I had the pleasure of being interviewed on Breakfast Television Montreal on May 27th. Derick Fage and the whole BT team were very welcoming and warm. We spoke a little about my book, Feelin…
Source: Interview with BT Montreal
Tag Archive | depression
Disconnected
Depression is a disconnection
Disconnection from the world
One’s passions
One’s friends
One’s agile mind
It’s a forced disconnection
Someone just suddenly pulled the plug
I grope in the dark to find the cord
But alas it’s too dark
I keep trying
I get frustrated
I keep searching
No result
It’s like a nightmare
Out of my control
My only hope, to wake up!
March 10th, 2016
For more poems on depression and healing please
refer to my book: Feeling Fortunate but Awful
Why talk about it?
Why talk about it?
Because it needs to be talked about!
Why talk about it?
Because now, I can!
I’ve been silent in the past
Perpetuating the code of silence
But it’s easier to talk about it now
Having made peace with who I am
Why talk about it?
Because there are too many misconceptions out there
And silence perpetuates them!
Why talk about it?
To give others courage and permission to do the same!
Why talk about it?
To chip away at the stigma of depression and anxiety
These all too present chapters in our lives
That we rather skip, deny or forget!
Why talk about it?
Because anything that comes to light
Is not as scary as when it is lurking in the dark
Why talk about it?
So others know they are not alone
To let them know that there are answers out there
That there is light at the end of this tunnel of darkness!
Why talk about it?
So others know I understand their pain
Their suffering, their feeling of helplessness and hopelessness
I understand how much courage it takes
To keep going despite the constant pain!
Why talk about it?
Because it needs to be talked about
Because we need to break the code of silence
We need to speak out, so others can as well!
Lida Berghuis
November 4th, 2014
Why talk about it?
Why talk about it?
Because it needs to be talked about!
Why talk about it?
Because I feel I can!
Why talk about it?
Because many don’t, or can’t
Why talk about it?
To break the code of silence
That keeps us quiet
And keeps us in the dark!
Why talk about it?
Because it’s time
I feel ready now!
Why talk about it?
Because there are too many
Misconceptions out there
Why talk about it?
To give a voice to people
Who suffer needlessly
Why talk about it?
Because it needs to be done!
Why talk about it?
To give hope!
Why talk about it?
To celebrate victory!
Why talk about it?
Because it needs to be done!
Lida Berghuis
September 20th, 2014
Genuine
A friend of mine once said:
You laugh like you have no care in the world!
You laugh like you have banished your problems!
Some of us smile
Some of us chuckle
But when you laugh, it’s from the depth of your heart
It’s unrestrained
I do laugh from the depth of my heart
Not because I have no cares or I’ve had none
I laugh this way because I have overcome
Overcome sadness and loneliness
Overcome pain and sorrow
Overcome anxiety and depression
I laugh out loud
Because I have cried
I laugh out loud
And this laughter is genuine
It’s not to show off
Not to stand out
Not to sadden others
Who may feel down
I hope my laughter brings others joy
I hope my laughter is contagious!
Lida Berghuis
December 31st, 2013
Castaway
“The castaway’s worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little”*
Feeling depressed is similar to
being stranded on a boat in an ocean
with no land in sight
Every day is the same
The challenges are the same
The fears are the same
The limitations are the same
The questions are the same
Why am I here?
What happened?
How am I supposed to survive this?
Who is going to rescue me?
How long will this agony continue?
When will this nightmare end?
Floating on an ocean of negative thoughts
Dark clouds of hopelessness surround you
Sometimes it pours misery
Sometimes the heat of trials is unbearable
Sometimes you feel numb to all feeling
And all the while you wonder how to go on
The loneliness is intense
No one to console you
No guarantee that the rescuer
Will arrive in time
Or that you will find your way
Out of this maze
Sometime
The mistake is to rely on hope only
To choose patience over action
To count the days
Till someone comes
The mistake is to think
That the only thing that brings you joy
Is the sight of land
Salvation lies in realizing that
Some of the answers lie within you
Your actions will determine your fate
Praying is appropriate
But so is taking a stand!
Salvation is in problem solving
When no solution seems to come to mind
Salvation is in not giving up
No matter how many times
What you thought may work proves wrong
Salvation is in taking small steps each day
Steps to help you stay afloat a little longer
It’s no picnic
No walk in the park
But giving up is not an option
Persistence and action is the answer
To finding a way out!
