The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: depression

  • Try Not to Let Go

    I was sitting cross-legged on my friend’s bed. Cozy. With popcorn and gossip and a mountain view. We hadn’t done this since college. I’d missed it. “How did she die?” I asked. “I never knew for sure.” My friend paused for a long time. Then she said, “Everybody had the flu that winter. I mean,…

  • Heartfelt Hyperbole

    It’s been proven time and again in this blog that I’m several years behind trends. Don’t feel sorry for me. I get to luxuriate in that fresh, new, exciting, trendy feeling even years later, simply because, while my discovery may not be new to you, it’s still new to me. Just pretend I’m in a…

  • Facing Forward

    I’m on the brink of amazing change, and it all stemmed from a giraffe. You just never know when a figurative cue ball will send your eight ball careening off in an entirely different direction. That’s what makes life so exciting. I have been watching April the Giraffe’s live feed on Youtube since February. I…

  • Baby Steps

    “If you don’t start exercising and lower your cholesterol, you’re going to have a heart attack or a stroke.” This, from my doctor. My heart sank. We’re talking major lifestyle change, here. You see, I used to have this amazing body. I mean, a killer, slammin’, take-no-prisoners type of body. Until I was 28 years…

  • Tent Life

    Every day here in Seattle I drive past little homeless encampments. They seem to be everywhere. They gather under the overpasses, in the little clumps of forest, and even on the sidewalks. Their tents are ragged and dirty, and usually they sit amongst a field of garbage. It’s heartbreaking to witness, especially during a pervasive…

  • You Matter

    I was talking to a dear friend recently, and at the age of 67, he feels he’s pretty much done everything he planned to do in his life, and now he’s just “hanging around, waiting.” This brought tears to my eyes. To think of this wonderful man having absolutely no clue, no clue how much…

  • The Pajama Radius

    At the monthly storytelling event that I attend I was introduced to a unit of measure that I didn’t know existed up to this point. It’s called the Pajama Radius. Basically, it’s how far you’re willing to go in your pajamas. I immediately rushed home and Googled it. Much to my amusement, it is, indeed,…

  • Permission to Fail

    A friend of mine had been in a dark place for many, many years. He had been struggling with addiction, depression, and isolation. I had been worried about him for quite some time. And then slowly, little by little, over the course of a year, I started to notice positive changes in him. He got…

  • Maslow’s Hierarchy Writ Large

    I was talking to a friend about my utter lack of success to date on a dating website on which I’ve registered. “I have to say I’ve never felt worse about myself.” My wise and wonderful friend responded, “This is going to sound really bizarre, but your current depression is actually a positive development. For…

  • Skydiving at Seventy-Three

    When a heavy cloak of depression settles down upon my shoulders, I tend to feel as if life has passed me by. I start to ask myself what the point could possibly be, and when I’m unable to answer that question I give up hope, and start resigning myself to my fate. Why even try?…