By Stu Whitley | Bio
So
what is to be done about depression? Much the same, I think, as
rediscovering the rational self in a time when emotions hold sway. Not
an easy task, but it’s done all the time. One disciplines oneself to
think. The brain is exercised through reading, or better yet, writing.
Journaling is a powerful tool to self-discovery, and one doesn’t need
to be a Joseph Conrad to diarize one’s thoughts. What better way to
explore the inner
By Stu Whitley | Bio
Another
balm to the damaged soul lies outdoors. The natural world, with its
fixed cycles of life, degeneration and recuperation, is a soothing
reminder that all passes eventually.
There’s a harsher truth
as well: the world is indifferent. It is neither fair nor unfair; it
simply is. Outdoors, if one is careless, disaster can easily happen.
Rushing streams and precipitous inclines may be beautiful to
contemplate, but they are neutral on the issue of
By Stu Whitley | Bio
So
what is to be done about depression? Much the same, I think, as
rediscovering the rational self in a time when emotions hold sway. Not
an easy task, but it’s done all the time. One disciplines oneself to
think. The brain is exercised through reading, or better yet, writing.
Journaling is a powerful tool to self-discovery, and one doesn’t need
to be a Joseph Conrad to diarize one’s thoughts. What better way to
explore the inner
By Stu Whitley | Bio
I
had my own struggle with depression, brought about by a confluence of
events that seemed overwhelming. In spite of my rational training and
experience as a lawyer, I was completely disabled by my loss of
perspective. I could not see beyond the shadows of perceived (and real)
threats. A feeling of being trapped is the best way to describe the
sense of hopelessness and abandonment I was experiencing.
Fear
inspires the ‘fight or flight’ response, as we all know. But
By Stu Whitley | Bio
No voice divine the storm allay’d,
No light propitious shone;
When snatch’d from all effectual aid,
We perish’d, each alone:
But I beneath a rougher sea,
And whelm’d in deeper gulphs than he
-William Cowper, The Castaway
There
are probably more things at work in the human mind than we will ever
know. Too often the turmoil we confront in our daily lives gets the
better of
us, and we succumb to a depressed state for a day, a month, or