Here’s how unexpected it can be.  A weather disaster wipes out your livelihood, the business you have been building for years.  You have insurance and can financially rebuild, but your spouse’s heart has been broken.  They’ve been talking about quitting in a way you haven’t heard before.  You don’t know if your family will keep the business going or end it and do something completely different.  Or, you didn’t have enough insurance to cover your costs and your family is now in bankruptcy.

The strain and despair seems unending and you don’t even know how you will keep food on the table.  And that is just one example of a surprise event taking center stage.  Consider a medical condition that requires a significant lifestyle change, like a digestive disorder or diabetes.  These examples represent more than just change, they also involve a broad sense of loss and grief.

You may think you can handle ups and downs of well enough, but often the problem that hits you is stronger than you expect.  It comes out of left field, and you are nowhere near prepared for it.  When depression or anxiety comes upon you, you may have trouble admitting it because you think you aren’t the “type” of person to have that kind of problem.

You may have a person in your extended family that you see infrequently.  They seem to put on a brave face well enough to cover up and excuse their troubles.  You may be surprised to find out years later that they suffered years of depression or significant anxiety.

In my case, I didn’t tell all of my extended family about my postpartum depression until I’d recovered for a few years.  I did a few interviews for TV and radio because I was supporting a new postpartum depression project for my state.  I think most family members were rather surprised to know how bad it had really become.  I think they understood that some times were difficult for me as a new mom.  But most had no idea of the suffering I felt.

You just don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors, or even behind the cracked smiles of people in your own family.  There is no special type of person that will or won’t have mental illness.  Developing good honest relationships with your family members will allow you to be helpful when they need you the most.

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From Psych Central's website:
PsychCentral (July 17, 2009)

    Last reviewed: 17 Jul 2009