26 Little Signs You are getting over Depression
The Mghty.com
​April 2018

~ Thank you to themighty.com


To get a sense of how people with depression knew they were starting to feel better, we asked our mental health community to share little ways they knew they were recovering from depression.
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Here’s what they shared with us:
1. “When I can wake up and get ready for the day. I shower, cook, clean up the house and just face the day like a ‘normal’ person…” — Amanda T.
2. “When I start cooking my own food again instead of wasting money on fast food. When I start showering and brushing my teeth on a more normal basis. When I start to laugh with meaning again. When my hobbies become enjoyable again. When I can get myself to work on time. When I sing. When I cuddle my significant other to enjoy his presence, not just to try and feel better. When I start enjoying the little things again, like a full moon or beautiful sunset.” — Stephanie F.
3. “Laughing, really laughing and realizing in that moment you are actually happy, and you forget everything else for those few seconds and relish in the moment because it’s been so long.” — Rebecca M.
4. “When I can start reading again. My concentration and focus improves.” — Sharyn H.
5. “It’s little things for me, and it usually happens without me noticing. Caring about what I put on in the morning, wanting to cook dinner, remembering and wanting to watch my favorite TV shows, actually laughing instead of saying ‘that’s funny.’ I’ll catch myself making the bed or washing my face in the morning and realize I am actually feeling better.” — Nichole H.
6. “When I no longer go to bed praying I don’t wake up and instead go to bed smiling because I feel worthy of life and happiness.” — Megan E.
7. “When my eyes get the life back into them. (When I smile with my eyes.) Becoming productive again. Spending less time in my room.” — Amanda A.
8. “When I start doing the things I love, no matter how skilled or unskilled I am: singing passionately; dancing as though my life depended on it; baking while licking the batter off the mixing spoons; and even laughing, and going outside, taking in just how beautiful the world can be outside of my windows.” — Ashley H.
9. “When I start noticing the beauty in the sunrise, how the clouds have different colors, actually seeing the leaves on the trees instead of them just being there. When I get motivation and energy to do stuff like housework, socializing, taking a walk. When I manage to enjoy a cup of coffee, not just drinking it to kickstart my level of energy.” — Rita O.
10. “Either of these, which will seem like the easiest things in the world for some people. 1. When I find I still can and do find things funny. 2. Getting up without feeling I’m about to explode from the pressure in my head or the need to immediately get back under the safety of the duvet.” — Louise F.
11. “I become more present during the day. Instead of feeling like I am just going through the motions, I begin to feel like life isn’t a hassle. To sum it up I look forward to my days and getting out of bed.” — Anjelica M.
12. “When I’m able to look past the present. When I am able to make future plans and further be excited about them. When I can see myself accomplishing more.” — Caroline S.
13. “When I feel like I can support those around me, like my husband and my mom. Like I can carry them on my shoulders rather than being crushed by the weight.” — Emily M.
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14. “The days I accomplish something — anything — that’s when I feel like, ‘I can do this.’ After a year-long battle and months of therapy, I surprised myself when I not only played music but sang along! I imagine the true sign of getting better is when I can read, clean house daily, shower more than once or twice per week, and make a real meal more than once per week. It’s amazing how much of your life depression affects that others simply see as ‘normal.'” — Jazmyne F.
15. “Wanting to take care of myself. Simple things like taking a shower, brushing my hair, even putting make up on. Not because I have to but because I want to.” — Andrea B.
16. “When I actually try and make plans with the few friends I have left. Or I finally do household things I’ve been putting off for over a month because I don’t have the energy to get out of bed.” — Alexis M.
17. “I feel lighter. Like something has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel a warm burst of sunshine in my chest. I also feel relief.” — Sarah V.
18. “I start singing again, just humming while walking or doing things. I stop singing completely when depressed. First sign of light at the end of that dark tunnel is music back in my head and heart.” — Gaia F.
19. “When my sense of taste and smell improves and I can have lights on in the evening. (I normally live in the dark.)” — Julian N.
20. “When you can eat a meal willingly without your stomach feeling like there is a weight inside of it.” — Ashley B.
21. “Leaving the house to do things because I want to and not because I’m obligated.” — Alyse W.
22. “Singing in the car.” — Lucy D.
23. “When I wake up and don’t feel like I want to cry anymore.” — Adam B.
24. “When I no longer get angry at everything and everyone.” — Ceri C.
25. “I don’t have to force myself to smile.” — Hailie H.
26. “Colors get a little more vivid, and the world looks a little less hopeless.” — Michaela R

Thanks to BP magazine for shining a bright light on a dark topic. I am glad to be a part of a support group that helps prevent suicide. For over 13 years our group has served the Jackson, Tn. community faithfully. "Thank you" to , A Better Tomorrow inspirational support group.

