People Recovering From Depression Are Sending Letters Of Hope To Those In Need
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Depression can strike anyone, and when you’re deep in it, it can feel impossible that you might one day come out of it again.
Which is why one thoughtful project is enlisting the help of those that are successfully recovering from it for those still in need.
In ‘The Recovery Letters’, people who are feeling better after a period of depression write letters to those currently suffering from it, featuring everything from personal stories to general words of encouragement.
The project was originally started by James Withey, who thought it up while he was staying at Maytree, a London-based ‘sanctuary’ for people who feel suicidal.
A few months after spending time in a psychiatric hospital, The Recovery Letters was born.
[Photo: Pexels]
Submissions are posted onto The Recovery Letters website, and are free to submit and access.
“This is not how it has to be, this is not how it will always be, you can and will get better. I know, I am surviving it,” one contributor Tim’s letter opens.
Meanwhile, Alan writes: “I now know that the destructive, life-sucking feelings and thoughts that burdened me were not real or true. My thoughts and feelings were not ME.”
James Withey told The Huffington Post: “During a lot of my crisis care I hadn’t been told that recovery from depression was possible and it seemed impossible that I could ever recover.
[Photo: Pexels]
“People would suggest I read huge self-help books on depression and I couldn’t read a sentence. What I wanted was to be able to read that recovery was possible from people who had experienced what I was going through.
“The intention is to try and alleviate the all encompassing feelings of hopelessness that depression brings,” he continues.
“Depression tells you that you will never get better, never smile again, never seethe point of living and I wanted an antidote to the lies depression tells you. Theletters are small shots of hope.”
Check out The Recovery Letters website here.
For more advice about depression and suicidal feelings, visit the Samaritans website or call them on 116 123.
What do you think about The Recovery Letters project? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK.
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