Letters to the Editor
ericabird
Published Letters: 2
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This might be key:
[Read the article: I'm a suburban husband in my 40s and I think I'm getting depressed]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]First, Cary, it is the loving understanding in your replies that makes them so wonderful. Anyone can give advice, and too many do, but your words are gentle and filled with understanding, validation, kindness and consistent willingness to buck conventional beliefs about how we should all feel, behave, live.
My loving advice to the depressed guy is based on my own learning about depression and anxiety in 30 years practice as an RN and from my personal experience with both. Some thoughts: Depression seems to be a primitive attempt by our unconscious minds to protect us from emotional pain that might otherwise have obliterated our ability to hunt, gather, reproduce. I expect this protection is still evolving and that we, in our time, are living with a woefully unrefined process. In our culture our childhood terrors, traumas experienced, abandonments real or feared, deep emotional pains and hideous events observed have no established, society-approved avenues for resolution. We're just such with this stuff and it accumulates as we're admired for our brave silence. We are taught to spare the adults around us any upset our true, feeling, needing, hurting selves might cause them.
Perhaps your depression is present now as a friendly nudge from your unconscious. You have distance from your early years and adequate adult life stability to revisit, validate and soothe your young self. You can now safely look at, feel and sort out your early experiences in a truthful, fresh and loving way.
The relief that comes from doing this is astonishing.
Something else to consider: As children we were often required to suppress our true feelings and reactions in order to protect a parent from anxiety or self-awareness. This is fundamental in unhealthy families and becomes deeply established second nature even as we mature.
Though we can no longer harm our parent by seeking and feeling our own truths it still terrifies us causing great anxiety and even panic. This anxiety is similar to that which we felt as children responsible for our parent's illusion of well-being.
I sincerely hope that you feel better. It's so impressive to me that you are looking at this and reaching out. I send you my best wishes.
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Rachel Rocks!
[Read the article: It's a Maddow Maddow Maddow Maddow world! ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Way to go, Maddow world! This is wonderful news for us all. Rachel was in Seattle last weekend for our AM 1090 Town Hall We The People forum along with some of the other best and brightest broadcasters in progressive radio. I was there along with around 1500 other fellow travelers. Along with being almost unbearably adorable Rachel was graceful and gracious while succinctly summing up our collective progressive positions and need for activism.
Rachel knows who she is and doesn't need our accolades. We need to listen to her clear, informed voice which is an enormous gift to us all.
My my my, we've come a long way and this is an occasion for celebration of truth, justice and the American Way.