Depression Understood Forums

The way I am now, last year I would have had scorned for anybody like this. How can you let yourself get into this condition?
There are seven steps leading up to my house. Last July, it would be nothing for me to jog up those steps. It would be nothing for me to carry armloads of groceries up those steps.
Last July, there were a number of Home Improvement projects I worked on. Whatever it took, heavy lifting, hammering, sawing, anything. I was up to it.
I worked anywhere from 50 to 70 hours a week. I took care of my wife, and my two kids.
Now, when I take my kids to school, I avoid going home, because it hurts so much to climb those stairs. I can't do very much around the house, even basic housework. I stopped working in February. On especially bad days, my grade school children have to help me dress. I don't know what happened, but I am steadily getting worse everyday.
No employment prospects, and I have a wife and two children depending on me. Suicide is not an option, but that means I have no choice in anything. I am trapped, and scared.

When I lost my husband at the age of 45, a friend of mine gave me the EVER HOPE bracelet. All through those nights of loneliness and feeling depressed, this copper bracelet gave me hope of eventually reuniting with Simon.
Spending time with friends and family only distracts you for a while, after that its all the same silence and sorrow. My bracelet is a companion that is always with me, with the message of hope and strength.
It gives me a sense of security and reassurance that things will get better.