This is Depression

Something is wrong. 
Once again, something is off, and you don’t know why. 
You only know that you don’t feel right. You feel less than 100%.
Maybe, not even, 50%.... You feel like you are dragging your feet thru the day,
Like your spirit is dragging even further behind… and it takes forever to catch up.
…
This is depression. 
This is your brain with a boo-boo. 
Just like our incredibly complex bodies break down in incredibly complex ways,
Our brains can do just the same. 
Just like you go to the doctor when your body, your bones and organs, need treatment,
Our brains, our thoughts our emotions, deserve the same kind of treatment. 
…
Nothing is *truly* wrong, 
Bodies have glitches, brains do too. 
And at least 20% of the people around you are experiencing this now.
And maybe more, maybe more that are unaware,
that help is nearby, and your spirit can catch up.
 
M. L. Michael
06/14/2021

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About…

I used to tell people that I got depressed, but I didn’t have depression. I was never clinically diagnosed with it. I also had a more subtle distinction. Getting depressed every now and then was ok. If it never goes away, then it is depression.
I wasn’t until late in my thirties that I found myself seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist. I found out my understanding of depression was naïve and narrow. There’s a lot about depression that goes on behind the scenes. It jacks with your chemicals, your levels. And no amount of journaling, or listening to music, or whatever can change the biology of what is happening in your brain.
So, I am getting treatment now. I’m optimistic about the results. (I find optimism is the best outlook for anything related to health.) And I ended up writing this poem as a kind of PSA about depression, and, a life jacket, for whomever may need it.
As always, take care out there.