TAKING SUICIDE PREVENTION UPSTREAM

Across the country, school districts are providing mental health awareness and suicide prevention training for teachers and school personnel. Some are mandated or encouraged to do so by state law, others are motivated by recent incidents, and some introduce this kind of education because suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among youth aged 15-24.

Teacher and parent training are key components in any plan to address teen suicide. Increasingly, however, communities are recognizing that kids need to learn about mental health, too. Social and emotional learning across the lifespan reduces risk factors and promotes protection factors for violence, substance abuse, negative health outcomes, and suicide. One way to provide universal student training is by including a mental health component in the standard wellness or health curriculum. School districts and individual schools can implement individual, more targeted programs as well.

Knowing how to cope and developing resilience are at the core of mental health awareness and suicide prevention efforts being implemented in Massachusetts with children as young as elementary school. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts places a high value on suicide prevention, with dedicated line-item funding in the state budget for the Department of Public Health Suicide Prevention Program. With support from state officials, the DPH has launched suicide prevention programs across the state and for people across the lifespan.

Some of the skill-building and suicide prevention programs in Massachusetts schools are

• The PAX Good Behavior Game, which has been introduced by schools in collaboration with the DPH, teaches students self-regulation, self-control, and self-management in order to create an environment that is conducive to learning. (Ages 6-12)
• The Open Circle program, which strengthens students’ social and emotional learning skills to increase pro-social behaviors and reduce problem behaviors, is utilized by many school districts. (Grades K-5)
• Whyville utilizes problem-solving and other skills to help kids learn about their emotions in an online computer game. (Teens and pre-teens)
• SOS Signs of Suicide® focuses on prevention through education by teaching students to identify symptoms of depression, suicidality, and self-injury in themselves and their peers. (Grades 8-12)
• Break Free from Depression, developed by the Boston Children’s Hospital, focuses on increasing awareness about adolescent depression, how to recognize it, and how to get help. (High school)

There are dozens of programs that schools can use to promote skills development while fostering students’ mental health and their willingness to seek and accept help for mental health concerns. SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center Best Practices Registry include searchable descriptions for a wide variety of educational programs. For high school students, the SAMHSA Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools has a comprehensive list of programs, but a search of the NREPP and BPR may yield programs added since the Toolkit was published.

What can you do? Find out how your school district handles mental health training and emotional skill building for students. If there is not currently a program and there is no interest from school officials, you might work with the parent-teacher organization, local mental health groups, and the local board of public health to raise awareness of the issue, then advocate for implementation of one or more programs. There may be grants available to cover the cost of training or there may be organizations in your community that would help subsidize the program.

The bottom line is that suicide prevention requires a comprehensive approach. It’s never too early to start and everyone – families, schools, communities, and peers that create supportive environments; individuals who learn and leverage positive coping skills; and mental and public health systems that treat and prevent risk factors – plays a part.

Your Turn

• What do you think about the mental health awareness and/or suicide prevention programs that are provided to kids in your community?
• What role should a school have in developing kids’ emotional and social skills?
• What steps will you take to improve mental health awareness and suicide prevention in your local schools?

Editor’s Note: The Families for Depression Awareness Teen Depression Webinaris an accessible, free resource for training parents, teachers, and others who work with youth to recognize depression, talk about depression with parents and youth, and know what to do to help a young person struggling with depression. Register for the Teen Depression Webinar live with Dr. Michael Tsappis on September 30. 

Thanks to the MA Department of Public Health Suicide Prevention Program and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center for their support in developing this post.

