Opinion: Light is waiting to break through

Depression is something I try not to think about. For some reason, it always brings me down.

That’s a joke. My personal remedy against the funk that sometimes hits me is humor. My father used to say that if you can’t laugh at your troubles, then you really are in trouble. So when the world gets me down, I do my damnedest to laugh it off.

Of course, that doesn’t work for everyone. It doesn’t even work for me sometimes, and I don’t even suffer from the debilitating chronic depression that I’ve seen manifested in others.

I’ve never been diagnosed as depressed, nor do I have the medical and/or psychological training necessary to speak with authority about the subject. But I have been to dark places in my mind, and I’ve seen others go to even darker places, where they come to believe there’s no way out except through death. I’ve agonized over the dark places where loved ones have gone. And I know that, in such times, laughter isn’t the medicine that’ll cure them, and even the power of love has its limitations.

It seems depression is more common nowadays than ever before. Perhaps it’s because the world is more complicated than it used to be, but maybe we have more free time to think about the sad things in our lives. Back when we lived in caves, simple survival took all our attention. Now in our luxuries we can actually stay in bed all day and go as deeply down that rabbit hole of despair as we dare.

Some never come out of it. They take a permanent and irreversible way out, leaving behind grief-stricken loved ones. Tragedies overpower families when a teenager’s angst turns into a suicide. Others destroy their lives through self-medication, and because that needle can’t quite reach the bottom of their pain, overdoses happen. Still others, because of what they’ve seen or experienced, see no way out of their recurring nightmares.

For some people, life becomes meaningless. The lack of a purpose in life, the absence of a calling to do something important or simply the loss of inspiration can make it difficult to even get up and on with your day. These can be devastating feelings.

The pandemic hasn’t helped. For many people, it’s increased the anxiety they feel about the world in which they live. Others feel more isolated and alone, which feeds into their depression. Humans are social animals, even introverts need human interaction, and yet it’s easy to fake a healthy disposition when you’re online.

And if you’re an extrovert like me, you might find yourself calling friends and family just to hear their voice, and to have your voice heard. Early in the pandemic, my family set up a weekly online meetup and that’s been a godsend for me. It keeps me grounded, because I know I’m loved. And my love for them gives me hope.

For those suffering through depression, it can be difficult to keep your eyes on the bigger picture. But I hope you’ll remember — and I’ll try to do the same — that somewhere out there is a ray of light just waiting to break through that dark place you’re in.

At least this amateur observer hopes so, because sometimes a good laugh just isn’t enough.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

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