Suffering in Silence

Written by Lakisha Eley

Depression sucks and drains the life out of you. It is something that has come for my life on numerous occasions. It has taken my joy, peace, and strength in moments of my life. I suffered in silence and people didn't even know what was going on with me. In the beginning, I didn't really know why I was feeling the way I was. I was always sad and sometimes frustrated because I just didn't "feel" right. It became difficult at times to push forward. I am an advocate for counseling. On more than one occasion in my life I had to receive consistent counseling. Depression is something that is hard but it's also something that can be overcome with the right resources and people. I learned that a person can think themself into depression if they are not careful. But the same way you can think yourself in it you can also think yourself out of it. I really had to take time to renew my mind and thinking. I still strive to do this because it starts in your mind. Thinking better is something we have to work at daily. When you have struggled with depression it can be easy to fall back into it. This is what I have experienced in life. The worst thing you can do when dealing with depression is isolate yourself from others. My best advice for anyone who has or is suffering in silence from depression is they reach out to a friend or counselor. I was initially ashamed of what I was experiencing and my truth so counseling was not something I wanted to do. Even though I did draw strength from prayer I learned that sometimes you need more than just prayer alone. I feel as a black woman that my race strays away from counseling and negates the importance of it. You really have to put your pride aside and understand that there is nothing degrading about it but it's a resource available to help you get better. Counseling did help but I can not fail to mention how my relationship with God grew and was the core of my strength. I wanted God to help me and free me. I would spend time crying out to Him, talking to Him and sitting in His presence in silence. I go through this same process with anything that happens in life....I run to God. There is truly safety in His arms from anything this life brings our way. Depression does not have the power to hold you or me but we still have to face it even with this truth in mind.