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What does depression (and anxiety) look like?
Most commercials for antidepressants show people in despair, lying on a couch crying or dressed in baggy clothing with unkempt hair. Is that what depression looks like? Yes. Sometimes. But often, depression can look like a person who has their shit together. A career woman who gets things done. A soccer mom with perfect hair and perfect kids. A lawyer. A doctor. A musician. An artist. A movie star. A writer. Me. Anxiety medication ads often depict a person having a panic attack, complete with hyperventilating, rapid heartbeat and sweating. So that’s what anxiety looks like, right? Sure. Sometimes. It also can look like standoffishness. Indifference. Disengagement. Irritability. Forgetfulness. Me.
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One Night in a Coffeehouse
“One Night in a Coffeehouse” Free-Verse, March 20, 2017 He sings in the near-empty coffeehouse About alcohol addiction and love. He thinks no one in the lackluster crowd is listening. Two employees try their best to acknowledge him, While a college student studies his books, And a lady whose whole life is a musical hums her own tune. Annoyed by the six laughing ladies in their bible study group, He changes his line-up to include All songs he knows that take the Lord’s name in vain. The ladies talk over the too-loud guitar music, Determined to finish their lesson, While he plays louder and louder to drown out the noise. The…
