Depression

Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently?

A time of depression when I didn’t take action was when I failed to care for my own mental health while my father’s dementia was worsening. He now lies in the hospital, mentally alert, wanting nothing more than to return home. He absolutely refuses to go to a dementia care facility.

Last year, I began clearing out his newspaper clippings from his room. The emotional toll was overwhelming—I became sick and ended up in the hospital myself. The continued effort of cleaning his room only deepened my depression, as I struggled with emotional attachment to his belongings.

It took me nearly three months to clean his room. I ended up giving away or donating most of his things, including some to temples. The room had been blocking the energy of the whole house. Now, the atmosphere has improved slightly, but there is still more to be done.

I’ve stopped cleaning the room for now, as I’ve slipped back into a depressive state. If I could do things differently, I would have taken better care of my mental health first and found healthier ways to manage the emotional weight of the situation.