Help for Depression and Suicidal thoughts
If you are depressed and thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life are taking over, please call someone who loves you and might understand. Don’t know who to call? Call or text #988 and you’ll reach the understanding folks who answer the suicide prevention line. It’s important. I promise.
Suicide and people struggling with suicide has affected my life and if you’re on this page, it has probably effected you, too.
https://988lifeline.org/ - this is the website for the suicide prevention line. It describes how it works and who is there when you call.
https://hmi.org/services/youth-services/mental-health-tips/ - this is a page of worksheets. I want to highlight the SAFETY PLAN, which is something you fill out with your therapist or family and that you both have access to when it’s hard to remember this stuff.
about depression
Do you lack the energy to do what you used to be able to do? Maybe your body doesn’t function super well (more sleep, not sleeping, lots of tv, not hungry, eating all the time…). When you are depressed, it can be hard to show up in a way that feels comfortable for other people, leading to feeling isolated or alone.
Depression can be anchored in a situation or event or not. It can be a symptom that coexists with a medical condition or a life-transition. For many women, perimenopause can be a time of dramatic and difficult mood changes, including depression. If you are having the symptoms of depression because there’s a life change that’s really hard and you don’t have the supports or the habits in place to help digest, integrate or live with what’s happening, shutting down can be your body’s way of coping in the short term. In the long-term, we need a better way.
There are lots of ways to get help. Seeking medical care and exploring options for medications is really useful. Working with a mental health professional — also very important. Yoga therapy can complement the other support you are getting and can help you to learn practices to help shift your energy, mood and state in a consistent way. Yoga also provides a philosophical framework for understanding human suffering and what you can do about it. Yoga therapy is a unique place to work on the underlying or over-arching challenges of your situation — maybe you can address the issue or work to change your relationship to them.
