18 Years

18 Years…

18 years ago, on this day, our brother walked away from his home in Menlo Park, California.  He was depressed, and anxious, and felt he lived in a crowd of people who just “didn’t get it”.

He wasn’t wrong.

He called to say he was doing ok the night before.  He apologized for being a burden.  He told us not to worry.

A week later, we were in San Francisco searching for him.

Here we are, almost two decades later.  Still searching.

And are we any better?  Do people “get it”?

Every single one of us will be affected by some kind of mental health crisis in our lifetime.   We all need to have coping mechanisms and to learn how to take care of our mental wellbeing.

We feel better after we exercise. We feel refreshed after a long talk with a good friend.  We take a vacation to decompress. We lock ourselves away and read a book.  We hug the people we love.

Some people, like Michael, have the kind of scars that have no explanation, and that never quite heal.

A chemical imbalance doesn’t have to have a reason.  There is no “why”.  And there is no easy answer.

The trick is remembering that there IS an answer, especially when all you want to do is give up.

Don’t give up.  We get it.