Lida Berghuis
May 24th, 2013
*Life of Pi
I have been there
I have been there
Where you are
It’s probably hard to believe
But I have
I bet you thought
You were the only one
Who had discovered
This desolate place
This arid ground
I have been there
Not long ago
And when I was there
I was like you
I thought I was
The only one
To have found my way
To this strange
And frightful place
I have been there
Where you are
I understand the loneliness
The hopelessness
The powerlessness
The pain
And the sorrow
Of this almost inhabitable ground
Yet I persisted
Even when I thought
I couldn’t any more
Somehow I convinced myself
To carry on
Because the alternative
Was even worse
And I’m here
To sing my song
To let you know
That you will survive
You will finally find your way out
Of this land
This quagmire
This deep valley of misery
This arena of trials
I have been there
Where you are
And I hope
I can convince you
To persevere
To tolerate the pain
Of being lost
Because one day
The light will shine
And whether it’s through
The help of a friend
Or a loved one
Whether by new insight
Whether by the healing medicine
Offered you
Or steps you take
To find your way out
You will leave this dejected place
And you will bring with you
Some wisdom
An unexpected gift of insight
And you will learn
Not to hate that place
Because struggling and pain
Are part of life
And our teachers
Should we choose
To ponder the mysteries of life
The D-bomb
People drop the F-bomb
much more often than
the D-bomb!
Don’t you think?
Why is depression
This ten letter word
Treated with more disdain
More suspicion
More stigma
Than four letter words?
Could it be that because like the
C-word, cancer
We associate it with
A dark and dreary condition
That often doesn’t have a cure?
And even that is changing
Now-a-days…
Is it because
Depression conjures up
Images of crying for days on end?
Being in bed for
Hours at a time?
Images of hopelessness
Helplessness
And all the things we’d rather
Not think about?
It is because se associate
Depression with a weak will
A defect of some kind?
Is it because we call it
A mental illness
And that conjures up
Images of patients in a
Psychiatric ward
Dulled by medication
Isolated and unwanted
By the rest of us?
I think it’s all of the above
And some more
Perhaps it’s because once someone
Conquers depression and feels good
They rarely talk about it
And share their victory
Perhaps it’s because
We don’t hear the stories
Of beating the blues and the
Transformational changes that
Can occur while dealing
With the challenges it brings
Perhaps it’s because
It takes courage
To share
To be one of the first few
Who brake the silence
Drop the veil
And let others know
That depression
Is as treatable as any other thing
It’s not one’s fault
Not a sign of weakness
Not a terminal illness
Nor a tunnel of darkness
Without end
The conversation
Is starting though
And I’m happy to add my voice
To those who have seen the darkness
And made their way to the light
Lida Berghuis
April 15th, 2012
When
When colour seems to have
Drained from your world
When all you want to do
Is stay home
When youve tried to shake it off
For the thousandth times
When you think you cant go on
Dont despair
Hang in there
Theres a way out of
This tunnel of gloom
Dont give up
Keep searching
Youll be able to smile again
Soon
Your patience will be tested
Many times
Your prayers seem to fall on deaf ears
Sometimes
Progress can be slow
But be assured
In this battle
Youre not alone
Many people have been
Where you are
Many people are willing to
Help you out
When heavy chains seem to
Weigh you down
When you live life in slow motion
Most times
When everything you need to do
Seems like a giant task
When creativity seems like a
Thing of the past
Dont despair
Dont give up hope
The first step is to reach out
And let someone know!
Lida Berghuis
January 31st, 2012
Code of silence
Why this code of silence?
What do we fear?
Why such stigma?
Where do we go from here?
Why does a word like depression
Scare us so?
Why do we feel ashamed
Powerless or both?
Why do we feel as if
Its all our fault?
Why so many misconceptions
Enough is enough!
Depression has a cause
Like other diseases do
It also can be treated
If attended to
Its not this strange, enigmatic affair
One is not doomed to years of despair
It can be debilitating no doubt
The danger comes from doing nothing at all
The first step is to break the code of silence
To change our understanding of what we call mental illness
Perhaps we need some new terminology
Something less outdated and scary
We need to talk
We need to understand
Knowledge is power
Lets stop burying our heads in the sand!
Lida Berghuis
January 22nd, 2012
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