"My husband always said I was a glass-is-half-empty type ...
but I never thought of myself as depressed.
Then about a year ago, I got laid off, and I just shut down.
All I did was eat, sleep, and cry.
My husband couldn't get through to me ...
and I felt so worthless that I couldn't believe he wanted to."
"When I was depressed, I quit hanging out with my friends.
I even quit answering their calls and texts.
Why bring them down?
I would literally sit in the dark ... by myself ... for hours, drinking beer."
"My counselor asked what was one thing I truly enjoyed ...
and I didn't have an answer.
I knew I used to love spending time with my grandkids, but I couldn't feel it anymore.
That's what depression stole from me."
"My husband said, 'I love you too much to watch you suffer like this.' That got to me ... and I finally agreed to get some help."
"One of my friends dropped by after work.
He took one look at all the beer cans and dirty clothes on the floor and said, 'Man, what are you doing to yourself?' I tried to make a joke of it, but he kept pushing ...
and once I started talking, it all poured out.
He made me promise to talk to my doctor."
"My daughter would ask me to keep the kids for her, and I'd say no.
I thought I was no good for anybody when I felt so low.
My counselor helped me see that pushing away the people I love was just making a bad thing worse ...
and that even if I wasn't all sunshine and smiles, I still had something to offer them."
"It did take a while for things to get better.
Like, my husband would say, 'Let's go out,' and I would just want to crawl back under the covers.
But I knew part of my treatment was spending quality time with people I love ...
so I'd get up and go.
As my treatment kicked in, I started to look forward to doing things with my husband ...
and we started to get close again."
"Depression makes you lose all sense of what's good for you.
And being with friends is a good thing.
Those guys care.
They check on me.
They get me out of the apartment.
They get me to laugh.
That's what I need."
"Now most Saturdays I pick up the grandkids.
We bake cookies, do crafts, play in the pool ... fun stuff.
It's the highlight of my week.
I'm helping my daughter, sure ... but most of all I'm helping me."
"Depression makes you think you can't reach out to friends and family ...
but you can.
And it's an important first step in getting better.
Who could you talk to today?"
