Behind this Smile....

I just got off the telephone with my sister after an almost 2 hour talk.  My sister is a beautiful, kind, generous and compassionate woman.  People who meet her are drawn to her kind spirit, and she has many friends who adore her.  When you first meet her, you are instantly uplifted, because she has that kind of personality.  Both my sister and I to the outside world, are always smiling, and friendly to anyone we meet. As we were talking today, we got into the subject of how people view us, and how most people don't really know what lies behind our smiles.
 
We both suffer from depression.  (There I said it, the big "D" word)  there is no shame in this word, it is a part of our lives.  We live with depression.  Some days it is so difficult to get out of bed and face the world.  It would be so much easier to crawl back under our covers, and forget the world exists. Some days we let the depression win, and we stay in bed, but most days, we force ourselves to get up, a go out, and fight to win the battle of our depression.

There are so many types of depression, and everyone suffers differently.  My sister and I choose not to allow our depression to defeat us.  We have both sought councel for this and at times we have both been medicated.  We want to live full lives.  So it's like putting makeup on in the morning...for us the makeup makes us feel better, and for us, therapy or medication do the same.  The makeup is for the outside, and the therapy and meds are for our inside.

Today during our conversation, I said to her that the people in our lives can be the strongest medicine of all.  A random act of kindess, a phone call from an old friend, the laughter of our children, the good health of our parents, or just a cup of tea with a good friend can be stronger than any antidepressant on the market.  It is these people who make us want to Smile, and these people who without even realizing it, are helping us battle our depression, just by being themselves.

So for this reason, I will get up today, and I will smile, because my sister called me, and we had a great talk.  Today, the depression won't win, because I am grateful for my sister, and she is the reason that today I will get up go out and Smile.