There are so many writers whose wonderful works we have enjoyed while they were suffering and battling with depression.
Several years ago, I read an article titled “Depression: 10 Great Authors Who Battled with This Mental Illness” **. It was a very informative read. Three women and seven men comprised the list. Of the ten on the list, four attempted suicide and two actually succeeded. It was an interesting article. There is no indication in the brief bio summaries that any of these writers received or were under continued medical observation and treatment. Their stories were disheartening, but one sometimes selfishly wonders what their writings might have been like had they not been depressed.
Would people have appreciated their work? Even if people didn’t, it’s a shame their writing was not more therapeutic for them. Don’t you agree? Depression is a very common ailment, often treated by activities such as writing, music, art, etc. Unfortunately, in their cases, it didn’t seem to help at all.
** The aforementioned article had been published via YAHOO Voices, which no longer exists. Fortunately, I located an archived copy by way of the Wayback Machine. and can give the writer proper credit.
All too often, people suffering from mental illness are overlooked, discounted, disregarded, and not properly treated. Although this is not an area of expertise for me, it is definitely a topic of interest. It’s probably a topic of interest to many people, but they don’t want to say that out loud.
Hope the related links supplied below are helpful.
♦ DON'T SUFFER! GET HELP!
SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration https://www.samhsa.gov/
RESOURCE LIBRARY - The Mental Health Coalition https://www.thementalhealthcoalition.org/resources/
Mental Health Resources | Mental Health | CDC https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/caring/index.html
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.