Circle of Trust

For my COT I wanted to start with this quote, “People think depression is sadness.  That it’s crying and dressing in black.  But people are wrong.

Depression is the constant feeling of being numb.  It’s being numb to emotion, being numb to life.  You wake up in the morning just to back to bed again.”

As someone that fought through depression and made it through, I get it.  I’ve been through my hell and survived.  It was a long road and for years the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel was just a pinprick but I made it through.

I do my damndest to be there for others going through their hell.  That feeling of hopelessness and loneliness that blanketed me for years is one that I’ve made it my goal to help others make it through the dark place.  F3 and the amazing conversations that I’ve had with some of my now close friends helped be the final piece of the puzzle to pull myself through my hell that lasted for nearly a decade.  Society engrained into us as men to not share your feelings and that it isn’t manly.  Happy wife, happy life and other little sayings like that help to mislead men into being really confused and lacking in good open communication skills when it comes to your feelings and relationships and such.

I can tell you this.  In order to be emotionally healthy men and the best husbands and fathers that we can be, that we need to understand that we need to be open and share our feelings with our loved ones in our lives be it our M, 2.0s, girlfriends, etc.

I have shared and been open about my personal life which involved extreme emotional abuse, manipulation and infidelity in marriage which led to my very low self-confidence and high anxiety which had me in the hospital several times.  The lowest point came when   my dad suddenly passed away a week into my divorce.   I made it through with the support of some awesome friends.  They listened and I shared my feelings and they helped me to not give up on my hope showing me that I’m never alone.

My challenge to you is this.  Be aware of those around you.  Talk and share with them.  If someone seems a little off on a day, reach out and see how they are doing.  You might save their life.  You might be the guiding light at the end of the dark tunnel.  The greatest gift that you can give someone who is fighting depression is to be there for them letting them know that you are never alone.

Aye?

F3 is not a religious organization but we will end in a prayer.  You’re welcome to join or take a minute to connect with your sky Q.  Are there an intentions we can acknowledge?