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It appears Facebook has weaved its way into our lives for better or worse.  It has helped the reunite lost loves but has also created new social dilemmas such as, do I accept a friend request when I don’t like the person?  What if you have a fight with someone on Facebook, do you remove them from your list?  What about inappropriate content, how do you deal with it?  Now these problems are difficult enough to deal with as an adult but what about kids?

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• That 400 physicians commit suicide each year which the equivalent to 2-3 medical school graduating classes.
• That during any given year 25% of the American population could be diagnosed with a mental illness.
• That preschoolers are the fastest growing market for anti-depressants.  4% of one million preschoolers are clinically depressed.
• 30% of women are depressed.
• 23% of children are depressed.
• 15% of depressed individuals will commit suicide.
• 80% of depressed people are not under treatment.
• Depression will be the second largest killer after heart disease by 2020 — and studies show depression is a contributory factor to fatal coronary disease.
• 80% of people who see physicians are depressed

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Do you ever find yourself sitting and thinking?  I guess you could call it zoning out.  It is fascinating when this happens.  I could be pondering what to make for dinner or wishing Congress would get their act together to save the American economy instead of sending inappropriate pictures via social media.  I think these times are therapeutic in a sense they allow you to take a mini mental vacation.  I do believe the first bloggers were sitters and thinkers who then went on to share their thoughts.

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The last few weeks have been enlightening for me.  It started with reading an article about a depressed man who wrote thank you letters to everyone he could think of in hopes of changing his outlook on life.   Over the course of a year it did so.  I began a campaign, be it slow, of sending thank you letters to those who have truly impacted my life.  The response has been tremendous and pouring of love back to me has been astonishing.

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Yes, I love the in-laws.  My husband is Filipino and we lovingly refer to my in-laws as Lolo and Lola which means Grandfather and Grandmother in Tagalog.  They have lived with us for the past 5 years and have been absolutely a true blessing.  They helped my husband when I was deployed with the Air Force and they excellent chauffeurs when there are 3 kids going in 3 directions with only 2 parents.  They have done so much for us we can’t begin to thank them enough.

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My little sister, Heather, in the beginning was often ill but after she had surgery at the age of 4 to correct a congenital defect she changed forever.  She was my inspiration to become a doctor.  My thank you letter went to her today.

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I wrote my first letters to my husband, mom and dad.  My husband, Pat, has truly blessed me in many ways and I began to realize how many little things on a daily basis he does for me.  Beyond that he has put up with my many ideas and ambitions.  How many other husbands would encourage their wives to go to medical school and follow her to another state when she joined the Air Force?  Yes, I am truly blessed.  It will be 18 years this Sunday.  I am sure I am not an easy person to deal with at times as I have been known to be stubborn but this wonderful man has put up with me.

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I was looking through some papers the other day in my year long quest to unpack and I came across a thank you card.  It was a card given to me by a thoughtful parent of a child I treated several years ago.  I hadn’t saved a life but just made her daughter comfortable as I took care of her ear infection.  It is one of my most cherished cards I have ever received.  It brings a smile to myself every time I read it.  Then yesterday I read an Guideposts story by John Kralik and how a year of writing thank you notes transformed his life.  It took him from the brink of depression and distress to gratefulness and reflection of his many blessings.

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