Life is very taxing at times. Taking on the roles of: husband, wife, career professional, mom, dad, sister, brother, etc can drain a person. As many of you know, I have written about losing yourself in your marriage or role as a parent. I am writing these types of stories to help others but also help myself. This week, I have partnered with several bloggers to bring to light the struggle with depression, #DayofLight. I have (and at times still do) struggle with depression. Depression is one of those silent illnesses that individuals struggle with. We are attempting to bring to light the issues and the remedies for dealing with depression.
What is Depression?
Depression is a common but serious mental illness typically marked by sad or anxious feelings. These feelings tend to linger for periods longer than 2 weeks at a time and interfere with daily activities. Depression does not discriminate based on age, race, gender or sexuality. You are not alone. Depression is often an illness of isolation. People suffer in silence, and frequently feel as if they are alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) more than 20 million people in the United States suffer from depression. Join me and the lovely women of Pushing Lovely as we work together to bring depression out of the dark and declare February 5th, 2014 the #DayOfLight. 
What is #DayOfLight?
#DayOfLight was created to shine a light on depression, and share resources for those who are struggling with the mental illness. Bloggers from all over the country are collaborating on Wednesday, February 5th to flood social media with personal stories about living with depression, and accurate information on managing and living with the mental illness.
How Can You Participate?
- Write a blog post sharing your personal experience of depression and/or share resources to help others. Add the #DayOfLight hashtag in your post title.
- Watch the #DayOfLight Google Hangout on Wednesday, February 5th at 11 AM EST. Tweet and ask questions. (http://bit.ly/1ilifbP)
- Participate in the #DayOfLight twitter chat on Wednesday, February 5th at 9 PM EST (follow @PushingLovely, @NotoriousSpinks, @datingmyspouse and @BrandiJeter for more information)
- Turn your social media avatars black and white on Wednesday, February 5th so we can visually represent all of those affected by depression.
- Share inspiring tweets, posts, and photos on social media to encourage those who are suffering with depression to let them know that they are not alone. Use the hashtag #DayOfLight.
- Record a 15 second video & upload to Instagram on Wednesday, February 5th. Add the hashtag #Dayoflight
How have you or a family member dealt with depression? Share your story in the comments or tweet me on Twitter @datingmyspouse.
I would share, but i have never been depressed, but know someone very close to me who really went into a funk, and pulled out of it, but i think its too personal to share..
I saw another lovely post on this earlier. Thanks for raising awareness! 🙂
What a great way to bring it to peoples attention.
I get drepression in the winter when the days are not sunny.This is a great resource
What a great post. This is a subject many people do not write about but should more often.
Sadly, my side of the family pretty much all suffer from depression. It is not fun by any means, and really makes having relationships difficult!
Thanks for creating awareness for this. After I had my first child, I had such severe PDD. I thought I was so alone and my reader other experiences, it helped me get past it!
I think more people than we realize suffer from depression. Thanks for lending your voice to this great cause.
This is awesome. My husband suffers from depression and it can take a toll on our marriage. Knowing I can’t do anything to get him out of his depression is the worst feeling. I am a doer, so having to leave him alone while he suffers is the hardest thing. He is better now since he is on different medication. But it can be really hard on loved ones as well, especially when you want to help, but just don’t know how.
Depression is a serious problem for many. I’m very glad there is so much more awareness and help for it now than in the past. Good to know about Feb. 5th.
I think it’s great that you are writing about this. Depression is something is widely misunderstood and often considered to be a sign of weakness. It’s not and the more we talk about it, the more people will “get it.” Great post.
I am glad to see so many people talking about depression and getting the conversation going!
I commend you for taking on this Day to bring depression out of the dark and into the light. I hope the rays of sunshine shine on you from morning till night.
Depression is a very personal illness for me and I think it is often misunderstood. It’s great that people are bringing awareness to it.
Thanks for your post, depression needs to be more in our conversations. It took 7 years for a family member finally to realize this is what he was dealing with, it was hard and still is for him everyday. Thanks for your insight and openness.
It saddens me to think that so many suffer in silence. I’m so glad y’all are bringing this out in the open and helping people know they’re not alone!
This is such a great idea to bring attention to Depression! Providing people with support and resources so they can get the help they need!
I do not suffer with depression, but am glad to hear that there are groups that talk openly about it. I am old enough to remember when it was a hush, hush thing. So glad to hear it is out and people are sharing.
Love this idea! It’s a great way for bloggers to cope with depression and share their feelings!
Thanks for sharing the date. I will join the conversations.
i have. my husband has touches of it each year as we lose more light. daylight lamps have helped- and we’ve worked out strategies too. thanks for bringing this important topic up
I am glad that you are bringing attention to the topic of depression! Thanks for sharing.
sounds like a great idea, I would love to participate but it would mess up my deadlines and set me back – we will miss you!
I love this and I applaud you all for getting together and doing this, bringing awareness to a problem that most want to stay hidden away.
I’m so glad to see that there is a push for awareness of this disease.
Such an important topic that people need to be discussing more openly! I’m glad to see there is an outlet for people so they don’t have to feel ashamed any more!
Depression is a problem for people and good to help is there
Depression affects not only yourself but people around you. Anyone suffering from depression should know that they are not alone. Depression thrives and gets worst if you are in the dark, when you are misinformed and not aware of it. We can help people struggling from depression by bringing light to it. Let us help each other face the issues of depression and be better in dealing with it.
Thanks for bringing attention to this, glad to see how we can all share.
I didn’t realize that the severe emotions went on for two weeks at a time. I thought they were more up and down. Very good to know!
I think I’ve got a bit of experience on that department, unfortunately but I’m grateful I found a way to keep it at bay and not allowing it to mess up my life again.
Thanks for the post Pamela, it’s really nice of you to share the DayofLight with us.
This is a such a huge problem that is often hidden. Thanks for posting and hopefully helping those that need it the most.
It is a great idea to havepeople work together to addres a problem that many people deal with. I am glad I am participating with you on this project.
If only we could remove much of the stigma around depression that a good majority of society seems to hold… we might be able to heal it for people before it goes deeper than necessary. Great post, thank you!
Love this post! So good to be aware of this and I love all the support each of us can do help being awareness to depression!
Everyone in my family suffers from depression. I was just talking to my son about it last night
I wrote a post on depression a few days ago. I’ll try to do as much as I can to support. I really like the instagram video idea!
What a great post. I know many people that suffer from depression.
This is such a good topic to touch on. So many people struggle with depression, especially this time of year.