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TEAM TALK
Depression by Karina
DEPRESSION
Excerpt from Northern Lights by Nora Roberts:
He sat alone, in the dark.
The depression had crashed down over him, without warning, without a snicker. One minute
he’d been sitting at his desk reading through files, and the next the smothering black weight
had dropped down on him.
It had happened that way before, with no vague sense of unease, no creeping sadness. Just
that swamping wave of black rolling him under. Just that harsh switch from light to dark.
It wasn’t hopelessness. The concept of hope had to be a factor before you could embrace its
absence. It wasn’t grief or despair or anger. He could have handled or battled any of those
emotions.
It was a void. Immeasurable, black, airless, and it sucked him in.
He could function through it; he’d learned how. If you didn’t function, people wouldn’t leave
you alone and their concern and worry only drove you deeper into the pit.
He could walk, talk, exist. But he couldn’t live. That’s how it felt to him, when he was in the
silky clutches of it. He felt like walking death. ….
He’d gone up to his room, locked the door. And sat in the winter black.….
He couldn’t go back, couldn’t go forward, so why not sink here? Deeper, and deeper, until
eventually he couldn’t, wouldn’t, crawl out of the void anymore…..Hell, he could set up
housekeeping there, like one of the crazies living in an empty refrigerator box under a
bridge. Life was pretty simple in a cardboard box, and nobody expected you to do anything .
No long explanation because I think this explains what the depressed person feels quite
thoroughly. If you are feeling anything like this, I urge you to speak to a professional –
whether it be a counsellor, a doctor, etc. Even if you start by speaking to someone you trust
– you will feel a relief just by verbalizing your feelings….and remember, depression is not a
weakness or a failure (so many people will not admit to it as they think it is a failure) and
is particular to you.
Remember that the path to depression is different for each person, but the results are all
the same with the same set of symptoms. Depression is a disease of extremes – for instance, you may find that you want to sleep all the time or, alternatively, you will find that
you can barely sleep – regardless of which, you will never feel rested.
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There are a few other symptoms (look depression up on www.health24.co.za for a more complete list) – it is advised that if you suffer from at least
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