my one, no two, no three sides to stigma

chrfull disclosure: this was a comment to a thought provoking post i hate stigma, it’s everywhere  from one of my new blogger friends my side of the pole.

stigma come from everywhere. they can come from the outside. in this case, they the oppressive nature the society puts on people with mental disorders. they can come from the inside. In that case, the personalization of the outside forces effect who we are internally and how we think about ourselves. the third side talks about what can be done to counter stigma.

as the text

the other day i saw a sign
i didn’t like the sign
the sign read
my life insurance policy was worth more than me

remember it’s a wonderful life?
remember george bailey?
he struggled with those very thoughts

sure, his life had struggles
a young father
a rickety old house
chewing out his daughter’s teacher
always seeming to play second fiddle to his brother
a seriously struggling business

another view of the tatoosh range

he was ready to take the plunge
in icy cold waters
to cash it all in
for the sake of his family

saved by a guardian angel

i kept looking at the sign
for near and far
never passing it
just a thought about a thought

i had my guardian angel
in the form of a friend

we shared dinner
i had completely planned
to talk about my current place

but like she always does
just being with her
lifts my spirits
and lightens my heart
i never got around to my sign

as hours passed
since my friend and i broke bread
the signs keeps getting smaller
disappearing on the horizon

will i see the sign again?
unfortunately and most likely yes
my hope is
like this time
i stay on the same side of sign
as the text

we have nothing to fear…

don’t be afraid of dying
be afraid of the life unlived…

angus tuck (tuck everlasting)

does depression feed fear or does fear fuel depression?
does it really matter?
are they so tightly inter twined that they are nearly inseparable?
perhaps since birth?

no matter
fear makes it hard to get out of bed
get out of the house
interact with unknown people
try something new
say something that needs to be said
doubts your strengths
give power to your weaknesses
makes its hard to tell the truth
makes it hard to venture outside your comfort zone
go some where you have never been before
rue yesterday
doubt today
dread tomorrow
to boldly go where no one has gone before

fear is like a prison
it is a cold, dark and dank place
why is in so easy to lose the keys
or know how to find the way out

fear is the heavy chains that binds us
the simple task of lifting an arm or moving a leg reminds us
-remind us on how repressive fear can be and
is the chain that binds us and holds us back

fear unchecked
fear unchallenged
fear not taken head on
fear not faced
are the real crimes
acts seemingly so easy
but with out them life seems so hard

If only those things would be easy
life would me easy
and fear could evaporate
and depression would loose its housemate, its bed buddy, its best friend

then
depression would lose so much of its power
it would go shrivel up in the corner where it belongs
and we could be free again
oh to be free again