Opinion: Don’t tell me to cheer up

Time to talk 2015My name is Sarah and I am diagnosed with depression. I guess the diagnosis didn’t come as a surprise, I’ve always felt, well, kinda sad. I have been on medication now for over a year and sometimes I wonder if I will ever beat this thing.

It makes me angry when people tell me to “cheer up”, or “get over it” yeah how about you try “getting over” diabetes or a broken arm. My illness might not always have physical symptoms and it might be “all in my head” but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.

Being depressed means I never know if I am going to be able to cope with a situation. Sometimes funny, sexy, flirty Sarah comes out to play and she is great, she has a great time. But sometimes it’s social recluse Sarah who can barely communicate and sometimes it’s just plain Crazy Sarah.

I wish I could click my fingers and make the depression go away, but for now, I’m stuck with an illness some people don’t think even exists, but 1 in 4 of us will suffer from at some point in our lives.

t’s not all doom and gloom though.  Some things help me through the dark times, such as cuddles from my partner who doesn’t judge me for crying over nothing. We have a brilliantly silly relationship, sometimes communicating in plain old jibberish. I like doing crochet and knitting, which  helps me relax and hey I get awesome clothes out of it. Singing keeps me happy too, I love singing and sometimes I even let myself believe I am good at it.

It’s so easy when you have depression to focus purely on the bad stuff the dark stuff but I always try and remember that I have things to be grateful for, good friends, a decent job and a lot to live for.

* Sarah Brown is a Liberal Democrat activist who lives in Manchester.

Read more by or more about or .
This entry was posted in Op-eds.
Advert

2 Comments

  • Martin Walker 5th Feb '15 - 6:37pm

    Sarah I commend you for being able to speak out about the experience that you have with suffering from depression. It is stories like yours that help show people that depression does exist and that it can be hard to cope with sometime. We have to remember that unlike you some people don’t have anyone to support them through there dark times. That is why we need to change things that everyone who suffers can access better support to be able to cope.

  • Thank you for sharing this Sarah. You express very well the kinds of thing I’ve experienced and I’m sure many others feel likewise.

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Nonconformistradical
    "People playing loud music or other noise from their devices can totally ruin other people’s journeys" I agree. A long time ago I recall hearing a sto...
  • Simon R
    I disagree with the Jim and fully support the LibDem proposals. People playing loud music or other noise from their devices can totally ruin other people's jour...
  • Mike Peters
    Ukraine had a much better deal available shortly after the start of the war but was persuaded by Boris Johnston to reject it, with the promise of support from t...
  • Mike Peters
    Could it be that this policy is an attempt to attract voters who may otherwise consider voting for Reform? If so, it will completely fail since those voters are...
  • David Raw
    I’m sorry you feel disappointed, Andy, but I for one agree with you. What we have seen over the last three years is appalling, cruel, and I believe, illegal....