QOTD: WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

Keeping my blood pure. NOT vaxxing.

First off, I wouldn’t say proud of. I’d say most grateful (to God, family and good friends) for.
And that is, emerging out of, and rebounding from the most vicious demon I’ve known: depression.
If you’ve never fallen prey to it; save the boasting and consider yourself blessed for avoiding it.

Anybody who dismisses it, or views people who suffer from it as weak, pitiful, lazy, or cowardly,
well, then you don’t know all there is to know about it, and have no right to judge others who struggle with it. What may have worked for one person to correct it could be totally ineffective for others.

Everyone gets the blues now and then, but severe depression is on a whole different level of gloom.
At its worst, it is an uncontrollable thought stream of negativity, hopelessness, frustration for knowing something is severely wrong, while also feeling utterly helpless to correct it and get back on track.

One has tried all kinds of things to fight it back, but depression, and other forms of mental dis-ease are ruthless foes. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, because it’s that bad.

If it was as easy as flipping a switch, taking a more positive attitude of gratitude, then that solution would have been implemented 2 weeks into the funk.
The experts to this day still don’t know exactly what causes it. Varies in intensity, and from P2P.
They have their suspicions, and past cases to study the causes, and what potentially works to cure it.

Possible causes: Hereditary; chemical imbalances in the brain (caused by ???); also severe mental traumatic experiences from youth; damaged self esteem; constant criticism and derision, malnutrition and / or vitamin and nutrient deficiency; low serotonin levels in the brain; head injuries, and more.

Remedies that have had success in treating it:
-Teddy Roosevelt used extreme hard work and constant physical action to beat it back,
especially when, as a young Congressman, his mother and his wife died, on the same day,
in the same house. His wife had just delivered a child.

Others have had success using natural remedies of herbs, supplements and a discovery of what was in their system, or lacking from their bodily system, and then correcting that with either elimination
(of toxic metals), or supplementation (of vitamin & mineral deficiencies).

Still others have had incredible rebounds, and resumed normal, healthy living, by finding:
1. A good therapist to help work through the incorrect negative avalanche of thought streams; and
2. Finding an anti-depressant drug that is truly effective in treating the disease, with no side effects.

Now, point 2 will be howled at, as the cause of teens and young adults being susceptible to suicide,
under the dosages of certain anti-depressants, and there is some validity to that stance I believe.
Similarly, the mass shootings taking place around the world have had the finger of blame pointed at
anti-depressants.

From my own experiences, and there have been multiple, I will say this.
In the deepest, darkest moments of severe depression, again, knowing something was very wrong, with uncontrollable mental angst that in turn created physical body and behavioral changes, suicide was thought of frequently and often. And, I had the knowledge of how to end it all, easily. Yet I resisted, time and time again. And, am forever grateful that I had that willpower during the seige.

One or two things kept me from doing it. For one, I had an older sibling who went that route, and that
reaffirms the hereditary suspicion, besides knowing that sibling suffered traumatic emotional and physical events that dogged them for years, before ending their life. I hope they are at peace.

The second thing that kept me from taking that road was how horrific of a mess I would have left behind, for family and close friends to have to experience, and clean up.

The third, and probably most important, was the faith that I try and practice, even though I’m certainly no saint, and quite the sinner. When in a great frame of mind, and not suffering from depression,
I find Scripture study rather interesting, and take great solace in uplifting words of advice, experience, encouragement, and self improvement.

And yet, during severe depression, that type of spiritual study is almost totally ineffective.
Severe depression makes some people lose their joy of almost all aspects of life. No excitement.
Things that formerly or normally would bring great pleasure and satisfaction just lose their appeal.
The brain is literally and figuratively stuck, in a bad groove, like a stylus needle in a defective record.

Having found an anti-depressant, in low dosage, that works, is further proof that the chemical imbalance suspicion could have a lot of validity.
5-7 days after taking it, I can report a complete turn around has been experienced that continues to this day. Thoughts of gloom, negativity, suicide, helplessness…gone.
Joy of music, friends, social activity, appreciation for simple things most take for granted: returned.

As a rule, I hate taking any kind or type of [pill or pharmaceutical, for any reason.
I go through too much physical pain at times, because I don’t want to depend on aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, or acetaminophen.
In the previous bouts with depression, once I felt I’d licked it for good, I dropped the anti-depressant.
Then there was long stretches of normal mental health. For years.
But it came back. Twice. And both times, I tried to beat it back without the anti-depressant.

But upon taking it again, after suffering painfully severe depression for months, it acts like a miracle
cure. And again, what worked for me may not work for others.

If you know of someone going through it, and it’s far more prevalent that most believe,
cut them some slack. Offer them support, help, but don’t be surprised if they disregard your offer.
Offer anyways.

I often felt that when close family and friends were aware, and expressed a desire to help, the disease causes the afflicted to believe that a supportive friend just won’t understand, or can’t possible supply anything that will assist in the way of a remedy. It’s the nature of the disease.

Offer to help, support, and encourage them anyways. Repeatedly, if necessary.

It could be the difference between life, and a life cut far too short and too young, for an illness that
is treatable, with the help of good friends, a good doctor, and a successful treatment protocol.

If any of those are missing, or need to be addressed / changed, then keep trying.
It’s worth it.

If for nothing else, than to avoid the pain.

Discovering God, even though I’m from a completely atheistic/irreligious and rationalist family.

And having exceptionally fine-tuned my personal bullshit detector, without which the above would have been impossible to achieve.

I think putting in a garden by myself. Moved 6000 pounds of soil with a shovel and wheelbarrow. Six 3×6 beds, 8 jumbo potato bags, a 36 inch round bulb bed and 2 45 inch round beds. Plus the drip irrigation system for it all.