Grief and depression is a lonely place to be. It can suck you into its dark hole.

Our mental health is so important. It’s necessary to get help when things aren’t right. Do you often wake for the day, and never want to leave your bed? Do you feel numb to everything? Do you not find happiness in the things that used to bring you joy? Do you feel compounded grief and sadness? Do you hate to leave your house, not wanting to talk to anyone? Do you feel like no one else can even understand what you are going through? Does the thought of talking about it to someone cause more grief, and sound so daunting?

If so, you are not alone. I am right there too. These questions aren’t from a depression questionnaire I found online. They are from me alone.

Even though the idea of talking about how your feeling sounds exhausting, know that it is essential. Confide in at least one person you trust, to share your feelings. Find a grief partner, where you can share your experiences with each other. See a counselor. Go for walks. Take positive steps to take care of yourself. You ARE worth it.

People will tell me, ‘Your dad would want you to be happy.’ I agree! He would not want me to sulk and me unhappy. But there are times that I am not happy. That is just inevitable with grief. We are going to have days where we are unhappy, lonely, upset, angry, devastated, depressed. All those negative emotions. And it’s ok to feel that way. We just have to know when enough is enough, that we may need to find help. When we have more sad days than not.

It’s also normal to have good days. Where we can enjoy our family and friends. We can find peace and joy. We shouldn’t feel guilty about it either.

I listened to a really great speaker at church a few months back. My kids know her from Grandma Ginger Stories. She said that we are all going to have bad days. Embrace those days. Cry your eyes out. Eat cake if you want to. Lay in bed all day. Wake up and start the day new! Get yourself off the floor and live your day. You can cry, but come out fighting! We have a life to live. We don’t have time for pity.

We have a choice. We can lay in bed all day and watch the many days pass by. Or, we can live our life. Love our family. Cherish our friendships. Be happy. When we look back on it all, will we think, ‘I led a great life, feeling sorry for myself. Just laying around, not accomplishing anything. Letting the days go by and the chances to embrace happiness’? Or, we can lead a great life! A life of no regrets! It’s not easy by any means. There are going to be some pretty tough days. The one good thing about days is that the sun always sets. And the sun always rises for the start of a NEW day. A new little beginning. Enjoy it!

~Sarah