Depression Exists when:
You feel sad or anxious and can’t shake that feeling. You stop doing the things you once enjoyed.
You no longer see the beauty in things.
Your bed becomes your best friend.
You eat more than normal, or stop eating.
You have thoughts of suicide (and recurring thoughts of dying).
Everything that comes out of your mouth is negative.
You consume alcohol like there’s NO tomorrow (because temporarily it takes away how you’re feeling)
When I drink alcohol I feel I can do anything! Like many others before me, it gives the Dutch courage I would otherwise lack. It’s taken me till now (44 years old) to realise that it’s the wrong thing to do, especially if you suffer with a mental illness.
Drinking to me was like taking a drug and feeling high. I’m a happy drunk 
not aggressive. So because I was like that I figured what the hell, I’m not harming anyone! But I was. I was harming myself.
Binge drinking, eating etc is all part of my personality. I’m really impulsive, sometimes I’m happy to be like that and other days it bothers the hell out of me. If you said let’s go to Rome tomorrow, I would think hell yes, without any thought of anyone else and what commitments I may have.
Now I’m not about to give up alcohol:) I probably should but I’m not:) So, I’ve
learnt to drink a lot more respossibly.I no longer drink alone – that’s a great start! – only sociably. Medication and alcohol are a dangerous mix . I know this one all too well. Avoid mixing the two and you’re doing yourself a favour.
After coming out of hospital I did give up drinking for 6 months. The amount of meds I was on made me feel so dopey that drinking was the last thing on my mind. Like I said, should I have stopped permanently? Of course. But everything in moderation - that’s not me.
It was the cocktail of medication and alcohol that pushed me to attempt suicide.
What’s important to always remember is that depression is a treatable illness. However, different types of Depression require different types of treatment. Seeking help is the first step to becoming well again and getting back to enjoying your life:) I believe a good health professional that you can relate to is a great starting point. When there’s no judgement and you’re free to say whatever you want, without retribution.
There are many other things you could be experiencing. I’m just sharing some of the things that happen to me.
Having depression doesn’t mean you’re a weak person. You’ve just hit a huge rock and have to work out how to get around or over it.
In the darkness there eventually becomes light.
Life is precious. My mum is always telling me that we are never sent any more than we can handle. (She’s very spiritual).:)
So maybe one day we will find out what the hell It all meant, and have a good laugh.:)
Don’t ever be ashamed of who you are.
