Depression,
Is realizing you’re trapped in a pit;
And that no one
Is coming to save you.
– O.D. ©2022
Art by: Vetyr
Shout-out to my buddy Shay for inspiring me to write this one. We were talking about our experiences with depression and I thought the way she described it captured the experience so well.
When you’re in your pit, you’re left with a choice: Do you wait and hope for someone to save you or do start trying to save yourself.
It’s not an easy choice, which is why I don’t believe there’s a “correct” answer. It all depends on the individual and the pit that’s uniquely designed based on their own subjective experiences.
If you’re feeling depressed I would encourage seeking help if you have access to it. Not many have a safety net to fall back to; consider yourself blessed if you do.
If you don’t have anyone to fall back to, know that you’re not alone. There are many people out there that continue to wrestle with their own pit of despair. I believe the person who gets out of that pit is arguably the most badass version of whoever they were before.
I don’t believe the pain necessarily disappears forever, but it gets easier to manage; it gets easier to escape the pit on subsequent returns. Please don’t give up.
I’d love to hear your story.
O.D. 
I read this poem many yrs ago, credited to Portia Nelson:
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place But, It isn’t my fault.
It still takes me a long time to get out.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It’s my fault.
I get out immediately.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
I walk down another street.
Thats an amazing poem. I like how it places a heavy emphasis on responsibility.
Thanks for sharing ⭐️
I’ve been severely depressed multiple times in my life. Several of the times I didn’t even KNOW I was depressed. I would have others tell me I was and I needed help. I didn’t “feel” depressed. But one of those time, after a three-year deep depression, I remember standing looking out my window out over the sea and -feeling- the cloud lift. Just lift off and I looked around and it wasn’t dark anymore and I realized I’d been depressed for three long years. I don’t fully understand it, I just know my experiences.
Other than that one time, in which something other me removed the depression, I have always pulled myself out by acknowledging truth and changing my mind. There have been plenty of suicide attempts. (Big story behind those…) but in the end, I learned how to cope with those thoughts as well in a healthy way.
I like that poem Krista shared. Maybe we need to keep that in mind more often, too.
That feeling of a cloud leaving sounds all too familiar. Its a little like seeing color again or tasting food after a long time of not being able to taste it.
I love who you are as a result of all your experiences my friend. I now know more about you than I’ve ever known some people in my family. I consider that a blessing.
Yeah, the poem Krista shared is lovely. It says everything. The pit never disappears. How we experience it each and every-time does. How we conquer it too.
I believe it gets easier. The journey to it becoming easier involves a lot of hard-work and self reflection. But we can do it, we always do it ⭐️
Hard work and honest self-reflection are definitely key!
I suffered from depression in my 20s and have been spared since then. When I was in a depression I would feel like I was at the bottom of a dark pit and the light was just a small speck far above me.I knew I would have to climb out and the effort often seemed impossible. I got some therapy help; learned the triggers that would set off the depression and learned how to talk myself up again before I went down to the bottom of that dark pit.
That’s incredible Anne. I know when we’re in that pit we’re faced with many choices that are difficult to contend with. I’ve seen what happens when someone succumbs to the pit and chooses to take it out on the world. I’ve seen that rage and anger in myself and have since worked on it.
We fight on.
Thank you for sharing your journey, Anne. I appreciate it.