Out of the Woods

(c) Shubhrata Prakash

Conventional wisdom talks about not being able to see the wood for the trees. 

When you have Depression, it is just the other way round - you are not able to see the trees for the wood. The wood looks too dense. Too suffocating. It comes closing in on you. Everything appears dark, and there seems to be no way out. You can't see anything except the trees and more trees and then some more - all around. And you are totally lost. In the woods.

It is time, now, to turn conventional wisdom on its head.

The trick to beating depression lies in seeing the trees for exactly what they are - Trees. Compartmentalize. Try to see each individual tree. It is just that - one tree. Place a mark there. Then move on to the next one - another tree. Place another mark there. Just go on like this. Don't look back. Don't let depression trick you into second guessing yourself. Keep away from the what-ifs. Just keep marking tree after tree, and go on till you reach a clearing. Pause. Take a few deep breaths. Then go on till you come out of the woods.

This book may just help you see the trees for the trees. And even help you find a way out of the woods.

Please place your order here

My Second Book : 'The D Word'

The D Word

(c) Shubhrata Prakash

To hell and back is a long way – to go and live to tell the tale.

That is exactly what Depression feels like. Like falling down a black hell hole. Like the rabbit hole in ‘Alice in Wonderland’: nothing is what it seems to be, nothing is what it was.

By Depression, I mean Major Depression, or Major Depressive Disorder, as it is technically called. And to set the record straight, Depression is NOT sadness. Major Depressive Disorder, or MDD, is a mood disorder, a mental illness. It is accompanied by changes in brain structure and chemistry. Low moods or sadness is just one of its many manifestations. MDD has physical symptoms as well as psychological symptoms. There is no catastrophic life event that brings on MDD. And……

……it can happen to ANYBODY!

When I was felled by Depression, I had no clue what it was all about. When I was floundering through the mental and physical swamps and sinkholes that Depression brought to my life, I tried desperately to understand what this illness is, how I could help myself fight it and how I could get to the other side. I looked around me for stories of people who had made it through and how they had done it. I did come across many success stories, but not one of them Indian.

Considering the fact that one out of every ten persons in the world suffers from a depressive episode some time in their lives, this should have been surprising. But, then, it was not. Actually, it would have been a wonder if I had found one, for we don’t talk about the ‘D’- word, even if we suffer from it. There is much of social stigma attached to the ‘D’ – word. And that’s a double whammy – first, surviving the illness, and then, surviving the social stigma.

That is when I decided that the ‘D’ needs to be brought out into the open – we need to talk about it. We need to fight the social stigma, and that can happen only when there is more awareness about it. People like me, who struggle with Depression for years and years, should have more access to information and knowledge about their condition. They need to know that it’s ok to be afflicted with a mental illness, which is not in their hands, much like any physical illness. The why’s and how’s of getting MDD do not matter. What matters is how to manage the condition and how to get better.

I have been to hell, and back – such a long journey. And I have lived to tell the tale.

Please help me get the word on ‘The D Word’ out there. People who suffer from Depression and their families, as well as society in general, would benefit tremendously, if we opened up about – ‘The D Word’.