Comments on: The Slip

By: Going public with depression | ACROSS THE FADER – ORG

Going public with depression | ACROSS THE FADER – ORG — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:49:11 +0000

[...] therapy Katherine Sharpe – In Praise of Depression Mooshinindy – The Depression Ones Miss Banshee’s Inverse Candlelight — The Slip William Styron – Darkness Visible Hyperbole and a Half – Adventures in [...]

By: That Girl

That Girl — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:40:26 +0000

I keep typing sentences in this comment box, but deleting them because they all sound ridiculous when I read them. I guess what I really want to say is thank you.

I’ve been at The Bottom. I practically have an apartment there. And reading your post made me wake up from my month-long fog and realize I am taking that slow, shitty, spirally ride back down there.

Today I’m making the changes necessary to reach OUT instead of collapsing IN. I thank you, my husband thanks you, and my daughter thanks you for having the bravery to write this and post it and change one stranger’s life for the better.

Constant Vigilance, man. It’s the only way to go. I’m glad you got back up.

By: Becky

Becky — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:23:28 +0000

I honestly believe this is your best post so far. I love the honesty. Asking for help when you’re at your worse is difficult. It’s an enduring cliche because it is so very true.

By: Going public with depression - Health Medicine Network

Going public with depression - Health Medicine Network — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 04:19:14 +0000

By: Going public with depression |

Going public with depression | — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:57:47 +0000

By: Going public with depression | Momma Donna

Going public with depression | Momma Donna — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:20:37 +0000

By: Going public with depression |

Going public with depression | — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:45:55 +0000

[...] therapy Katherine Sharpe – In Praise of Depression Mooshinindy – The Depression Ones Miss Banshee”s Inverse Candlelight — The Slip William Styron – Darkness [...]

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:15:04 +0000

Hi there,

First time visit and really enjoyed this posts and the others I read. You’re very brave and strong to write about your life. And a great writer! Best of luck to you and with regaining the balance.

By: steinbolt1

steinbolt1 — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:46:13 +0000

Your empty suicidal words were the same as mine when I told one of the nurses in the ER that I wanted to be euthanized. I didn’t mean it. But I was trapped. What else was I supposed to do? Take the next step? My nose was already touching the wall. I couldn’t take another step. And I sure as to hell didn’t want to turn back. So I went to the ER and said my empty words. Later on I realized that they were not empty.

You’re meds stopped helping you. You’re drinking did nothing. Destroying your apartment, apologizing to your mother, and having her with you did jack shit to releave you of your mental pain. What else were you supposed to do next?

You said that you were going to slit your wrists. Why? Because you were up against the wall. There was nothing more ahead of you. You were trapped.

Your words weren’t empty. At least, not in the way you think. Those words caused your mother to phone 911. Those words admitted you to the mental ward. Those words made you realize that the wall was actually a door. So you opened it and stepped through. (God, my writing is fucking cheesy.)

My words may not mean anything to you. I don’t have the same mental illness you have, but I do have depression and anxiety, and I was also admitted to a mental ward. I’m glad I stayed.

Very little comforts me. I’ve gotten compliments from my friends and family. I brushed them all off. I’ve gotten compliments from some people who are well known writers. Brushed them off as well. I still do that. I may have meds that work (most of the time), but I’m still very critical of myself, and that’s why my words may not affect you in any way. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to send them to you.

You slipped, and your mother helped you back up. You may still be trying to regain your full balance, but you are standing. And you can still walk forward.

Good luck!

By: Greg Salvatore

Greg Salvatore — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:45:56 +0000

Like everyone else has been writing, this is a brave post. More than that, it is a well-written, truthful, no-holds-barred account of why we, as your readers, read you, why you, as a person, are special, and why Roger Ebert, as a follower, tweeted this.

Just remember: if you slip again, there are many people willing to catch you and stand you upright again. Remember that, and good luck.