It's OK to Not be OK

Rev. Carlene Appel, MDiv., PC, SC, CERC, CISM, CTP, CDCS, CGP, CCFP

Hey everyone, did you know May is Mental Health Month. So before the month runs out that’s our focus today.

In view of recent mental health tragedies, I picked Depression

Naomi Judd died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound[]

at her home in Leiper's Fork,Tennessee,

on April 30, 2022, at the age of 76. She fought a years long battle with depression accompanied by anxiety, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts. The medications prescribed to her, including lithium, produced side effects including facial swelling, alopecia and tremors, igniting greater emotional distress.

The very same month, prior to Naomi’s suicide, 3 Young Sailors serving on the USS George Washington in mid-April suicided all within a week.

Depression is different than feeling sad, burned out, or compassion fatigue (caregiver specific). Those are temporary, reverse-able conditions. Feeling sad or down in the dumps is

a normal human emotion. But if it is lasting beyond 2 weeks and you can’t seem to shake it, maybe can’t even drag yourself out of bed, then it’s possible you are depressed. It sucks all your joy out of life bone dry, makes you feel overwhelmed, and for some, not able to function. Depression makes your body hurt, not just your mind. Bruce Sutor, M.D., a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic