Depression

 Depression is an ugly beast, a young sage once said. For me, depression is taking off my pajamas in the morning and thinking, "I can't wait to go back to bed tonight." It is also going to bed at 6:30 or 7:30 in the evening, instead of walking or exercising as I might when there is more daylight after work. 

I started this post over the weekend, but am feeling better now that some recent stress has passed. A fellow AFSP volunteer and I presented Talk Saves Lives last night and it went really well. There were only 3 people that attended, but that allowed for more discussion and back and forth sharing. It was also nice because we haven't presented for nearly 3 years, due to Covid and my inertia in making those connections and efforts. We got some good ideas for reaching more people with this presentation so that is pretty exciting. My goal since last July when I attended the long term survivors summit was to present a TSL at least 3 times this year and help coordinate a Youth Mental Health First Aid course for area high school coaches and athletic directors. They have a big impact on youth and I'm not sure they are all informed on current mental health issues and how to best handle today's youth. I truly believe today's youth have different needs than some coaches are used accommodating. The old school methods are still out there, and I would hate for them to find out too late that this isn't working by losing a student athlete to suicide. 

I found out last night through presenting this updated talk, that the number of suicides in 2020 dropped from 2021, and suicide dropped to the 12th cause of death from #10 the previous year. Numbers for 2021 are not out yet, but I hope this trend continues. That said, rates of depression and anxiety are increasing, so we must be vigilant. 

That's my soapbox for this morning.