For those of you who are very depressed or anxious, read this...

I have written on this board many times when I have been in the depths of despair. The support of all of you out there who understand what is like to be depressed or have anxiety has been tremendously helpful to me in the past. Today, with the help of my family dr., a therapist, and meds,  I am in a better place. Two girlfriends drove 2 1/2 hours to come visit me this weekend who know and understand what I've been going through. I hid it from them for many years, but now they know and they love and support me anyway. We laughed, went to a movie, went shopping, and went out to eat. When we came back to my house, we laughed and talked about things that matter. Our worries and fears about our kids, grandkids, mothers and lives in general. I filled them in on where I am on the continuum of "recovery" from deep depression and anxiety. It has been a journey of trial and error, and celebrating small improvements. (I can now drive myself to my therapiest appointments - hurrah!). We drank a little wine, had cheese, grapes, and crackers, and just let ourselves "be". My dear hubby went to visit a friend of his for the weekend so we could have the house to ourselves. God bless him. As I write this, I send much love and support to those of you who are now going where I have been and may be again someday. Depression and anxiety are my foes and I struggle against them every day, but lately it has been much better. There is hope. Hang in there and keep trying until you find what works for you. One thing my hubby and I do every morning is read a short chapter of inspiration from the "Daily Om" book. Then we talk about how it applies to us. It helps us start our day off on a positive note. One of my friends gave me another inspirational book that I look forward to using once we finish this one. Be well. Sending you all hugs and support and thank yous for being there when I needed you most.