Gun Violence Killed At Least 80 People The Week Prior To Elliot Rodger's Rampage

Sam Stein, Jason Cherkis05/28/14 12:00 AM ET

WASHINGTON --The Memorial Day weekend saw a community eviscerated by gun violence that left several dead and many more injured. But it wasn't UC Santa Barbara that witnessed this particular round of bloodshed. It was New Orleans. By weekend's end, the city had seen 19 people shot, four fatally. On Friday, a fight broke out at a high school graduation party that resulted in one person being killed and seven wounded. On Sunday, three men were shot with an assault rifle. That night, a murder took place at a Cajun seafood joint. On Monday morning, a triple shooting happened right outside a hospital, where people sitting in a car were hit with bullets in their backs, arms and legs. All survived. That same day, a 17-year-old died after being shot multiple times. Even earlier, a man riding his bike was shot under an overpass. The day ended with ahomicide in the Lower Ninth Ward. Outside of New Orleans, the U.S. was pocked with bad news. In the week prior to Elliot Rodger's shooting spree in Isla Vista, there were at least 80 gun-related deaths across the country, according to a Huffington Post analysis of local news reports. That these shootings failed to garner the national attention that the one in Isla Vista did shouldn't shock anyone who has followed the gun control debate. High-profile instances of gun violence are more likely to grab the spotlight than the everyday scourge of gun-related killings. And certainly, the shooting of three (and stabbing of three others) by the 22-year-old son of a Hollywood director who happened to leave a dark, depressing trail of self-made YouTube videos qualifies as high-profile. But instances such as the one at UC Santa Barbara are rare in respect to gun-related homicides. In fact, FBI data shows that there were 900 people who died in mass shootings from 2006 through 2012. By contrast, firearms were used in 11,078 homicides in 2010 alone,according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And for those on the frontline of the gun control debate, it's a bit of a head-scratcher as to how the press tends to cover instances of violence. "There's a grim calculus in the heads of journalists about what makes a shooting newsworthy," said Mark Glaze, executive director of the Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety. "The total number killed and injured tends to be variable one. The role of young people as perpetrators or victims is a close number two." Glaze argued that press coverage was actually becoming more comprehensive, with reporters "actually paying more attention to the 33 daily gun murders in America than they did five or 10 years ago." That may be true. But, unlike with Rodger's killing spree, there was no national news coverage for the killings in New Orleans. Indeed, unless the shooting involved an athlete or a TV star, the only media that covered gun-related killings the week before Rodger took up arms was in the communities affected. Below are the local stories that The Huffington Post found from the week prior to Rodger's rampage. Alabama:

• Christopher George Handley was shot to death on May 20.
• James Madden was shot to death on May 17.
• Hassan Johnson, 20, was killed on May 19.
• 34-year-old Michael Thornton was killed May 18.

Arizona:

• Ramon Garcia was shot to death on May 17.
• Charla Faust was shot to death on May 20.
• Faustino Solis Garcia, 23, and Kassandra Medina, 20, were shot to death on May 21.

Arkansas:

• Douglas Cloyes, 72, was killed in a domestic disturbance on Sunday.
• James Green, 56, was chased out of his apartment and fatally shot on Sunday.

California:

• A shooting at a barbershop left one dead and three injured
• Sunday night.Derrick Whitfield, 23, was shot to death at the Potrero Hill housing complex on May 21.
• Gail Temple, 75, died from a gunshot wound on May 16.
• April Jace, 40, was shot to death on May 20, reportedly by her husband, actor Michael Jace.
• A 26-year old mom was killed by stray bullet in Compton on Tuesday.
• Anthony Johnson, 28, was shot to death on Monday.
• A man shot in Oakland on Monday became the city's 31st homicide of the year.
• Leonicio Banuelos was shot to deathon Saturday.
• Janet Jimenez, 17, "was riding in a carlate Friday with friends when someone fired into the vehicle, striking her in the upper torso and killing her."
• A Stockton, California, shooting and fire left one dead on Sunday.
• A 69-year-old was shot dead by an armed robber on May 16 while hiking with his 76-year-old companion.
• There was a triple shooting in San Bernardino on May 16 that resulted in the deaths of 21-year-old David Lawler, his 20-year-old half brother Terry Freeman and cousin Kavin Johnson.
• Alex Gines, 23 was shot to death on May 17.
• A woman shot to death in Hyde Park in Los Angeles on Monday.

Colorado:

• Marcus Anthony Armstrong, 44, was shot to death on May 19.

Florida:

• Clausell Stevens, 23, was shot to death on May 18.
• Alex Mazzan, 20, was shot to death on May 19.
• Frank Carl Jones III was shot to death on May 18.
• Victor Navarro, 24, was shot to deathat a barbershop after demanding Xanax and brandishing a weapon.
• Terrell Williams, 30, was reportedlyshot to death while in passenger seat of the truck that was not his.

Georgia:

• Marshal Tucker, 48, was found deadof a gunshot late Monday night.

