression:
- offer them a meal, either in a restaurant or at your home, or take home.
- If you have time, call them. See if they need help around the house.
- YOU DO NOT NEED A DEGREE (even a GED) to be a friend to someone who is hurting mentally.
- If you don't know what to do, talk to someone who might: your pastor, your mom, a friend who knows about mental health.
- above all, REACH out. Send an email, a card, flowers. Prayer is great, but let that person KNOW that you are praying for them.
