Depression and having extreme difficulty is a natural and normal fact of life that most of us will deal with either continuously, or at one point or another. This is a very serious condition; it is an illness that often leads to death when untreated.
We live in a fast-paced, fast-food, fast-business, high-stress society. Each new generation faces ever-increasing variables. It is no wonder that people are born with brain-chemical imbalances and/or predisposition for depression…or worse.
There are trained medical and mental health professionals that can absolutely help! If you have a loved one or a friend that is suffering, it is your responsibility to try to get that person to take action for help.
Citizens the world over – for the most part – spend so much time “doing” that there is not sufficient time built in for “enjoying” (life). I know, it is not as if there were many choices in the matter; we all must do what is necessary to survive (and perhaps prosper?). At some point, however, there must be a compromise between “building a quality life” and “enjoying a quality of life”.
As an employer, I have learned that very many employers regard 2- and 4-year degree programs as evidence that a person can complete goals. Beyond that, most companies would agree that education promotes critical thought, refines communication and complexity of expression and reasoning. I enjoy the Albert Einstein quote: “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.” It is advanced education – specialized post-graduate degrees – that are the extreme value and prepare most effectively for success. Medical school, law school, masters and doctoral certifications absolutely translate to higher incomes. Such people have made a lifelong commitment to education.

When I was 13, my family built a home in the mountains of Idaho. My father always referred to it as my mother’s “dream home” (which was his way of saying that it cost a bloody fortune!). I remember watching the big yellow backhoe dig out a hole in the hillside upon which the house would perch. Just inside the entire outer edge of the excavation was an even deeper, three-foot trench. I asked my father: “Why is there a deep trench all the way around where the house will stand?” He explained that any structure is only as strong and stable as the footings and foundation upon which it stands. “In that trench,” he said, “a reinforced cement footing will be poured. The cement walls of the house foundation will be sealed to that footing,” he continued, “and this will firmly anchor the house to the hillside.” He added a little metaphor about the footings of marriage being true love, and that upon that footing is the foundation for building a strong family. This simple tidbit stuck with me.