A little kindness can do wonders

When you ask someone about what comes to his/her mind when they hear the term ‘depression’, they will give another word as a descriptor and it’s a three-letter word. If you guessed it right then you know what’s really going on. The three-letter word is ‘sad’.

Sad is what comes to most people’s minds when you say ‘depression’, but how many of us know that it is more than being sad? That it’s a cave a person is trapped in where he/she can see no cracks of lights or possible way out to the outside world. No sunlight reaches him/her, no proper air to breathe in, no human connection to make her/him feel alive.

A little kindness can work wonders on someone’s aching soul.

How many of us punish our own selves by confining to such caves just because of the fear of stigma attached around seeking help or worried about what others might think or say when they find out. They might call us “weak” or worse, what if our friends or relatives call us “insane”?

A person whom I dearly admire once said: “Your life isn’t yours if you care too much for what others think of you!”

There are millions of people around the globe going through depression and it does kill. It’s not something you or your friend or your loved ones make up in their heads. It’s not like they planned or made a choice of suffering from this problem.

Many people fail to recognise depression as a real disease. The reason is because it’s an invisible disease. A person suffering from depression might appear quite right physically but there might be a war raging inside their heads.

To some of us it might seem as though that very person is just being lazy but it is loneliness disguised as laziness. We might never really know what a person is going through but we must understand, and be kind. A simple hug can save a person’s life.

Healing can start with the feeling of being safe. That’s why it’s necessary to check on our loved ones who are suffering from depression. Encourage them to reach out when they need help. A little kindness can work wonders on someone’s aching soul.