It's been a dark weekend indeed in Ithaca, with the sun shying away and conversations fixating on multiple suicides in Cornell. Three now in a month, all of them jumped off a same bridge and plunged to a same gorge, to a same fate. Maybe we wonder, what's in their minds before they made the final decision, or what kind of pain they are dealing with. But, whatever it is, it's something that their coping mechanism couldn't take, and my heart goes out to them.
When I came here, I was told that the winter could be dangerous. I heard something I thought was extreme back then, " it's so gloomy that a part of your soul dies." Now I know it turns out to be kind of true. Last week I passed by this poster that talked about seasonal depression: it's when the dark winter makes you depressed. One of the therapy includes a light therapy where they put you in a room brightened with artificial lighting. I put on a cynical smile, but not anymore...
I guess everybody experience depression every once in a while in their lives. I know I do. Some might experience more with constant struggles of fear and anxiety. And when we talk about it, it's hard because in these fears our thoughts are distorted from the truth and others don't understand why we think that way. We also have different degree of coping ability which makes our fears seem like nothing of significance to others. Thus, responses that we get might not be satisfying nor comforting. So then from my own experience of handling life's discomforts, I learn to just listen and take whatever others are feeling as real, important, and serious to them.
I love what Cornell's President Skorton stated in his e-mail: If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help. It is a sign of wisdom and strength.
As prideful as we can be and as knowledgeable as we become, we should learn that success is not a personal glory. There are a thousand people behind every story: nobody copes alone, it's just too much. I read that there are two ways to handle depression: lower the encounters to your fears or increase your coping ability. I'd say to the latter, if you can't, borrow somebody else's.
And here's one of my favorite songs that reminds me of being thankful even when I feel like pouting the whole day ;)
Take care All!
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