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[marientina]

My brother would be a more likely candidate to reply to this post. He is also a thal minor and chronically depressed but my mother who is not a thal is bipolar. My dad who is a thal minor suffers from occasional depression but was also recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism which contributes to the depression.

From a physiological perspective, low energy and low blood pressure can definitely contribute to depression. In Greece, doctors tend to prescribe Effortil for low blood pressure along with mild anti-depressants. My dad has reported they helped him. My mother is another story. Bipolar-like mood swings are very much in line with thal since our physiology is so volatile. Remember what you are doing to your body on a daily basis: chelation and transfusions are almost opposite to each other and they contribute to mood swings...As for thal minors, we have plenty of things to be depressed about.

And if you are a woman, forget about it...I want to cry at least three days of the month but if you are on the pill you can at least mark the days on the calendar. The bottom line is first to take care of your body and that will contribute to your sense of self. When you have maxed what you can do for your body, you have to accept what you have and make the best of it. None of us are on this planet for any predictable amount of time.

I learned one thing from losing one of my dearest friends: eternity lasts for as long as people who knew you have love for you in their heart. That is enough for me. When I am depressed, I remember how gracefully John slipped away from his suffering (he hummed when he was in pain) and I smile because my love for him lives in my heart. Focus on a special moment in life, a goal, a person and go with it. Your body is only a vessel. Your soul will stay in it only as long as it is alive and warm. It is amazing how much my friend's body looked nothing like him after it went cold. It was no longer him and I knew then that he was truly gone and all I had left of him was in my heart.

Even when stress at work is so bad that I find myself holding my breath, I try to remember what is really important. I sound like a hippie, but what is in your heart is all you have. Everything else is gravy: sometimes you want it, sometimes you don't and sometimes you get served way more than you want...