“This will probably come as a surprise to many, but my wife, that happy, life of the party, center of attention type of gal has suffered with severe debilitating depression and anxiety for over 10 years. We’ve shared this secret with some, and with others we’ve just turned the wattage up on the fake ‘cover’ smile.”
Chipur’s at its best when it can share real-life stories. And I’m grateful to Raquel and Lee for coming forward and ‘blowing their cover’ with us. It’s that kind of sharing that smacks stigma upside the head and establishes an environment of relief and healing.
Who’s Lee Tucker? Dang if I knew – until his email arrived a week ago…
Subject: Our journey and how to help someone in need
Bill,
My wife Raquel, a happy, life of the party, center of attention type of gal has suffered with severe debilitating depression and anxiety for over 10 years. We’ve shared this secret with some, and with others we’ve just turned the wattage up on the fake ‘cover’ smile.
Two weeks ago we took the step and started ECT (electroconvulsive therapy). Why go through this now after 10 years of therapy and meds? She no longer wanted to live, just couldn’t face another day of the same old battle.
We’ve told only a few friends and family and are always asked ‘how can we help?’ I realized I get this question a lot and typically answer with some BS line like ‘your support and understanding means a lot,’ but in reality there are things you can do to help your friends who are suffering with depression. So, inspired by this question, I wrote a post for how to help a family dealing with mental health issues.
The response has been overwhelming and in an instant has changed our lives.
I’m not asking for links or credit or anything whatsoever. I just wanted to provide the content in case it would be something you would be interested in using on Chipur. We just want to help others in any way we can. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Lee
Wow, right?
So I replied to Lee, thanking him, and Raquel, for giving me the opportunity to share a very personal story on Chipur. And I asked if, in addition to his post, I could share the content of his email. Oh, I also asked why he contacted me/Chipur.
His reply…
Bill,
Thanks for the note. Please feel free to use anything you find of value.
As to why send to Chipur, throughout our journey, we have looked everywhere we can for information or advice. Chipur being one of those places.
Now that we’ve ‘gone public’ to our friends and family about what’s happening, we wanted to share in order to help others.
The post I wrote was a spur of the moment thing intended to answer the simple question ‘how can we help,’ but in our circle it has turned out to be so much more. That’s ultimately why I sent it.
Again, please feel free to use what you like. The two most recent posts on my site are related to it. And feel free to ask further questions.
Lee
Listen, I’m not going to go on and on here. I mean, the story’s told best by Raquel and Lee. So I’m encouraging you to head on over to Lee’s blog and read How to Lend a Helping Hand.
Hey, and while you’re there, be sure to read his follow-up post Thank You. And enjoy Lee’s photography and brewing pages. Really cool stuff.
You know, Chipur’s at its best when it can share real-life stories. And I’m grateful to Raquel and Lee for coming forward and “blowing their cover” with us. It’s that kind of sharing that smacks stigma upside the head and establishes an environment of relief and healing.
Oh, yeah, one last thing. I ran a three-part series on ECT four-and-a-half years ago. Here are the links…
Electroconvulsive Therapy: Gotta’ Knows ECT: The Procedure (with video) ECT: “It’s My Life. Butt-Out!”
And while you’re at it, feast your eyes upon another 650+ Chipur titles?
