Depression, substance abuse disorders and more---please don't keep scrolling by if you need the help.

An old and dear friend of mine posted the following the other day:

Sadly, we don’t always know the depths of someone’s depression until it is too late. May I please have even 1 friend to copy and re-post? I am trying to demonstrate that someone is listening. Just one. Anyone.

I'm not one of those people who forwards these kinds of messages on on Facebook, but this blog has carried messages on depression, suicide, substance abuse disorders, addiction, and the need to listen to and respect and help everyone who needs it since we started this project. I have lost a lot of people to depression, suicide, and substance abuse disorders over the years.

We should not have to plead for people or for attention and help.

If you're that person who needs the hand up or the shoulder, or if you know someone who does, here are some numbers. If you're that person wondering or doubting if this does any good, here are some memes to help you think it through.

(This blog supports the creation of a national healthcare service and Medicaid for all, and we believe that healthcare is a human right.)

Some gentle and affirming checks-ins and reminders for the new year

We are only six days into the new year, but some folks who I know are already doing check-ins and reminders about how to get through what feel like increasingly difficult times. I think that many of these reminders and check-ins are positive. Here are three that I especially like.

Kristen Kennedy put this out:

Alan Felts put the following out:

Lord, give me strength in this year to come. Last year was a fantastic blessing because I finally began to learn how to let go and let God. With new roles and responsibilities, I plan on continuing that philosophy this year. If I'm being honest, the first few days of January made me feel like Elijah. I wanted to find a tree, take a nap, and let an angel bring me food. God disagreed because, as most know, we don't even have Uber Eats down here.

Matthew 17:20 has been one of my primary life verses for many years. In my imperfections, I have seen God turn ugly into beautiful many times. Most of those times were when I was down to that mustard seed faith and energy. Those days are fewer and farther between now, tho, thankfully. I have dear family, friends, and colleagues that surround me with goodness and concern. That has been the true blessing of 2022. Being home has been what I needed.

Thank you all for everything this past year. Especially thank you all for your positive comments and love for our work at the McDowell County Commission on Aging, Inc. I look forward to many more adventures and laughs in the coming months!

"He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”.
- Matthew 17:20 ESV

(I'm sorry that I could not reproduce Mr. Felts' Facebook post as he sent it around. If you visit his Facebook page you will some outstanding photography.)

Shirley Noe Swiesz, the woman who does the Journey of a Mountain Woman Facebook page, sent out the following. She is the author of several books and I greatly enjoy her posts. She tells us that her books "Coal Dust and Mountain Stranger are spicy but A Great Heart is not."

Good morning! Getting close to afternoon! I’m trying really hard to take each day, one at a time, and not try to do it a whole year at a time! And as the days go by I hope you are all in a safe space for that is what our home should be, a wonderful safe place, no matter how humble. I think we often get tied up in the idea that larger will make us happier but we carry happiness inside us in a tiny spot called our heart or soul. The world outside has far too much influence on that but we can keep trying. May God keep you safe in whatever storms the year may bring and I hope you dance a jig of happiness whenever you get a chance!

The suicide prevention crisis line is 988. Using alone? Please call 1-800-484-3731. See below for more.

 

For friends with substance abuse disorders and for friends struggling with mental health crises

Lets give anyone a helping hand who needs it.

And for people in West Virginia:

24/7 support is available for children and youth in West Virginia experiencing emotional crises, including suicidal thoughts, through Help4WV. Call or text 1-844-435-7498.

The Save Lives Oregon website is here

Many thanks to the Marion County, West Virginia QRT & Harm Reduction workers.

Some things to study on and smile on

Welch, West Virginia at dusk two days ago. Photo from The Welch News.

 I can argue the politics and merits of coal all day long, but a full coal train pulling through the hollers and valleys and patches with its rumble and whistle and earth-shaking will always grab my heart. This is from Coalfield, W. Va. on December 20, 1987.

From the Standing Bear Network

 

Two from the Midnight Mom Devotional

Tonight we pray for the momma waiting for "someday". Lord, maybe she thinks to herself, "Someday I'll have a break, or it will be easier, or health will come, or money won't be so tight, or I'll have more time or I won't be so sad". Lord whatever the "someday" is that she's is waiting for help her know that You are with her now and will be with her when her "someday" comes which will be in Your perfect timing. Please give her peace and rest. We ask in Jesus’s name, Amen.


