A Sign of Life

Hey all - I want to fire a white or red Very light as a sign of life here.

Some of you may have been wondering where I have been for so long, and I decided
not to make a secret of it: I was, and still am (to some extent) suffering of a
depression since April. It got so bad in June, that I tried to get into a clinic
for professional treatment, but it took me 3 very dark weeks on a waiting-list,
before I could move in there; and so it got all quite long in time.

I am still in treatment, but can be home over the weekends, and I will soon get
discharged. It will not be fully cured by then - this may never happen, or take
much more time at least - but hopefully well enough for me to return to duties.

I missed you all and this fine mess sorely, but I wasn't in the right condition
to take part only half-heartedly and dull-mooded.

I hope I'll be back soon!

Good luck sir!
We will save you a spot at the table.

Hopefully we can take this post/very light as a sign that you're on your way back. Sorry to hear that you've been feeling down. I know that you've alluded to it in the past I kept hoping that it would be a passing thing. Really sorry to hear that it got its claws into you. And here's hoping that hanging out here with old friends will help to lift your spirits.

It's really wonderful to hear from you and to know that you are past the worst of this. Was it Mannock who referred to depression as his "black dog"? You have been sorely missed and we will look forward to a binge on your return.

Sincere best wishes.

Olham

We all are with you and look forward to your recovery.
Confronting it head on as you did was the right thing to do. You had the presence of mmind to seek help. That bodes well for you. Keep up the good fight and drop us a line when ever you feel up to it. You are a valued friend of all of us here. Take care and be well good friend!

I'm glad you decided to go public with this; the masses were getting restless here.

Chin Up Olham.....you are much valued and missed!!!

Thank you, Duke, Hauksbee, Raine, Robert, Hasse and Gaw - I'm quite touched by all your kind words.


I still need to read about Mannock.
A "black dog" is an understatement he must have made to not look too weak -
in the worst period it feels more like Jona must have felt inside the whale
(with it's mouth shut of course). No direction home, so to say.

.

Olham, very glad to see you back in camp, even if it is only for a visit as per doctor's orders. We are all here for you so don't hesitate to bend an ear if you need to. As Hasse noted, it's good you let folks know what's been going on. It will show you just how much support you have.

Take care my freund.

.

Thank you, Lou - and believe me, I treasure this place, which must be one of the
most gentlemanly (can one say that?) and civilised places amongst all forums/fora,
and I appreciate your and all the other friendships here VERY much.

I wish you only the best, my friend, and I hope that only bright sunny days will soon lay before you.

Depression is a horrible thing.

Get well soon, Olham.

Thoughts are with you.

RS

I wish you a fast recovery Olham.

I'm no Expert, but a few Spins with your favorite Alb might help a little. Trying, not to be turned into a Pile of Confetti while being pursued by an SE5a sure helps to get rid of unpleasant Thoughts...

Wer die Dicta Olham geschrieben hat, kriegt auch das hin

I wish you the best Olham,I know what you are talking about and I support your strenght even from all this distance,an uncle of mine got through that and it was a very steep road to climb,but you must hold on to yourself,inside your mind it's the best medicine to the exit light!! Remember this!
Best wishes from the sunnyside.
P.S.
Be strong,you are the best cure for yourself!

Olham,
It is great to hear from you! Depression is a tough one and I hope you are back in business soon. My Father suffered from depression and I can't say I have not had a bout or two myself. Your not alone Brother. Please keep that in mind.
Mark

Thank you, Hellshade!
The sun is already here - now I must learn again to enjoy it a bit better.

Thank you, Sid, Ric, Nietzsche and Cavaliere!



Thank you, Mark, for your openness and encouragement.
Yes, I'll keep it in my mind.

Sorry to hear that Olham. I just checked your posts yesterday to see if I'd missed that you were off to north Germany again.
Hope you find your direction home soon.

You did a good job as public relations spokesperson.

Olham, it's great to hear from you. Life has it's highs and lows, I hope you highs come back and your lows don't dip down so deep for so long a stretch.

It hasn't been the same without you, Herr Olham! Welcome back, sir!

Thanks! I tried my best to convince everybody that Olham isn't dead or something, just preoccupied with important real life matters. Obviously I couldn't say anything more specific - he had to do it himself when he felt like he was ready for it. And now he is, which I think is great.

Thank you, Wayfarer - I'll find it, sooner or later - I'm fighting.

Thank you, MudWasp - I guess many people have much harder times; I'll get there.

Thank you, Rick.



Thanks for being so loyal, Hasse. I have been thinking, if I should or should not tell the details.
But since I met so many other people with that same darkness on their souls in that clinic
(and that is only one of many such places), I found it no shame, and I guess it should be better
known and understood - then the depressed would not feel so afraid and isolated.

Hi Olham,
Good news - bad news.
Good news - you're hopefully on the mend

Bad news - you had to go through it in the first place

Hang in there and believe in yourself.
It's souls like yourself that we all care for and support.
We all need you up and running - Come to think about it, so does WOFF

Yes, I am quite overwhelmed by all the greetings and best wishes.
It will still take some time to recover; I still don't even do
any flying yet. Hopefully soon.
Thank you, Sandbagger!

Hopefully soon indeed.
The "Green Tails" are suffering mightily in your absence.

Olham, you are not alone in this fight! This old gezzer has had several brief but very dark days where hope was a brief glimmer at best. Friends who were there all the time the best medicine. Long walks with some friends talking about everything with lots of stories of all sorts were helpfull.

You are just to good of a person to not win this battle!

CW3SF

Thank you, CW3SF - yes, long walks with friends are truely helpful.

