Thursday, March 26, 2015

I STILL GET DEPRESSED

I haven’t written about my ailment of depression for a while, which doesn’t mean it’s not happening - it is. I’m writing this for people who have depression and need a bit of hope.

Depression has plagued me now for about five years. I still see a psychiatrist once a month, who monitors my behaviour and keeps me on meds.

Thankfully, I haven’t had a "crash" for probably a year, but I still get gloomy moments to deal with. I define "gloomy" as being depressed without the hard crash that leads me to be hiding under the covers, feeling selfish, angry and lonely. Those moments are rare, mostly because I've learned to control them. Now those gloomy moments only happen about once a week, maybe a bit less and I’ll share about that.

Today, here I am, in the middle of the LIFE 100.3 annual radio Sharathon, which is an important fundraising event that requires me to be ready to go on the air and lead the team, which is impossible when a depression moment happens. It happened.

I was in the lunch room and a couple of situations came up, and it was more than I could handle. I went to my office to get away from it, and sulk if necessary. The emotional stuff took over, the wave of being overwhelmed came in and I stood there, stiff, almost unable to move, feeling confused and stuck. One of my employees prayed for me, and suggested I take a walk around the building for fresh air. That worked!

It's odd, but when a gloomy moment is about to happen, I seem to get a 10-second warning. It's almost like an approaching storm cloud and I can either run for shelter or get rained on. If I’m fast, I'll recognize the depression cloud coming and I respond immediately, such as leaving the room, or getting away from the people who are pulling me down.  I know I have ten seconds to leave and if I don’t, the storm of depression hits and I have to deal with it.  I'm happy to say, I’m quite successful with this response.

Something you should never say to someone with depression is, "can’t you just push through it?" Never say that.  They might kill you. (joking)  However, in my case, if I say that to myself, I can actually do it.

Three times in the last week, a wave of gloom hit me at the office. Years ago, I would have grabbed my coat and gone home to bed to sleep it off. Now, I tell myself, "if I can push thru this, I’ll be ok, and save myself a lot of wasted time sulking at home." It’s really hard. But every time I decide to push through, it works. And, each time I feel like that, I remember, "it worked the last time. Be strong. Push through."

Different things work for different people. For me, it’s the daily meds. It’s the therapy with the psychiatrist and it’s being strong and taking control. I’ve learned how to deal with it.

Now the great news! Because of depression, I have become more sensitive to other people with a mental illness. I understand their struggle. When people make irrational or hurtful comments, I know they are possibly dealing with some form of mental illness and the meds are not working, or they're just having a bad moment. I know I can’t fix them, but I know what to do to help them.

Depression sucks. But there is a way of getting control. If you’ve got depression, find your strength and take control. You can do it. I’m doing it.

Monday, March 23, 2015

THE HEART OF WORSHIP

Jody Cross, Ali Matthews, Will Walker, me (Scott Jackson),
Luke Langman  and LIFE 100.3's Evan Duran.
Sunday night (March 22, 2015), we presented "The Heart Of Worship" concert at Hi-Way Church in Barrie.  This was our third in the worship series - all of them free; we don't want to charge people to worship God. 

Jody Cross brought an A-level house band who backed up all the artists, including Luke Langman, Ali Matthews, Will Walker and of course Jody who played his latest radio singles.

In preparation, it's interesting, that each artist send Jody their songs, chord charts and lyrics. Jody and the band made the arrangement, and then there was only one full band practice, before showday.  Former LIFER, Woody Woodland was the drummer.

The LIFE team and Hi-Way crew worked all afternoon setting up lighting, videos, the dressing room, the merch booths and when I arrived about 6:20pm, there was already a line up of fans waiting for the doors to open.  After seating 600 people and reaching the fire limit, we closed the doors to a few dozen stragglers.

Inside, each artist played two songs, then an intermission and then two more songs from each artist.

Thanks so much for all your kind words about the show. We love working with Canadian artists, building their name recognition and bringing their music to LIFE listeners!




 




Monday, March 16, 2015

MONDAY

Mondays are a slow day. I plan it like that. I try to avoid any appointments or meetings if possible, because usually Monday just takes care of itself.

After a weekend, which is usually more busy than relaxing, I wake up feeling fairly positive, like this morning.

I went to pick up the garbage can from the end of the driveway and as I walked, the sun was out, it was quiet (I like in the country) and it felt really good to be alive.

In moments like that, I thank God for the good start to the day. And from there, there is a list of things I'm grateful for, and I go for it. People, situations, health, finances, etc.

As I leave home for work, I drive past a park on the waterfront and the sun comes up over the water. It's often a magnificent sight; to drive and breath it in - the air, the beauty, the blessing and the start of a new week. I continue my drive to LIFE 100.3, with the radio on, (of course), letting the lyrics of the Christian songs fill me; songs that encourage me and remind me of my faith. Very cool!

It reminds me of this Geoff Moore song - "Good To Be Alive".

Monday, March 9, 2015

AIR RAID 24

March 7, 2015 at Timothy Christian School - Barrie - Shonlock, Manafest, Sky Terminal, Loftland.
















Tuesday, March 3, 2015

ASSESSING THE DAY

Are you like many people? When you wake up, do you assess the day before it even starts? God arranges the conditions of the day - not us, including the outcome of your broken computer, your health and even the weather.

If we decide that our day is not going to go well, we’ll miss the blessings God has planted along the way. Despite how we feel, God has the day under control so despite how we feel, let’s rejoice in it, and find the blessings waiting for us.