Life on Wheels (41 page)

Do something unexpectedly nice for someone.

Do something unexpectedly nice for yourself.

Remember to eat as healthfully as possible. Keeping your body well nourished will speed your return to your happier self.

Observe good hygiene and grooming. You’re less likely to feel depressed when you feel clean and look your best.

Part of your goal in breaking out of your depression is to break out of patterns—of thought and of behavior. So, while taking action is beneficial, you also will want to make changes in what you do and how you think. Writes Michael Yapko, in
Breaking the Patterns of Depression
:

Eighty to ninety percent of people with clinical depression can be treated effectively. Almost everyone benefits to some extent from treatment, which usually involves a combination of drug therapy and psychotherapy—exploring your feelings and life events with a trained therapist.

Many depressed people fail to seek treatment, despite the fact, as Yapko writes:

Having a disability—regardless of the physical severity—sometimes leads people to the point where they feel their situation is unchangeable and hopeless. They see themselves as having no options, no place to move, no resources for change, and no one to turn to who could make a difference. Perhaps the thought of adapting to a life with disability seems unacceptable—too far out of line with their notion of what it means to have a full, rich life. In a moment of utter despair and darkness, a person may consider that he would be better off ending his life.

The serious consideration of suicide should not be kept secret. If you find yourself thinking that death is the best solution for you, tell someone right away. Many cities have a 24-hour hotline (look in the yellow pages under “crisis intervention”—if there is no agency specific to your need, any of the listed numbers should be able to help you). No matter how hopeless or ruined you believe your life to be, one phone call can save it.

If you are worried that someone you love might be thinking about suicide, don’t be afraid to say, “I’m concerned you are thinking about taking your life.” It can be a great relief for the person to know someone is willing to listen. Encourage him or her to get immediate professional counseling. The following are warning signs to watch for:

Withdrawing from friends and family

Changes in appetite, weight, behavior, level of activity, or sleep patterns

Making self-deprecating comments

Talking, writing, or hinting about suicide

Purposefully putting personal affairs in order, such as tending to a will or life insurance

Giving away possessions

Sudden change from extreme depression to being “at peace” (may indicate a decision to attempt suicide)

There is ample evidence that people with even the most significant disabilities—including those who are mostly paralyzed and ventilatordependent—consider the value of their lives to be very high. Most medical professionals know this, but you could find yourself influenced by people who do not believe quality of life is possible with a disability. They are wrong. Make sure whoever is helping you is committed to uncovering every conceivable possibility to enrich your life and make it worth living for you.