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THE NARRATIVE ARC

Divorce Taught Me About Depression

If I wanted to heal, I needed to face the truth

Debra G. Harman
The Narrative Arc
Published in
13 min readJan 4, 2025

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It took me four years to leave my broken marriage. Recently — in a lightning-quick moment — I realized my mental health issues impacted my ability to leave. Depression made me churn, worry, and perseverate.

As a result, I stayed too long in a bad situation. Four years? Come on. If I were healthy — physically and mentally — it should have been a faster escape.

While leaving my husband, business, and life in Cambodia was hard, there was a silver lining. I learned how to recognize clinical depression in myself. At the time, I didn’t understand the symptoms, but now I use my break-up as a lodestar to navigate my current mental health.

Back then, I didn’t know clinical depression had taken hold of me

I needed to take action. Move. Progress. Deal with the mess of divorce. I needed to make big changes, but I couldn’t. Too deep in the weeds.

Clinical depression is the worst form of depression. It’s not temporary sadness. It’s not simply your thyroid disease acting up. Several symptoms, or a few of the major ones, can present themselves. Some people can’t get off the couch or out of bed…

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The Narrative Arc
The Narrative Arc

Published in The Narrative Arc

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Debra G. Harman
Debra G. Harman

Written by Debra G. Harman

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