It’s easy to judge, to look at a person from afar and form an opinion on them. But stop and think. You rarely know the whole picture, you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, what difficulties they are facing. Masks are worn and the truth is concealed. We play the ‘I’m fine’ game when our worlds are falling apart. Depression is often an invisible, silent killer. But the signs are there if we care enough to look closer.
We are Stephen and Fionnuala and this is our story. We live in Northern Ireland, have been married for 17 years and have three kids - Adam, Hannah and Rebecca.
We hope that our story will inspire and encourage others. We have walked a rocky road yet here we are today, together and stronger than ever. We are far from perfect and our faith has been battered and bruised.
But an untested faith is a pointless faith. Just as a fractured faith is better than none at all.
We hope you enjoy the blog.
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My depression right now is not recognizable, because I’m not displaying the classic symptoms. If anything, I’m doing all I can to hide it, because I don’t want to answer any questions. Sometimes it’s easier to fake being well than to admit the truth.
I read somewhere once that most of the time our view of other people and their lives is like looking at them through a drinking straw. We only ever see a tiny sliver of who the other person truly is. Thanks for this good, timely reminder.
I have always had anxiety and OCD but since my mother died two years ago ( through suicide , from depression), I have been sleeping in and out of depression. So, I can totally relate to this post. Before that I was quick to judge.
I really like the drinking straw analogy, too… To share another, I once read an article that said: if someone is behaving badly, try to consider whether they are really like that all the time, or whether they’re they’re struggling with something difficult, like the triggers that FF has listed in his blogpost. Think of yourself on your worst day and ask whether you might come across to others as a tw** when you, too, are struggling. It’s a bit easier to cut the other person a bit of slack then, although it does require some quick mental gymnastics!
Black Thoughts 
❤️
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Thank you 😊
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POWERFUL!
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Thank you 😊
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I had a bad experience this week. Totally understand.
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I hope this week is better for you, Anthony.
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So very true and something I don’t think about every day even though I have my own daily struggles!
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My depression right now is not recognizable, because I’m not displaying the classic symptoms. If anything, I’m doing all I can to hide it, because I don’t want to answer any questions. Sometimes it’s easier to fake being well than to admit the truth.
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Yet you are so honest when you write, Joelle.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for reminding people of the things that should matter – Depression is evil and I have had my share of the ups and downs with it.
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You’re very welcome.
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So true. No one would know I was depressed unless I choose to let them see it. At the end of the day I don’t trust everyone with my true self.
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A lot of people feel the same way. You are not alone.
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The truth
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Thank you.
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AMEN💚
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Thank you 😊
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Beautiful thank you for posting this 💕
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I read somewhere once that most of the time our view of other people and their lives is like looking at them through a drinking straw. We only ever see a tiny sliver of who the other person truly is. Thanks for this good, timely reminder.
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That’s a great analogy, Russ. Thank you.
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True… depression is like an invisible killer that not many people know about!
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Thank you for understanding 🙂
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I had a childhood friend just die from it. Depression kills.
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I’m very sorry to hear that.
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We never know what is going on with someone else. If we want to help we need to take a deeper look.
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That’s very true. Thank you.
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Truth!
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🙂
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The Devil lies in the details, I agree with the message, good post👍
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Thank you 😊
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I have always had anxiety and OCD but since my mother died two years ago ( through suicide , from depression), I have been sleeping in and out of depression. So, I can totally relate to this post. Before that I was quick to judge.
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*Slipping
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I really like the drinking straw analogy, too… To share another, I once read an article that said: if someone is behaving badly, try to consider whether they are really like that all the time, or whether they’re they’re struggling with something difficult, like the triggers that FF has listed in his blogpost. Think of yourself on your worst day and ask whether you might come across to others as a tw** when you, too, are struggling. It’s a bit easier to cut the other person a bit of slack then, although it does require some quick mental gymnastics!
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