A television guest of mine, Regina Posvar, who became an acquaintance and a friend, posted on Facebook, “Depression, anxiety and PTSD are very real. I would like TWENTY TWO of my friends to post this (not share) so I know who I can talk to if I ever need to. I think I know who will.”

I’ve always told her that it takes a special person to care for the people she cares for – those with dementia and alzheimer’s – and that she is a unique, strong and caring person. Reading her post, asking for her friends to support her when she needs it, is just another example of her strength.

I saw this video, and then read the mixed responses to it. It brought home to me that many of us with smiles on our faces, cover-up what’s really going on. We all have things we wish we could tell others and for many reasons we can’t. My reason is that most of the people I know have things going on in their lives and I think talking about mine would seem insensitive. Also, I don’t want to share something that may involve someone else and remove the privacy I have with that person. It’s delicate to keep a healthy mind and to challenge the symptoms of depression. I firmly believe we’ve all suffered with it at some points in our lives.