Here's my story of depression

The little boy is going to love shoes!

Since I heard about Robin Williams' death I've thought about sharing the fact that I'm challenged almost everyday by depression. I guess it has taken me a couple of days to decide whether or not to blog about my depression because there's such a stigma attached to mental illness. But that's just one of the stigmas that I deal with at this point in my life. I'm 60+ years old, and that makes my ideas and thoughts irrelevant to some people. I'm overweight, which to some people means I have no self control. I can be assertive, which translates to some as "bitchy." And the list goes on.

Of course I don't mind telling people that I have a thyroid problem, but I seldom speak about my depression. Once I say that I take medication for depression some people mentally mark me with a big "L" for loser on my chest. I've seen this mental labeling placed on others as well as myself many times. For example, once I was involved in hiring someone and it was brought up that a certain candidate took medication for depression and might be bi-polar. Would someone bring up the fact that the candidate shouldn't be considered for the position because s/he took medication for high cholesterol or hypothyroidism? Nope, but the hearsay statement about depression was made to disqualify the candidate for the position. It was a disgusting comment and I lost total respect for the person who made the unconfirmed statement.

Today I'm creating a step closer in my journey to be an authentic person, regardless of what others think of me. Yes, I suffer from depression, hypothyroidism, and sometimes high cholesterol. These are part of who I am, but not all of what defines me. So there!