Depression sneaks up on me like a mugger on a dark and lonely night.
I can walk into a dark alley knowing the mugger could be there, but I’m still surprised when the shadowy figure steps into my path and demands everything I have and then leaves me bleeding. That happened again tonight — and I’m in a dark hole trying to crawl back into the light.
Many people have far worse struggles with depression than I do. Some people feel suicidal, but I never have. Some people are unable to function well enough to support themselves, but I can make it through a day without most people realizing there’s anything wrong. Some people get hit with crippling bouts of depression and can’t even tell you why.
But I know why I slip into that dark hole every now and then. I walk a fine line between sanity and madness. I know sanity well and live there as my native land, but I’m sensitive to the siren song that comes from the chaos of madness.
When I’m lonely, I get too close to the rocky shadows where those sirens live.

Suicide ends pain of depression, but scars loved ones left behind
Depression can be mind’s way of saying, ‘Hey, we’re way off track’
A year later, my father’s death looms large, but I have no regrets
Should I become prophet of doom or fade quietly into the darkness?
Correcting an old error: there’s no such thing as ‘We the People’
Why can it feel strange to lose homes we haven’t seen for years?
Maybe we’re doomed to replay past until we finally get it right
It’s OK to volunteer for tornado cleanup, but only if you’re not a pro