What Happens When The Boot Straps Break?

In my life I have always had the view of when things got tough to just "pull up the boot straps" and keep moving on. Truth be told ... I really don't even know what boot straps are. Anyway, what happens when those lovely boot straps break? What happens when you dig your cleats in a little deeper preparing for the next "hit in life" and your cleats break? I love wood working and have sanded plenty of wood in my time. I can't tell you how much I love electrical sanders by the way. If I don't change up the sand paper when needed and just keep grinding away eventually there will be some serious damage ... yep, speaking from personal experience. So what happens when our brain breaks for whatever reason?

How come it is okay for a person that has broken their arm to go to the doctor and get a cast on it and nothing ever second guessed about it ... it's just what you do when you break your arm. However, when one's brain is broken there's the big question mark. When I finally went and sought help because I knew things were right with my brain I felt embarrassed and even ashamed. I didn't want any one to know. I felt it made me lesser of a man somehow. I doubted all my abilities in life and traveled down a dark road. I get it how dark those times are. It consumes you. It strives to define you and the loneliness is unbearable even when you are surrounded by loved ones. Oh, I get how the dark times try to convince you how alone you are.

I am letting myself now understand that depression is an illness. When those boot straps break, you STOP and get them fixed. When the cleats break, you STOP and get them fixed. When you break your arm, you STOP and get it fixed. When your brain breaks, you STOP and get it fixed. You, me, all of us that have mental illness need not be ashamed or embarrassed. It's okay to stop and work on getting well.