Illnesses with no faces

Again tonight, I am cruelly reminded that mental illness doesn't discriminate. As someone on my sister's Facebook wrote, it doesn't have a face, a status, a gender, or even an age. The passing of Robin Williams tonight has had me thinking, and reminding of what I have seen in the over a year I've been working. I have worked with depressed individuals, and I see so many different faces. One face smiles when I walk through the door. One face doesn't show much of anything, yet they get up, go to groups, don't say anything, but show up and participate. One face cries when I kneel at their bedside because they miss their family. Yet if a stranger didn't know that the place I work at is a behavioral health facility, they'd think they're just a bunch of normal people. You know I've always heard that everyone is depressed at one point in their life, and yes I think that's true. But if it continues to worsen, the consequences quite literally may be deadly.

I've talked to so many of my patients who want to end it all, who think that taking their own life is the only way to get out of their disease. And that's hard for me, because I've never had those thoughts, and yes, I've had low points in my life. It's like when I work with the chemical dependency patients; I've never had a problem with drugs or alcohol. I listen when they tell me the hell they have gone through, but I've never actually experienced anything like that. These thoughts I have regularly when I talk to these patients. And sometimes I wonder if just being there is enough, even if I don't know what it's like. The answer is yes. It is enough. How do I know that? I've had people tell me. I can't tell you how many times I've had patients tell me "Kelly. Thank you for just listening." But truthfully, anybody can just sit and listen to anyone. To be honest I sincerely believe that's what most of the patients I care for need in their life; someone who will care enough to just listen.

So I'll keep this short tonight and close with this. If anybody out there is struggling with a mental illness, talk to someone. Get yourself somewhere safe and talk to someone. If anybody you know is struggling, talk to them. Listen to them. You very well may save their life.