I went to Mexico this past weekend. It was heavenly, except for the part when it was hot and humid. I stayed in a condo on the beach with my lovely family.

I loved swimming in the water. It was so warm, and the water was clear. I collected shells, jumped waves as if we were in a wave pool, looked at jellyfish with a flashlight at night. I almost forgot my problems.

The sadness mocked me the whole time. I could feel it waiting in the wings, whispering so that I could not quite forget. "I'm still here. Just wait until you're alone again and you'll feel the full force of my wrath." My happiness was tempered by a hollow feeling in my stomach.

But then I asked my dad for a blessing. (If you wonder what that is, email me and I'll tell you) I cannot explain how much peace it gave me. I know I am a human and I fail many times, but for the first time in a while, the thought doesn't cripple me. Perhaps the depression is lifting.

And just when things get better for me, a good friend of mine is facing the same crisis I was: depression. I wish there were magic words I could say to make it better for her. I wish that no one had to deal with such needless sadness. Sometimes sadness helps you grieve, or helps you see what you need to do to change your life, but when the sadness becomes depression, you are helpless to understand it, helpless to fix it. All you can really do is wait it out and eat a big tub of ice cream. That's my take on it, anyway.

How do you cope when things get bad?

 

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