Why Treatment for Depression is Worth It to Me
On one hand, I am writing this for me, because it helps me to finally say this. But most importantly I’m also writing it for anyone who might be helped by my story. I think it’s very important to support others who have gone through the same life experiences or similar ones – so that they will know they are not alone.
Countless people feel the way you do… And most of us started out not knowing where to turn. That was me before I chose to get treatment for my depression. What I wanted to was to take control of my mental health and my emotions, rather than feeling like they were controlling me. Treatment makes that possible and I will never feel that out of control again.
Being depressed is something we all go through. I am no different. I have always had sadness and depression basically throughout my entire life. It has been very difficult ever since I was young to truly experience joy. I always have felt this cloud kind of hanging over me. I figured it was probably not exactly “normal” to feel that way all the time, but it never occurred to me that I had a real mental health issue that I needed help with.
But as I got into my late teens, I started to notice that my depression was getting worse. I was carrying around this heavy burden that I just could not shake. I have been depressed about so many things: job loss, relationships gone wrong, death of loved ones, multiple forms of abuse growing up, self-esteem problems, faith and spiritual issues.
Sometimes, I had even felt depressed and hopeless for no reason that I could pinpoint! That was an indication that depression might be genetically part of me, and it was an indication that professional help was necessary for me.
There is no dollar amount I could put on how much depression recovery is worth to me. There is no “thank you” big enough to express my gratitude towards the staff at the California treatment center that literally saved my life. After being on the verge of suicide, I decided it was time to get treatment for my depression. I’m not going to lie; it was a difficult process. I have to say, though, that treatment was not nearly as difficult as experiencing depression for years on end. That was the harder part of the two.
I’m just saying: don’t expect treatment to not have a few tough moments to it. Letting go of all that baggage hurts somewhat – but not as bad as holding it in hurts! Overall, it is a very relieving and refreshing experience to get depression treatment.
Each therapy session you have, you feel closer to real, sustained happiness and a sense of normalcy. Even as I write this, I realize that the clarity of mind that makes me able to speak openly like this would never have happened in my previous condition. I now feel like my life has meaning. Treatment not only changed my life, it saved it. Writing this and sharing my story has made me feel like something good came out of what I went through.