Menthal healt and tabues
Being a genetic issue as well, depression and bipolar disorder, just to mention two menthal diseases have been treated like a tabu. Depending the country and the culture it exists or what is worst, it doesn´t. Depression has existed since the begining of humanity. Greeks called black bilis, after it was called some kind of madness and it continues migrating in his denomination because until last century it was named maniac-depressive disease. Now we talk about bipolar disorder consider the two limits of the illness: depression and mania.
Kay Jamison has two great books I highly recomend that are Touched by fire and in spanish traslation a restless mind. In Touched by fire she mentions a lot of artist that had suffered the ilness since Lord Byron to Van Gogh and in the other book she confess her own story being a psychiatrist with bipolar disorder in our days.
In my country is absolutetly necessary continue talking about depression because many families hide it from society and patients suffer too much.
When I first got sick when I was 17 years old, my dad was my heroe. He used to stand firm and ask me: my love, where is the dragon, show me your sword. And that small mimic, made me feel loved and comprehend by him. He never complained or attacked me because the logical difficulties I had to adapt to the system, the opposite, he celebrated my achievements with a huge smile that meant everything to me.
Not everyone has this luck. Many bipolars end in infrahuman circumstances while others achieve great things with the only beautiful thing of the disease: creativity.
When God send you something so difficult he also gives you a way to protect yourself and move on trhu life.
If you do not feel blessed, close your eyes and see all the small miracles that happen after a crisis. Then thank God and realize impermanence. You are here to change in a radical way from time to time, for your own good and the good of people around you.
Do not complain, take your medicine and do what you love. These are my three little secrets to continue alive after all I have lived.
