Hello friends, what do you do in your free time? I'm apart from spending time exploring, reading is one of my top priorities, today I came across a book that captures all of my senses and I would recommend it to you. everybody. Although my book is written by a Vietnamese author, I will try to make it as easy as possible for you to understand what the author wants to convey through my language and feelings.
Black Ocean - Stories from the world of depression.
I write because I want more people to have the opportunity to read this book. The more people read the more widespread awareness about depression will be, the more understanding and love between people will be spread. And then people with depression will be less vulnerable to words, whether intentional or unintentional and have a greater chance of healing and self-healing. Friends, you will no longer be alone in that dark world!
I have known this book since Christmas 2021 when some colleagues in the company discussed the book. I heard people comment that the content is quite "heavy", people with weak psychology should consider before reading because the book is about real stories of people with depression. I listen, also oh one, then leave it.
The second time I encountered the book was on the Readme page. Admin said reading this book will help you understand depression correctly so that you don't misuse the two words "Depression" anymore. I thought the book was useful at first, but then skimmed through it again.
Two days ago, while looking for the next book to read in my journey to "nourish the brain", Black Ocean suddenly reappeared. So I started to learn and then motivated by curiosity, I was determined to read it properly. 🙈
Beautiful Saturday afternoon 🌞, I stopped by Readme, read Black Ocean.
The people with depression in that book, almost always carry with them a painful, overwhelming memory or a certain physical and mental injury brought on by the people around them, sometimes seemingly as if it were nothing, but in fact, they are dark corners that always exist and gnaw at people 🤕. They are negative, they cry from day to day, they hurt people, they are afraid of everyone, everything that happens around them, they turn to stone, lose the ability to enjoy joy, they deny themselves, they loathe themselves, they have to experience pain both physically and mentally, and then they too, want to disappear forever from this world!
I read one story at a time, slowly to feel the details and also to identify my emotions. I was nervous, worried, sometimes surprised and a little shocked by the words and actions of the character, sometimes tearful because of my great love for the character. 🙆
I read in a row from 4 pm to 12 pm, all 12 stories. Through one story, two stories, or after all twelve stories, the question that bothers me is, if I have not been able to change the past of the depressed person, how can I and the people around me understand better? and less unintentionally hurting them? 🤔 Just a sentence, an action, a look that seems extremely normal to ordinary people, it also has an extremely powerful destructive power for a depressed person. The end is not only tormenting yourself, hurting yourself and sometimes those around you but finally taking action to end your life!
After reading a chapter or two about the knowledge section, I was surprised by the numbers and the impact that depression brings. It's a bit academic 😅, but as simple as this:
"If you have a thousand Facebook friends, in the past year, seventy of them have suffered from depression.
In a lifetime, one in five to six people visit from depression. Among medical students in Vietnam, one in six students has an element of depression, and about half of them have suicidal thoughts ☠️... Experts estimate one to three percent of school-age children have depression, which means that there will be one child in every classroom on average. struggling with it".
After I finished reading that passage, I mentally meditated, counting from the time I was in elementary school until now, I also knew more than one friend who had depression 😲, but I didn't realize it.
So how dangerous is depression? 💔If compared with tangible diseases, it is:
"Mild depression is equivalent to Arthritis of the hip or knee
Mild to moderate anxiety disorder equivalent to Spina bifida, HIV
Moderate depression is equivalent to severe asthma, hepatitis B, deafness, multiple sclerosis
Post-traumatic stress disorder equivalent to lower extremity paralysis, severe chronic bronchitis, lung alveolar wall damage
Severe depression equates to permanent brain damage, metastatic breast cancer"
After all, HIV is just the equivalent of Mild Anxiety Disorder!!
I read the statistics, read about the destructive power of depression, then I think about the relationships around me, to my Facebook friends list, try to ask if any of my friends are also facing this problem. Despite this dangerous disease, are you fighting it alone or not? Then I think about the tragic cases in the news media 📺, like a son assaulting his father, for example, that is a crime that no one can argue with. But what is the reason behind it, is there any case of the child suffering from depression? Although he tried 100 times to prevent and control the barbaric act from happening, by the 101st time, he couldn't control himself anymore. If the people around him understood and comforted him, and brought love and understanding to dispel the monster 👿 that was tearing him apart every day, would they stop that tragic incident?
I haven't read the whole book yet. I, too, have not had the opportunity to delve deeply into all the most current niches, news, and research information on depression. But I always believe in mental strength and willpower. I believe that positive energy and thoughts will bring me happy experiences. I also believe that negative energy and negative thoughts can make me a person. 🌊
After reading half of the book, I thought to myself, why is depression so close to me! But to identify a person with depression is not easy. And to have the power to heal those people is a much more difficult task. So, what I think I can do, and want to spread to everyone, is to cultivate tolerance in myself, to always try to understand and love the people who pass by. My life, because I will never know, behind the bright smile of a person, there is a deep black ocean that is gradually engulfing them or not! 🤡
Now I'm going to read the next part of the book!
I am happy to share interesting things with you.