Don't listen to Skip Bayless about depression, or anything else for that matter.

It’s easy to dunk on a cynical idiot slinging garbage for attention.

Here’s where I should have gone with this:

If you struggle with depression, you’re not alone. It was a major turning point for me when I stopped pretending it was nothing and acknowledged it.

Once it had a name, I had something to fight.

I’ve used this analogy before, but depression is like a black hole. It takes and takes, and it seems bottomless, like there’s no hope of getting out — if light can’t even escape, what chance do I have, right?

But here’s the thing. If you are open about it, if you acknowledge it, face it, talk openly about it... that’s visibility. That’s light.

And if light can get out, there’s an exit. You can get out, too.

Maybe not forever. Maybe just for a couple of hours.

But maaaaaaan when you’re in the Black Hole, even a couple of hours feels like an impossible dream.

Get your couple of hours where you can.

Sometimes I get a few days at a time.

Sometimes I get a week or two.

The trick is to avoid the “eliminate it or I’m a failure” mindset. If that’s your goal, you can get really discouraged when it comes back.

Now, when it comes back, I have a plan. I’ve climbed out of this hole before, so I know I can do it again.

If you’re fighting depression, don’t give up, and don’t try to do it alone because you’re afraid people will think less of you.

If they do, they’re a Skip Bayless, and their opinion doesn’t matter at all.

Say what you need to say. Give it a name. Then let’s keep fighting.