Tag: depression

To one degree or another, most of us are mourning the loss of Robin Williams. His appeal was incredibly far-reaching and almost all of us count one or two (or more) of his movies among our favorites. But for some people this tragedy won’t just result in a passing sense of sadness—celebrity suicides can promote feelings of deep despair in those who are already vulnerable.

Actually, one of two things can happen: all the attention around depression, mental illness, and suicide can lead at-risk people to finally seek help; or two—and this is the dangerous part—it can cause them to lose hope and give up.

Renewal has never been portrayed to me quite as vividly as during my first flying experience aboard a 747 jet. The delayed flight, due to rain, plunged my spirits. Finally, the engines roared to life and I felt myself raised up, until we lifted from earth. Outside the windows, the clouds swallowing me were gray and angry, painting my emotions desolate.

Then, a remarkable thing happened. Suddenly, we burst free of the dark clouds, into glorious sunshine and a sky so blue and clear I could see to infinity. Joy! I’ve never before or since experienced such a mystical example of rising above darkness.

"There is no calamity that does not offer the opportunity for some persons to thrive on the misfortune of others."

You needn’t look hard today to find people in financial trouble. The problems are everywhere: a family with a home in foreclosure, a once-employed worker whose unemployment payments are about to run out, or a newly created pedestrian who just lost an auto through repossession.

We all complain about our job: how tired we are, how bored, how busy, how unfair our boss is, how competitive the environment, yet at the same time we know that we are really lucky to have work and get a pay check. Someone you know is probably out of work at this very moment whether it is a neighbor, friend or family member—maybe it is your spouse. You tiptoe around the laid-off person not knowing how to interact, what to say or not say. Losing a job is a great stressor. A job loss is like a death, not a physical death of course, but the death of an identity.