Q&A: How Do You Deal With Depression?

Hi and thank you for your comic. It makes me smile every time I read it even the current story (I hope Pop comes clean soon)! I hope this is ok to ask because I know you've talked openly about it on your Facebook but how do you deal with depression? I think I have it and I could really use some advice to help me out of this funk! Thanks and big hug!

Thank you. We really appreciate that. I'm sorry you're in a funk. Before I answer how I deal with it I would like to make sure you know the difference between being depressed and having depression. Everyone gets down once in a while and when it happens for a period of time, that's being depressed. Depression is when being depressed goes on at length and often times there's no real reason for it, it's just how we feel. I don't know your situation so I wanted to make sure you understand the only real way to figure it out is to talk with a counselor or therapist who could give you a professional opinion.

Now, as for how I deal with my depression, I'll say my advice isn't for everyone because different people require different treatments for their mental health. What I've found works for me is making myself understand everyone makes mistakes and to not let the past actions or decisions of others who've hurt me keep their value. I've had to accept that we're all people and depending on our upbringing, we've either learned to be accountable and aware of our behaviors, or we haven't. For example, a fundamental core of my depression is reflecting on my childhood where I was let down by my parents on the most basic levels; feeling protected, comforted, safe. As an adult I've had to accept they treated me how their parents treated them and they just thought what they were doing was "normal". From that understanding, I was able to forgive them for that mistake and forgiving them made me feel like they never did it to hurt me, they just didn't know better. While I can't change the past, I can change how I let the past affect me. It's not easy, and true forgiveness takes time, but it really made a huge difference in how I feel about myself and it did make a huge improvement on my depressive episodes.

Another key part of dealing with depression for me is to be aware of when I'm having one. It sounds basic, but sometimes I wouldn't even realize I had slipped into depression. It's only when I stop and go "wait, these thoughts, these feelings, I'm depressed right now!" that I can start to work on getting myself out. Now, that being said, sometimes I do have to kinda ride it out, but a lot of the time, just identifying when I'm depressed actually triggers coming out of it.

Thank you for being willing to openly talk about depression. I think it's something that we should all feel comfortable discussing. I hope my answers helped a little.