I'm lucky in that I've never suffered from depression myself. I mean, everyone has down days and feels miserable from time to time, but those feelings have never affected my day-to-day life. That doesn't mean it hasn't affected me personally though, as my Mother suffered from it after her relationship with my Dad ended when I was 17. They'd been together since they were 18, married at 20 and had me at 22. Her relationship with my dad was all she'd ever known, and all of a sudden it was gone and she was a single parent with 3 teenage children, half the income she'd had previously and debts coming out of her behind. It's no wonder it became too much for her. Very quickly she was struggling to cope, barely holding onto her job and drinking heavily. The real low came when I came home from my Saturday job at a chemists one lunchtime, took her a cup of tea into her room and she told me she'd taken an overdose the night before, because she wanted to go to sleep and not wake up. The resulting afternoon at a busy South London A&E department means I know what hell depression is, how it can bring someone to their knees instantly and without warning, and how it can change people beyond recognition.
Thankfully, my dear Mum got the help she needed and a combination of medication and therapy got her through it. Not everyone is so lucky though, and the stigma of talking about depression will prevent people from seeking help. There ARE people who can help without judging you. Mental Health UK is a great place to start, as is Blurt, a place to talk about depression openly and honestly.
Anyway, on to the nails. I wanted to make my green manicure a bit of lighthearted fun. I used one coat of Barry M Spring Green, and topped with two coats of Pop Rocks Groupie, a green glitter I got on ebay. Groupie is a sheer forest green jelly packed with different sized holo glitter. I tried using it on it's own, but I knew I'd never get it opaque, so layered it instead.
Thank you for reading this post, it was a hard one to write but I wanted to share and hopefully reduce the stigma that surrounds depression in it's many forms.
Have you created a green manicure for Depression Awareness Month? Please post your links in the comments if you have, I'd love to see it!
Hx
Thank you for this post - I understand how it wouldn't have been the easiest to write, but I certainly appreciate your honesty, & your highlighting of the issue..
ReplyDeleteI didn't know it was Depression Awareness Month. I've heard NOTHING about it at all (before now of course)! I think that's a real shame - how is it going to raise maximum awareness if the majority of people don't know about it?! Grr.
Anyway, like I say, I certainly appreciated this post - & your nails look lovely btw!
www.heart-shaped-bruise.blogspot.com
looks very pretty
ReplyDelete