Food for Thought

Holiday Blues? Depression? Lonely?

It has been five days since I posted on my blog. I have, and still have serious depression.

Truly holidays should be a time of celebration and joy, yet some individuals are depressed. I know this for a fact as I have been depressed during the holidays since 1982. My firstborn son was born dead that year. Losing a child is the King of Loss. My youngest son, at age five years, passed in 1990 after a horrible cancer battle. I never thought I would see happiness again, ever. Sam’s favorite song is/was ‘Silent Night’. I cry every time I hear that song. I have lost a baby brother and my father and those deaths were difficult as they would be for anyone. Still, my children passing is, and will always be, my biggest trigger during the holidays.

There are different triggers for everyone who suffers depression during this joyous time of year. Many people are lonely and socially isolated, and that very isolation triggers deep depression. Some people have small or even non-existent social circles. These ‘loners’ withdraw from being around others and so they suffer from depression badly.

WebMD has great information on depression and how to help others. Actually they have 25 ideas to help combat depression!

Depression Hotlines for Support

Take a minute to look over the following phone numbers for crisis support. All of them are toll-free numbers. This means you don’t have to pay for the call, and it will not show up on your phone bill.

Suicide

• Suicide Hotline

1-800-SUICIDE

• National Suicide Prevention Helpline

1-800-273-TALK

• National Adolescent Suicide Hotline

1-800-621-4000

Depression

• Postpartum Depression

1-800-PPD-MOMS

• Veterans

1-877-VET2VET

All Types of Crisis

• United Way Helpline

1-800-233-HELP

• Youth America Hotline

1-877-YOUTHLINE (1-877-968-8454)

• Covenant House Nine-Line (Teens)

1-800-999-9999

• The Trevor Helpline (For homosexuality questions or problems)

1-800-850-8078

Shadow and Friends Spend Christmas in New York!

Lots of books for children!

More Truth, Lies and Propaganda: in Africa  by Lucinda E Clarke

I just finished reading this well written book and my review follows the author’s blurb found on Amazon.

“More unbelievable tales from behind the camera lens, as Lucinda and her ‘rainbow crew’ travel across South Africa. They meet Mandela, endure a terrifying helicopter ride and empathize with the forlorn Bushmen. There are riots, an abandoned patient, a ram with an identity crisis and a house that disappears. Their stories are both hilarious and heartbreaking, revealing the truth about what goes on behind the scenes in the media. This book proves that propaganda is alive and well on television screens across the world.”

Clarke has written and enlightening memoir of her trip in South Africa with her media company documenting the entire way. Clarke spins and weaves humor throughout, from meeting Nelsen Mandela and into the bush with the bush men. This narrative is highly detailed and certainly a great read for those who haven’t actually ‘lived’ in South Africa. Not all is sparkling and glittery; and certainly not bullet ridden doors of schools and lack of sanitation combined with AIDS and other various details of South African life. I will leave details about South African politics and traditional medicine usage for those who read after me.

WORDS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT LOST A CHILD/ CHILDREN

Does it get any easier after losing a child?  Somewhat…

Is it possible for a parent to be happy their child/children are perfect in Heaven above… and feel peace with that?  Sure… (It took me twenty-three years for Eli and somewhat less for Joshua.)

Can a parent ever “get over” losing a child?  No.  This is the KING of loss.  We can be happy that they are perfect in Heaven and sad at times when we miss them the most.

Bereaved parents are continually re-writing each day, as they try to cope with their new “normal.”  This won’t change.  We will think of our loss when other children reach milestones such as their first tooth, first steps, first words, kindergarten, holidays, best friend, graduation, prom, falling in love, first kiss, learning to drive, getting married… the list is endless. There will always be reminders of our loss.

The WORST things you can ever say to a parent who has suffered the KING of loss, even after one, ten, twenty, or more years?  “You should be over it by now,” or “Move on with life.”  You see, we are moving on with life. We just do it one hour… one day at a time… re-writing life as we go along.

 ~ M. Schmidt aka S. Jackson, October 2014

Today, and everyday, is truly a day in which to be thankful for all the little things in life that we sometimes take for granted, or are completely  not fully aware of. Yes, we give thanks for family, friends, a roof over our heads, a job, food, shelter, warmth, etc., but we don’t always think about the little things.

Today ~ I challenge everyone reading this to think of ten little things in which you are grateful for having. Two little things that come to mind are a toothbrush and toothpaste. We take those two little items for granted, yet some poor countries, and some in the outback, have absolutely no idea of what those two items are, or how they are to be used. Our homeless go without those two items as well. Now that you have two of ten little things to be grateful for, can you come up with eight more? 

Thank you Father for all things you provide for us, through our own work, that you provided for us. We lift up prayers for those in desperate need of basics and health problems. Amen.