It’s not always rainbows and butterflies

The news of Robin Williams’ death made me gasp loudly when I read the alert come across my feed. Everyone knows I’m an, um, animated person and I visibly (and audibly) react to a lot of things, especially shocking news. It’s strange to me that I reacted so strongly to the death of someone I didn’t know, but I think it was the story behind the death that struck me.

I’ve seen hundreds of posts, tweets, and stories about depression since yesterday. Isn’t it interesting that everyone and their mothers is sharing information on depression resources and help now? Where were these thousands of shares a week ago? I’m guilty of the same thing – we’re a “what’s hot now” society and jump on the bandwagon. Granted, this bandwagon is for a good reason, but still…the bandwagon will leave the station in a few weeks and we’ll be back to our “normal” until something else happens. It’s the same with almost every issue or disease depending on the day or time – guns, mental and physical diseases, abuse, child obesity, the environment, rape, homelessness, you name it…we’re on it. While it’s a hot topic in social media.

I know you can’t spend every waking minute raising awareness for the issues that you believe in, but please don’t be so fair weathered that you’re only an advocate when it seems like the right time or popular. Speaking from experience, depression – like so many other diseases – is a 24/7, year-round illness that people live with. Share your story. Share your victories. Share your failures. Share yourself and help someone…not just today.