New Blog

Come and visit me at my new blog "Depression Getaway" for more inspiration and encouragement!

New Blog Launch!

You are invited to come on over to the launch of my new blog called "Depression Getaway". I will continue to blog there about some positive ideas for coping with depression. The official launch party is on Monday, April 19th. See you there!

I have enjoyed posting here and getting to know all of you. I do hope you will join me at Depression Getaway and we can continue with more ways to get away from depression.

Don't give up, I'm praying for you!

Wendy Love

Can Depression Be Managed?

If you know me by now, you already know how I would answer this question. Yes, depression not only CAN be managed, it SHOULD be managed, it MUST be managed. Like this classroom corner, depression CAN BE MANAGED.

That is why I write about depression: to encourage all of you to manage depression and to help you to find ways to do it. When one thing doesn't work, try something else.

With that in mind, I would like to share a terrific article called "10 Ways to Manage Your Depression Treatment" by Deborah Gray. Keep these kinds of articles handy and the next time you hit a low point, refer to them and find out if there is something you could try that might make a wee bit of difference.

Don't forget to laugh today!

May Dipsy Doodling Around Depression be better than a therapy session!

Don't give up, I 'm praying for you!

Oh, and I have a special announcement next time!

Wendy Love

Grieving...

As I shared with you last time, our family is grieving. My ex-husband, father of my grown daughters, died in an accident at the age of 61. It is hard to tell the difference between depression and grief isn't it?

Somehow with depression it seems like we are all grieving in some way or another. Maybe we are just plain sad. Maybe we are grieving over the life we wish we could live.

But with death there is concrete reason for grieving. And with this kind of sudden unexpected loss, there is the challenge of our emotions. We are doing fine and holding each other up in love. It is good to be a close family at a time like this.

But what about depression during these times? Who can tell the difference? Many are asking me how I am doing, knowing that I can be in pretty bad shape when nothing terrible has even happened. It is only natural for people to think that when tragedy comes along the depression sufferer suffers more than the rest of us. But that is not true and I don't know why.

It is all a mystery to me, but I feel no worse and no better than my normally challenged self. However, I do feel encouraged and surrounded by old friends and good memories. And I have had a chance to watch my own daughters, who I am already so proud of, give their dad a send-off that honoured him in every possible way.

It has been a bittersweet time. I want to share with you the name of a book that was given to me by a dear friend this week. It is called "Letter to a Grieving Heart" by Billy Sprague. It is a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone who is grieving and I plan to buy a few copies to give to friends.

And you know what? I am recommending it to you! Any of us who live with depression, lives with constant grief and this book may be a great comfort to you!

Don't forget to laugh today.

May Dipsy Doodling Around Depression be better than a therapy session!

Don't give up, I'm praying for you!

Wendy Love

Death and Depression and Holidays?

Depression does actually take a holiday. There are times in our lives when life is so surreal that we forget we even have depression. We are so not ourselves, that depression does not enter the picture...for awhile. For me that time is now.

My ex-husband died this past week in an accident. Our marriage was ended by him fourteen years ago, not by me. I never stopped loving him and so his death has hit me hard. But I have already grieved over the loss of so much of him way back then and oftentimes since, that I didn't think I would have that many tears left in me. Grief is grief, it has an agenda of its own. We were a family with my daughters and my daughters and I now grieve together and remember the good times and there were a lot of good times. It sure is easier to remember the good and forget the bad when someone is gone.

And depression really does take a rest when really big stuff like this happens. Somehow we are able to cope with big huge things, when on a regular day we can barely sort laundry. Don't ask me to explain such an illness, I only know that it is true. It would be easy to say, 'God, if you can give me a break from this illness right now, when I obviously need the break, then why can't you just heal me of the thing and rid me of it altogether?' It is a good question. I have no answers. I do know though that God is giving me the strength right now to get me through this challenging time.

My depression did not become a full-blown illness until I experienced divorced. Maybe with the closure that I am now experiencing the depression may ebb. I admit that I am hoping it will.

So, my friend, whoever you are...what kind of day are you having? What sort of depression are you experiencing these days? Are you getting the help you need? Are you taking care of yourself? Are you getting fresh air and exercise and spending time only with people who are good for you?

Not sure if I will keep posting this week or not...might need to take a break.

Don't give up, I'm praying for you, I really am!

Wendy Love