The writings and ramblings of Colette Saucier

Greetings, dear readers! Yes, I know, it has been quite some time since I have posted a blog. I could provide a litany of reasons why I have essentially vanished from social media, but today - for the last day of Ehlers-Danlos Awareness Month - instead I would like to focus on this debilitating and degenerative joint disorder.  I have had Type III EDS all my life but was not properly diagnosed until 2011.  Then all the puzzle pieces began to fall into place: the sprains, the splints, the surgeries. My symptoms have continued to worsen to the point where pain and injuries frequently require complete bed rest, all from a condition that others cannot even see.  (Effects on social life of invisible disorder.) The following events occurred in 2007-2008, three years prior to my diagnosis. In 2009, one of the physicians who had treated me sent me this email: Ms. Saucier - I have been asked to give a presentation on evaluation of abdominal pain to a large conference of...

Gentle Readers , I am sure I am not alone in my shock at the news of the death of Robin Williams. His publicist's succinct statement - "He has been battling severe depression of late" - sparks more questions in lieu of an explanation because something so seemingly random to outsiders and to those who have never struggled with depression defies comprehension. We will never know his personal demons or the "black dog" that haunted him. I ran a series of blog posts on the topic of depression last year in conjunction with Depression Awareness Month and "came out of the closet," as it were, about my own personal battle . Today I am re-posting in part 10 Signs You Should Know of the 10th Leading Cause of Death. It's possible that there was nothing anyone could have done to prevent Robin Williams' death , but knowing the warning signs might help someone you know. From October 20, 2013 Gentle Readers, Throughout the month of October, we have...

Gentle Readers, For most people who have never had personal exposure to mental illness, they may think, "What does this have to do with me?" I think it is fitting that when we have an economic downturn, they call it a "Depression" because depression has an enormous impact on our economy. Depression Costs US Workplaces $23 Billion in Absenteeism. Depression is the most prevalent mental illness, affecting nearly 19 million Americans between the ages of 25 and 44 - essentially, the most productive years in the workforce. 12% of workers in the United States have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives. In the workplace, they miss an estimated 68 million additional days , more than ulcers, diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis. The total economic burden of depression is $83 billion a year. That exceeds the costs of the war in Afghanistan! Of this total, $26.1 billion (31%) were direct treatment costs, $5.4 billion (7%) were suicide-...

Gentle Readers, Throughout the month of October, we have focused on Depression Awareness. In addition to the special 99¢ Book Sale Benefit of "Alicia Embracing the Dark" intended to widen understanding of depression as well as support the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms , earlier this month in my post When It's Almost Impossible to Appear Tolerably Cheerful , I disclosed my own personal, on-going battle with Major Depressive Disorder. For National Depression Screening Day, I had a special post detailing the symptoms of depression and how to find help or take an anonymous evaluation, as well as how depression feels to me personally when I cannot hold the darkness at bay. With about ten days remaining in Depression Awareness Month, I want to share the warning signs of suicide. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States , and 90% of those who commit suicide have clinical depression or another mental illness. More than a million Am...

Gentle readers, Last week, I acknowledged publicly something that I don't even discuss with those closest to me: I have Major Depressive Disorder. I did this to bring awareness and, I hope, understanding on behalf of the millions of people who struggle with this daily. Yet there's another part to my story. You see, I didn't even know I had depression when I had my first "episode" sometime in 2000. I thought I was just under a lot of stress, which I was. Three teenage daughters - one of whom was completely out of control - an overwhelming amount of work at my job (but they did give me a personal assistant, quite a luxury!), and my marriage had taken an unexpected turn that would affect our entire family and my future. So I didn't feel sad or what I thought of as "depressed," but even the tiniest thing would set me off. I had the "angry outbursts" form of depression. Plus I started getting really fat! I looked like the person...

Gentle readers, As you know, October is Depression Awareness Month; and in conjunction with this, Sunday, October 6th through Saturday, October 12th has been designated as Mental Health Awareness Week .  This will culminate Thursday October 10th , in National Depression Screening Day . Southern Girl Press and To Write Love on Her Arms have collaborated on a book sale benefit in an effort to help those who have never had to deal with depression understand. Throughout the month of October, all royalties from a trio of vignettes entitled Alicia Embracing the Dark will be donated to TWLOHA , a non-profit organization that focuses on hope and relationships, in order to raise awareness, benefit the organization, and highlight National Depression Screening Day .  A Special Edition of this short collection is  now available only from Amazon for 99¢ for Kindle or Kindle apps for any device . Alicia Embracing the Dark expresses some aspect of depression as ...

Gentle readers, Recently, I "came out of the closet." I revealed what only a handful of even those closest to me know: I have Major Depressive Disorder. I have always considered this secret embarrassing, a sign of weakness. People who know me are shocked to find out because I am generally outgoing, joking, and bubbly in public; but look at this list of others who struggle with depression , and you'll be amazed by all the comedians laughing on the outside. I do this now because October is Depression Awareness Month , and I have been made inherently aware recently of how little understanding those who have never faced this darkness have of the experience, how they think we should just "snap out of it" or tell someone "Oh, come on, you aren't bipolar" until they witness a psychotic break. Southern Girl Press and To Write Love on Her Arms are collaborating on a book sale benefit in an effort to help those who have never had to deal with depress...