I know when the dark clouds are going to roll in… it happens at the beginning of every basketball season and it happens again at the end. I used to really fear it. I would feel the heaviness creep in on my body and I would wonder if this was the time it would get me, if this was the time the depression would force me down for good and leave me incapable of caring for my family.
It’s been this way for more than a decade, so luckily my husband can see it coming before I can. He reminds me that this is all temporary, and after we limp through a week or two, all is back to normal.
But what happens when depression moves in? When it camps out at the foot of the bed and refuses to let you open the curtains?
I talked with a man from New Zealand named Brent Williams who lived with depression for seven years. He felt robbed of his health, his career and his family. But he made it out with valuable lessons that he is now sharing with other people dealing with this illness.
Brent wrote a beautiful graphic novel — it looks like a comic book — which describes his journey through and eventually out of depression. The book is called Out of the Woods. Brent talks with me in Episode 19 of The Kindness Podcast about why he intentionally chose that writing format and how we can support ourselves and others who are dealing with depression.
You can listen for free now on itunes, google play, or Stitcher.