From darkness to light

I felt I was drowning, in the vast ocean of grief. The blurriness of my vision was making me lose clarity. I felt like crying out for help, yet I was gasping for breath. I felt numb, and the only conscious thought that lingered around my tension-ridden mind was, “I cannot go on.” No one will ever understand, the spontaneous gush of feelings my heart and mind are burdened by. Often unspoken of, such is the trauma that prevails, and painful shall remain the mental agony, which only a sufferer endures with the ultimate hope of reaching out to anyone who could sympathise. “Depression” you and I may call it, whenever we hear the misery expressed in words by its victims.

We often sympathise with those in physical pain and may at times feel empathetic about the suffering such individuals are afflicted by. Nevertheless, the mental agony many shall live through remains hidden behind a blind wall unexposed. To lend a helping hand and reach out to such souls, not many will know why we fail to do. The prolonged silence one shall encounter I believe creates a lasting void, when the mind adapts to bearing at all times a remorseless state. Such is the nature of existence a victim of depression shall eventually be rooted in when the light of life is banished.

With anxiety when one starts to suffocate, the blanket of darkness unwraps itself making those depressed feel they are compelled to walk blindfolded, taking each step with uncertainty. When someone of close acquaintance we see in physical pain, those known to us we assist swiftly with no hesitation. Yet unknowingly we ignore the needy, be it anyone whose mind is troubled by causes unexplainable. An attempt one makes to end life is often seen as an ultimate choice one is left with to resort to, when life reaches a dead end, and there is no turning back. Depression undoubtedly is a killer. It may be a choice one is forced to make at times not willingly, but the choice to save such a life should remain a social responsibility.

Not merely by sympathising and ignoring, but by extending a simple gesture of empathy if we could walk that extra mile and feel for an innocent soul, whose life is in distress and misery, their troubled minds would feel tranquil. Depression may have its interpretations, which we often believe could only be handled by the theorem of psychology. Yet for a victim to be able to call out for help and voice their agony, a medium of support is certainly needed. Human support however, is the ideal form of assistance the society at large could offer, to lives deprived of happiness that calms the mind. Peace of mind when lost, anxiety shall engulf human lives. In our hands, therefore, shall lay the responsibility to serve each other, to heal our minds and comfort our souls.

By Dr Ranali Perera

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