TW: Depression, anxiety disorders, panic attack, thoughts of self-harm.
“The weirdest thing about a mind is that you can have the most intense things going on in there but no one else can see them.”
And maybe because of that, it is hard to make people understand what we are going through. In this book, Matt shared his journey from depression, anxiety, and panic attacks to a healed life. What makes this book unique is its delicate, heart-wrenching, and personal language.
Mental illness is like physical illness. But unfortunately, it’s still taboo. It can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you have got everything. Depression and sadness are not the same. It’s not a phase, it doesn’t vanish with some magic. It’s a long journey to fight and lose, again stand up to fight till you win.
One more important and heartbreaking thing about depression is the pain it brings. You can be physically fit but this can make you feel physical pain. And all you would want is the absence of this pain. Sometimes it becomes unbearable, that living becomes the most difficult thing to do.
This process is different from person to person. He shared what helped him. It’s not a self-help book that will give you some techniques to be the better version of yourself. Matt didn’t force any of his ways which I love the most. He acknowledged the people who helped him, his family, his partner Andrea, and last but not the least; books. He mentioned how books saved him, and how he got into writing. In these 5 parts with small chapters, he discussed the syndromes, and how to be with a depressed person.
But why do you read this book? Because it ends with positive notes. Not the forced positive ones, but with a ray of hope from the person who came back from hell. This is one of those books that helps me like once it helped Matt.
“Hang in there if you can. Life is always worth it. Depression might be a hell of a price to pay for waking up to life, and while it is on top of you it is one that could seem worth paying.”