Therapy for My Depression

I haven't been feeling well lately, feeling kind of depressed. Maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis. I'm tired of doing the same thing I've been doing for almost 29 years, that is, medical transcription. When I felt like I couldn't take it one more day as it was sucking the life out of me, I resigned from my job to take a few months off to try to learn some new skills and perhaps change my career.

When my son asked my husband and me if we wanted to go on a "jeep trail" with him one Saturday, we agreed. It was at Blackwater Falls, West Virginia, which is a natural waterfall and is a tourist attraction, with hiking trails, petting zoo, gift shops, park, cabin rentals, etc. I've been there lots of times, but this time was different.

I had never been on a "jeep trail" before. It is actually a very rough road that only 4 x 4's are allowed on. There are numerous potholes, ruts, mud puddles, rocks and ditches. As we were riding along on this rough and rocky road, I began to think how that ride compared to my life right now. I feel like I've been going over some rough patches, climbing over some rocks, going into some ditches, potholes and mud puddles. But even though the road was bad and sometimes scary, with very steep drop-offs, the scenery was pretty and even tranquil. The weather was almost perfect, and I was actually able to enjoy the ride, despite the roughness.

The rough part of the trail seemed very long, kind of like the bad times in my life when I'm feeling really down. But eventually, the road got less rough, with just a few bad places. I started feeling some hope. Yes, my life is rough right now, but it will eventually smooth out, with just a few bumps here and there . . . and I can even enjoy the scenery in the bad times.

After the trail ended, we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park and then went to look at the falls. As we have been having quite a bit of rain lately, the falls were a lot bigger than normal, and the sound of them was almost thunderous.

I felt so much better after my "jeep ride." I had had time to think and realize that life isn't always easy and sometimes gets scary and rough but there's smooth road up ahead . . . something to look forward to.