Day Three ~ Be You, it's not always fun!

Today I find myself battling my depression that I have had for over 25 years. Most of the time I find I do well with my anti-depressants, but sometimes something situational, hormones or not enough sleep will kick me down. This is one of my most annoying challenges with my Mitochondrial Disease. All of my symptoms are challenging in there own way, but depression can sometimes catch me off guard. That's how this morning hit me. I had plans to go look at a horse, get my hair cut and run errands. When I went to bed I was excited about today!

Then I woke up and slowly things sounded like a bad idea, I couldn't decide on anything and I didn't want to go anywhere. Usually when I can't decide on things and I go back and forth changing my mind it's a good indicator that I might be getting depressed. Many Mito patients suffer from depression. There are a lot of articles about depression and mitochondrial diseases. In fact, my daughters thesis for her masters had to do with Mito Disease and Bipolar. There are published articles on The United Mitochondrial Disease website www.UMDF.org. It's a real medical issue that not only Mito patients deal with, but something the current population is dealing with more than ever.

With social media I believe depression has worsened. People post all their pictures of vacations, loved ones, all of their accomplishments and all the extravagant stuff of their lives. You never hear about someone at work disliking going there everyday, or here's a picture of my loved one who was a crabby nightmare yesterday, and oh by the way I slept on the couch last night! You tend to look at your "friends" posts and think their lives consist of dinners out, boating, traveling and how in love they all are.

Don't get me wrong, I am very blessed with adult children who are making a life for themselves, a husband that I grow closer to everyday with communication; for a while there I didn't think it was possible to communicate in this marriage! So alas, I find that even with beautiful kids, husband, two parents that are alive and well and a family of fur babies i.e. horses, dogs, kitties, and chickens, I do still get in a deep depression. So whether it is situational or chemical at the time it doesn't matter. As long as I ask for help when I need it, every time I've always gotten out of the dark hole able to smile again. 

If you've never found yourself depressed consider yourself blessed or lucky. But if you ever find yourself in a dark hole that keeps getting darker, reach out to someone that will help pull you out! For me that is sometimes my son, my husband, my parents, my docs and I pray. I pray a lot. 

Tip of the Day: Take your trash out before it gets too full. If you don't it spills all over....