If I say "The Thousand-yard stare",to someone in the military,they would know what I mean.The phrase means when you see a person looking and focusing on nothing. Their eyes are numb.Some over the years,have called this look ,"The two-thousand yard stare."
Medics in a 911 call will look for it. It helps to decide how serious the issue is.
I saw this an hour ago and it shocked me. She is a relative,someone I am very close to.
I have always thought she was the strongest person I know.Finally,I asked quietly, "are
you okay?""Finally,she looked at me,and said,"No.Michael I am not."
This 68 year old lady is losing her house in weeks. My mouth dropped. This is a lady who was the manager of five banks. She had a very high credit limit when she was asked for a loan.I mean she GRANTED loans to others.
She had plenty of money when she retired. She has been supporting a son and his family for years. He is 28 and had no insurance. My relative spent thousands on medical
care for her grandkids.
My biggest fear is not that she might loose her house.My fear is her Depression. "Michael,my life is behind me, all I ever knew was work.""Now I am broke and alone."
I am getting her care,she may need some temporary medication.If only the ACA had been there for her broke son.
When someone you know is depressed,you will easily learn they"re not simply having "a bad day". Take whats bothering them and see if it can be fixed. If it can"t,work on stressing everyone has options in life. I explained how valuable she is to me. She can be an advisor to others in her situation. I urged her to think "Globally". She could be living in Syria,or Africa, maybe Iraq or Yemen.There,you can die any second for living
in the wrong country.
There are many different kinds of depression,that"s why a doctor should be involved.
Even the strongest around you may slip,they are Human. Jump in and take control if you can.
Many folks kill themselves and never say anything or leave a note.
Life can be brutal. I have failed and fallen so many times in my life, I have lost count.
You are measured not by your failures,but how quickly you pick yourself off the ground.The great Michael Jordan talked about all his "failures" playing basketball. It "s
because of all those failures,that he became great. Thomas Edison once was asked
how he felt failing 700 times trying to make a lightbulb."I didn't fail,I found 700 ways
it didn't work."
Any person has value while they are alive. They matter to humanity. They matter to their loved ones or to a friend. They matter because they can help someone else.
EVERYONE needs some kind of help.They matter if only to give an animal a home.
The depressed person needs to "change the channel." They should define themselves
as someone who loves others,perhaps put a smile on a sad face.
I had a Vet friend who once had a gun in his mouth,he stopped,lost his home and family.He has moved and is helping a new community build a beautiful new park.
I talk,but now I am on a mission,to help someone regain her smile.
-Look,I don't want to wax philosophic,
but I will say that if your alive you've
got to jump around a lot.
for life is the very opposite
of death,and therefore you must
at very least think noisy and colorfully,
or your 're not alive.
-Mel Brooks