Sea otters & Robin Williams

I'm a slow processor.

I always have been.

It used to bother me. Everyone else would get it and move onto the next thing. But there I'd be, bringing up the rear.

When I heard that Robin Williams killed himself a few weeks ago, I was shocked. Like many of you, I wondered how someone so beloved and who gave so much joy could feel like there was no other option.

I'm in the therapy business, and I've sat with many people who were thinking about suicide. Before my time as a therapist, I found myself there as well. 

Like Cancer, depression can be fatal. It's a serious medical condition involving brain chemistry. And like cancer, it can be treated. Left untreated and/or without the right treatment, however, it can lead to substance abuse/overdose and suicide. 

Robin's suicide has been weighing heavily on my mind as I slowly process through it. Then, yesterday, I got a newsletter from someone whose work I like: Miss Alexandra Franzen. In her newsletter, she shared this fact about sea otters: 

They hold hands when they are sleeping so they don't drift away from each other.

Maybe these Sea Otters are onto something, as it relates to depression.

If you know someone who struggles with depression, hold his or her hand so they don't drift away.

If you struggle with depression, reach out in any way you can.