Man Commits Suicide at DLH

[Tom]

Not directed at anyone in particular, just my thoughts/experience:

What I didn't grasp, or at least fully understand, untill my depression worsened was that for people with depression (and, I assume, other mental illnesses), the world in which they perceive themselves as living, and which is the source of their depressive feelings, is as real to them as the "regular" world is to those without mental health issues. The actions they take, be they suicide or obsessive hand washing or talking to the voices they hear, are to them the logical and rational responses to what they experience. It is easy for us to say that they should do this or that, but they can't be expected to react to the world in what we see as a rational (or moral) way when the organ with which they perceive that world is broken.

Luckily, my depression was mild (relative to what it could be), and I had the capability at a certain point to step back and say "this isn't how things are supposed to be," and get help. But I experienced that other world for a little while, and I know that it's not as far away as it seems and very easy to get lost in.