Depression is a gift

Today I had a great privilege.  I was at a table with seven people who suffer from depression.  The energy in the room was uplifting as we discussed depression and its effects.  Although I don't have depression I have been working on understanding it.  One made a comment that he felt 20 years more mature than his age due to his struggle with depression.  Another mentioned how depression enables understanding better others' struggles.  One concluded that depression is a gift.  It brings a focus on the need to not give in and wallow in negative thoughts.  The depression tells you to stop trying, to just escape with sleep, isolation, over eating, or whatever else.  It wants you to wallow in self-pity.  Over time, as you begin to see its effects, as it comes back again and again, it invites the effort to fight it.  It is a wake-up call to truly step up each time you are ready to face it.  In doing so, you gain a courage, and trajectory that can help you move to higher heights and even surpass the levels that people who don't suffer from depression are likely to be at as they stay more in the middle of emotional levels.  I was in such awe at the words I was hearing.  I have greater respect and appreciation for those who suffer from depression, and see that I can learn so much from them.  Their struggles are a light and an example to me.