Illinois:

• Juwan Williams, 18, was shot on May 18 and died two days later.
• Kayshaun Hall, 17, was shot to death May 19.
• Leonard Goldman, 29, was shot to death on May 19.
• Lewis Jenkins, 38, was shot to death on May 21.
• Brian McKinney, 20, was shot to death on May 22.
• Robert Waldon, 18, was shot to death on May 22.
• Kevin Diaz, 14, was shot to death on May 22.

Indiana:

• Two men were shot to death at the front door of a home in Indianapolis late Monday night.

Kentucky:

• Crystal Parker, 25, died from an apparent gunshot wound on May 19. Police arrested and charged her estranged boyfriend.

Louisiana:

• Early Tuesday morning or late Monday night, a 16-year-old male was shot dead in Tangipahoa Parish.

Maryland:

• James Lee Butler, 28, was shot (multiple times) and killed on Saturday.
• Davon McLaurin Sr., 37, was shot dead on Wednesday morning.
• John Jackson III, a 40-year-old father of two, was shot to death late last week.
• Rodolfo Miguel Cervantes, 31, wasfound dead on Friday afternoon.

Massachusetts:

• Shannon Richardson, 25, was shot several times while walking a streeton Wednesday. Taken to a hospital, he was later pronounced dead.

Michigan:

• Johnny Clyburn, an active duty Air Force sergeant, was shot to death on Tuesday morning. The suspect was a 19-year-old man who was the son of the women he was scheduled to marry.

Mississippi:

• A man was shot inside a Ford F-250 pickup truck late last week and died of a gunshot wound to the neck.

Missouri:

• Darrah Lane, 17, and Leon Davis, 27,were found shot to death in a car on May 21.

Nevada:

• An adult male died from apparent multiple gunshot wounds near the Desert Inn Road on May 22.
• An aspiring rapper named "Hollywood Will" died from a shot in the chest during a fight at a party in the Palms Hotel Casino on Thursday.

New Mexico:

• Jose Mesa, 27, was shot to death on Sunday. Police arrested 61-year-old Enrique Carmona.

New York:

• Lamont Smith, 45, was fatally shotnear a school on May 21.

North Carolina:

• Markee Watson, 26, was shot just after 4 a.m. on May 17. Medicspronounced him dead on the scene.
• Gary Lane Jr., 36, was shot and killedearly Saturday morning.

Ohio:

• 50-year-old Tyrone Hilton was fatally shot in the head and his 28-year-old son Lamont Quarterman, was shot in the arm. A young girl witnessed the shooting, which happened on Sunday.
• A 28-year-old man was found with gunshot wounds to the chest by police on Monday. He died from his injuries in the hospital.
• 21-year-old Raheem Stenson wasshot just before midnight on March 17.

Oklahoma:

• Jesse Lee Taylor, 24, was shot to death on May 18.

Pennsylvania:

• Tezjuan Taylor, 20, was fatally shot outside a Sunoco gas station early Saturday morning.

South Carolina:

• Mitzi Larson was shot to death the day after her 42nd birthday on May 17. Her husband has been charged with the murder.
• Tyrone Moore Jr., 21, brother of an NFL star, shot to death May 17outside a nightclub.
• Shamoray Antonio Robinson, 18, was shot to death on May 18 following an argument at a party.

Tennessee:

• 26-year-old William Brock was fatally shot by his 67-year-old father, Ralph, on Sunday in what was described as a domestic dispute.
• Michael Richard, 47, was killed by the man with whom he was walking on May 23, law enforcement officials allege.

Texas:

• Two people were shot to death on May 19. The victims were identified as Dylan Headrick, and Rudy Hernandez III
• William Hill, 29, was shot to death at a shopping center on Wednesday.
• A man was shot to death at a northwest Houston hotel on Thursday morning.
• Jennilynn Montana, 6-year-old girl,was fatally shot Sunday.

Virginia:

• 18-year-old Elijah-Juan Zaire Vanness of Hampton, Virginia, was shot to death on May 16.

Washington:

• Monique V. Williams, 29, was found dead on Monday in what police suspect is a murder-suicide involving her boyfriend.

Washington, D.C.:

• Simwone Keith Milstead, 36, was shot to death on May 17.
• Antwone Dwayne Tolson, 19, was shot and killed on May 19.
• Ronnell Daniels, 40, was shot and killed on May 19.

Wisconsin:

• A 34-year-old man from Milwaukeewas shot dead on May 17 after what police suspect was a fight.
• One person was shot to death on Saturday in Plover, Wisconsin.