Tonight we pray for the momma who is exhausted to her core. Lord, she’s not just tired. She is at the end of herself. She has given every last ounce of her strength. Maybe it was something unexpected that came up or maybe it was just a little bit of everything this week. No matter the cause of her stress, Lord, we are asking You to help her. We are asking You to supernaturally strengthen her mind, body, and spirit. Remove all anxiety, worry and exhaustion and replace it with peace, joy and hope for tomorrow. We ask in Jesus’s name, Amen.

Please check out the Midnight Mom Devotional page on Facebook and their book of devotions.

For our sisters and brothers struggling with substance abuse disorders and addiction

I know that many sisters and brothers are struggling with substance abuse disorders and addictions and that this time of year can be especially tough. Believe me, I know that. This section here isn't intended to save anyone, but maybe there is something here that can help or that people can find useful and pass on to others. This is a small effort, and may be inconsequential, but if we build hope and support we're going to help and eventually win.

The Holiday Season is upon us, please remember that it’s okay to not be okay during this time. Remember that you are loved, even if it’s not be the folks you think should be providing that love.
Also remember to be safe! Don’t use alone if possible. Carry naloxone and other supplies to help keep you here with us. Call the Never Use Alone Hotline (800-484-3731) or a trusted friend if you don’t have someone to use with.

You matter, you are important, and we want you here.

  

Our brother Steven Cline wrote this a while back. He thinks that he might make a song out of it, but he's graciously offering this up because he feels like it might help someone. I agree--it will help someone, and can help many people. And i hope that it does become a song.

 
it all started in my teens
trying to fill the emptiness inside of me
feeling like a loaner, the devil started tempting me
with pleasures of this world that would make me lose everything
I've tried it with girls, and I've tried it with pills
I've tried it by drinking to the bottom of the bottle
but that void inside of us only Jesus can fill
there's pleasure in sin only for a season
when the funs all gone your left with addiction
strongholds and chains weren't mentioned
if not for the sin I wouldn't know deliverance
God has forgiven me for all the wrong I've done
cause of the blood shed in the cross by his son
he's the king of kings the Lord of lords
he forgave all of mine hell forgive all of yours

Our baggage and our solidarity

The following post is getting passed around the Internet. Whatever its authenticity or original intent, many of us are going to be moved by this. And this got me thinking. Would something like this work in other settings like your church or synagogue or mosque, or at a union meeting, or at other community gatherings? In my world this is about learning solidarity. If you don't learn it as a kid, where and how can you learn it later in life?

This starts my 22nd year of teaching middle school. Yesterday was quite possibly one of the most impactful days I have ever had.

I tried a new activity called “The Baggage Activity”. I asked the kids what it meant to have baggage and they mostly said it was hurtful stuff you carry around on your shoulders.

I asked them to write down on a piece of paper what was bothering them, what was heavy on their heart, what was hurting them, etc. No names were to be on a paper. They wadded the paper up, and threw it across the room.

They picked up a piece of paper and took turns reading out loud what their classmate wrote. After a student read a paper, I asked who wrote that, and if they cared to share.

I’m here to tell you, I have never been so moved to tears as what these kids opened up and about and shared with the class.

Things like suicide, parents in prison, drugs in their family, being left by their parents, death, cancer, losing pets (one said their gerbil died cause it was fat), we giggled and on and on.

The kids who read the papers would cry because what they were reading was tough. The person who shared (if they chose to tell us it was them) would cry sometimes too. It was an emotionally draining day, but I firmly believe my kids will judge a little less, love a little more, and forgive a little faster.
This bag hangs by my door to remind them that we all have baggage. We will leave it at the door. As they left I told them, they are not alone, they are loved, and we have each other’s back.

I am honored to be their teacher.

Credit: Karen Wunderlich Loewe

Think about it, smile about it, pray on it, pass it on or leave it on the shelf...

(Some of my friends will get this, some won't.)