It is a journey…
One that looks like it will never end.
But happiness does come back
Trust me – My Friend!

The tears flow like an ocean
Or like a waterfall never ending.
You just give up…
You don’t even feel like pretending.

Pretending that all is fine
Pretending that’s a real smile on your face.
Pretending that life is good
When, in fact, it’s deep heartache you embrace.

That “one day” comes …
And you can’t pretend anymore.
That knot in the pit of your stomach
Grows into a malignant aching core.

Malignant in the since
That just like cancer can kill.
Depression can kill
Because you lose your will
To LIVE.

“Snap out of it,” they say.
But what do “they” know?
Deep, dark, black depression
There is no snapping out of this evil woe.

You just need to “get out” they say.
“Get Out?” when stepping out the front door
You dread
When you can sleep for, not hours, but days
Never leaving your bed.

And when your not sleeping
Your crying
And when your not crying
Your thinking of ways of dying.

And when you wake up
Again you cry
With sobs of anguish crying out
To the Lord
“Why won’t you let me die?”

Oh yes,
It’s a bleak picture I paint for you.
And if you’ve never been depressed
But, perhaps a family member or friend is.
Then it’s time that you knew.

There is NO snapping out…
It’s NOT just a blue day.
It's Not just a little sadness
And feeling a little down.
It’s a deep black pain in the center
Of your soul … and it won’t go away.

There is little joy in laughing.
There is little joy being with family and friends.
There is little joy in giving and receiving.
There is little joy.
There is a lot of giving up on living.
And giving in to grieving.

It’s a journey.
A journey of many tears.
Perhaps spanning many years.
But you WILL survive.
You Must
Because one day
You will look back and say
It is good to be alive!

Before I Leave Page