The Boy Between: A Mother and Son's Journey From a World Gone Grey

by Josiah Hartley

‘If I had a flower for every time I thought of you . . . I could walk through my garden forever.’ Alfred Tennyson

‘Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.’ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

sometimes the bravest thing you can do for someone is set everything else aside, including your judgement – and just listen.’1

When we think about diseases like cancer or heart disease, we don’t wait years to treat them. We start before Stage 4 – we begin with prevention, identify symptoms, and develop a plan of action to reverse and hopefully stop the progression of the disease. So why don’t we do the same for individuals who are dealing with potentially serious mental illness?’4

‘Your normal is your normal’,

‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.’ Henry David Thoreau

‘Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage: it can be delightful.’ George Bernard Shaw

try to be the stranger who can see more than what is immediately obvious and to maybe ask different questions.

‘The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.’ F. Scott Fitzgerald

I missed their noise. I missed their presence. I missed that overwhelmingly reassuring feeling of knowing the people I loved were safe and sound each night under one roof.

a.m. is my favourite time. It comes with blissful quiet, knowing that the world doesn’t expect anything of you, no one is going to call, no one is going to ask you to do something. It’s just you and the universe in perfect stillness.

Her naivety was as frustrating as it was outstanding.

‘The very worst kind of sadness is the kind that doesn’t have an explanation.’ Anon.

You see here’s the thing: my son was born with all the gifts. He was born without disability in a shiny hospital where medical equipment and medicine were freely available, and that hospital was situated in a wealthy country free from war, famine and the dangers of extreme weather. He was born to a family who loved and nurtured him. He had a home, a permanent and pleasant roof over his head. He was supported, educated and cared for, so what the hell did he have to be depressed about, right? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

In the USA,

‘Close to 13 per cent of people twelve and older said they took an antidepressant in the last month. That number is up from 11 per cent in 2005–2008 . . . a 65 per cent increase since 1999–2002, when 7.7 per cent of Americans reported taking an antidepressant.’

‘6 per cent of undergraduate students in four-year colleges have “seriously considered” attempting suicide in the past year. Nearly half did not tell anyone.’

‘One in eight children have a diagnosable mental health disorder – that’s roughly three children in every classroom’ – a sobering statistic.19

‘Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar.’ William Wordsworth

We are also the generation who talk more and communicate less.

‘People who need help sometimes look a lot like people who do not need help.’

https://www.thecalmzone.net/ – Campaign Against Living Miserably – full of fantastic resources for those suffering from depression and those who care for them.