“I followed the river, I got to the sea” *
When mental ill-health takes over, one of the casualties is one’s personal sense of cause and effect. Usually, when we’re sad, and we try to pull ourselves out of it, we can. When ill, our usual tactics fail us. These are signs of our losing control. When we’ve used all the tricks in our bag, we feel helpless.
When we judge ourselves about this, we feel worthless. When it goes on for too long, we feel hopeless.
“Don’t even hear a murmur of a prayer…” *
And that’s terrifying, because we can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
One key here is what we tell ourselves in those early stages. We’re not happy, but we’re getting by.
“Shadows are falling, and I been here all day.” *
Languishing. We don’t want to complain, we increase the effort or just tell ourselves to wait it out. All things pass?
Except with mental ill-health, effort alone runs itself out, and it may not pass.
“Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear…” *
Early intervention means responding before you know ‘for sure’ something is wrong – when you suspect – before you’re ready. When you know for sure, waiting may have complicated your ill-health.
“Its not dark yet, but its getting there…” *
If you are saying this to yourself, get up and go see your GP, or call EAP in your company, or seek me out at Men’s Mental Health
* taken from ‘Not Dark Yet’ Bob Dylan – the saddest song I’ve ever heard.
