When Empathy Grew

Isolation, Anxiety, Grief, Lonliness, Fatigue, and Sadness are all words common to someone living with chronic depression day in and day out. Thankfully I don't live with chronic depression but I've had my fair share of living with situational depression. Even then I don't have to deal with chronic depression to try and keep it in-check every day. I don't need meds for it and only need to seek wise counsel from a professional on an occasional basis. 

The year 2020 has brought a new level of understanding to many people of what living with depression can be like. Sometimes we feed the depression and sometimes it just takes over and we can't control it. Depression is this big cloud over everything. 

The nice thing for us is we will break free over time and the cloud will dissipate but for those that have to deal with it all the time it's way more complicated. 

They can have a marked level of stability but it's always lurking there ready to pounce when something in life throws a curve ball or randomly for no apparent reason at all. Depression is like that. 

They can become isolated because they can't bring themselves to get out and do things. Depression is like that.

They'll have anxiety about random things that really don't seem to be a big deal to others. Depression is like that.

They grieve lost dreams and missed events along with what seem to be unattainable goals. Depression is like that.

Lonliness can sometimes be their constant friend. Depression is like that.

They get fatigued even when they don't appear to be doing anything. Depression is like that.

And sadness may be an everyday term for them. Depression is like that.

Hopefully whatever you've tasted of depression this year will help you be more understanding and empathetic to those that live with this year round. And just maybe you and I will see the strentgh they have to live each day.