Ok, here it is. This takes a serious amount of courage for me to post this due to the obvious shame if feel here, but, I think it may help someone out there who is also experiencing the same type of situation..The following is an e-mail I wrote to Jim Thorton reaching out for him for guidance and help in this terrible time.
Jim:
I have not posted in two months now due to my severe depression. My wife of 25 years (whom I love dearly left me on 5 Aug.--no hope for our marriage). I attempted an honest crack at Jerry's way out that night...and one other time. So far this past two months I have spent one 12 day stint in the hospital and another week stint in the hospital attempting to deal with this very, very serious problem. To date, I have been unable to shake this thing. I see no hope for my life and frankly the pain and torment is so great that I really do not give a rat’s rear end about anything at this point. My problem is a simply one. I HATE being locked up..and all these units can do for guys like me is lock us up. Heck, I take Jerry's way any day to the padded cell stuff.
Any suggestions. Currently I am on Celexa and the pain and suffering are horrendous to say the least.
Kindest regards,
Tom Ellison
Parents
Former Member
I applaud Tom for having the courage to post his recent experiences and I agree that he will find that severe depression is more widespread than a lot of us realize and that many of us use swimming/exercise to combat the symptoms. Some of the comments and advice generated by his openess have been excellent and the general support has been heartwarming.
I do think it is important to remember that it is up to Tom and his doctors to come up with the optimal treatment plan as this is a life-threatening disease. As with all medical problems discussed on the web, we should use caution when getting non-medical advice and contact the appropriate medical professional for help with medical problems.
I am thinking about you Tom and things will get better.
Jody Welborn, M.D.
I applaud Tom for having the courage to post his recent experiences and I agree that he will find that severe depression is more widespread than a lot of us realize and that many of us use swimming/exercise to combat the symptoms. Some of the comments and advice generated by his openess have been excellent and the general support has been heartwarming.
I do think it is important to remember that it is up to Tom and his doctors to come up with the optimal treatment plan as this is a life-threatening disease. As with all medical problems discussed on the web, we should use caution when getting non-medical advice and contact the appropriate medical professional for help with medical problems.
I am thinking about you Tom and things will get better.
Jody Welborn, M.D.