I am so sorry to hear of your problem,Olham.
You have been sorely missed on the WOFF pages where your sage advice,always delivered in a gentlemanly manner,has helped so many OFF and WOFF beginners,myself included on so many occasions.The place is not the same without you.Please accept my sincere best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery.

Thank you, hood - be assured that I'm struggling hard to be back soon.

All the best from me too!

elephant, nice to see you around - thank you my friend!

Good to hear from you, Olham !

I don't know if it will help you, but I also had a long depression in the 90s following a professional burnout, until I had an accident due to lack of sleep and luckily survived. I had to stay a month in a specialized clinic after being physically repaired in hospital. When I left, the shrink told me he would never see me again. He was right !

Just to say you can get out of it. Since then I consider I'm living "bonus years" and enjoying every hour.

Olham:

As someone with his own black dog following him around at times....

...I'm just glad you had the presence of mind to get some help. We'll be here when you take to the air again.

Hi Olham,

Boy has it been a while since I've written to you, my friend. It seems, sometimes, that circumstances conspire to bring people back into each others orbits. Last week, my ancient gaming rig - the one I used to fly OFF and post on the boards with years ago - finally bit the dust, beyond repair. I'm still in school, but as luck would have it, I'm getting a small loan from some friends and family to get a new computer and I started looking at the WOFF boards for the first time in over a year, then found this.

I'm terribly sorry for the burden and strain you have been under. I can't really say anything that the others haven't already expressed with greater eloquence, but, I'm also glad you had the presence of mind to get some help and, like all of us here, I'm pulling for you too. Hang in there, my friend!

Cappy

Sorry to read you are having to go through this situation. May seem dark before the dawn, but the dawn comes up and the sun shines.

Speedy recovery Olham!

Olham,

Hey, thanks for posting this and bringing it to our attention. It's a tough thing that many of us have dealt with, myself included. Spent plenty of time living life looking out through the bottom of the bottle. It's hard, and something hard to over-come, but you can.

We're here, we're always here, and we'll always be here. This community was never built on anything less than friendship, thoughtfulness and brotherhood.

Sometimes just getting involved in something that returns good feelings, and removes the bad cures a lot of things. Volunteer, Tudor, mentor, help the elderly, feed the veterans.. etc... it's what makes life worth living.

Talk to us, we'll listen.

All the best my brother and hang in there for the long-haul!

James
'OvS'

Olham: If it helps, I just shot down a Sopwith Pup (black dog) in your name with an Albatros.

Now just get yours in your sights and take it down.

Olham, hope you get well soon.

Sometimes it's pretty hard to get up when life seems to be kicking you when you're down.

Though I wasn't a big fan of the movie, I always found the quote at the end of Prozak Nation, (mis)paraphrasing Earnest Hemmingway, encouraging...

That you get out of depression the same way you get in, gradually, then suddenly.

Hope your suddenly has come and, if not yet, take heart that it will come soon.

Deacon

Best wishes Olham ! happy to know that you have somehow partly recovered !

Olham, got some issues with my own brain, so I have a little idea of what it's taken for you to get where you are now; you're definitely on the right path, brother, and whether the rest will take a few days, weeks, months, or years, you're moving in the right direction. See you in the skies when you're ready.

Olham, I share the others' sympathies - and as well, I am glad you took, and continue to take, the steps you need to beat the beast. I must admit that it it comes as a bit of a surprise - someone as bright, as helpful, as cheerful, as you always are around here, a truly good & kind soul (and Barmy to boot!), and yet tormented by something not of your own making.

Years back, you'd hardly made acquaintance with me on the old CA board and you offered to make a pilot avatar for me from my photo and a suitable WWI pilot - that was touching, and shows what a good heart you have. It took me a long time to find a decent photo of me as a young man - my family broke up during that time and I have very few photos from then - but I still want to thank you for the offer.

I ended up in treatment due to problems of my own making; but still, when my life was spiraling out of control, one of the best things I ever did was to seek treatment.

Take care, come 'round when you can, & I'll keep you in my prayers.

Hi Olham,

glad hearing from you. I'm confident you'll beat the beast. If not today, then tomorrow. But you'll get there.

The forum is not the same without you.

Assumed you'd gone to teach the Turks to fly the Albatros, old chap. But 'twas depression rather than the Dardanelles, eh?

As Lou says, we're here... if you need us.

Live thru Monday....and repeat it a few times....cause Tuesday's gone with the with the wind.....set your sights on Today




Long live the Sally Sparrow in you...
http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0027088/quotes

Sally Sparrow: I love old things. They make me feel sad.
Kathy Nightingale: What's good about sad?
Sally Sparrow: It's happy for deep people.

Thank you for your openness and good wishes, Corsaire, CatKnight, loftyc, HumanDrone and James (OvS)!

Good to see you around here again, Capt.Sopwith - thank you!

Thank you, cptroyce, Deacon211, kaa, Creaghorn and MudWasp!

HD, my offer still counts - you only need to send me a PM with a pic (if you find one).

Thanks, Olham, you're quite the good-hearted one. Take care of yourself, first, though & I'll see what I can find. BTW, those are stunningly beautiful screenshots that you showed Capt Sopwith on the other thread.

Best,

Tom

Thanks, HD - but that's WOFF.

Gee, I am feeling a bit better today. They sent me off to sleep at home.
I only go there for therapies, Monday - Friday from 8 - 16 h.

May more good days come your way, Olham.
8-16h....do you have time fly WOFF now?

Thanks, MudWasp!


Times yes, but believe it or not, in a depression you often don't even feel
capable for that - it feels like a real strain of a real war pilot, his fears included.
I give it time, and when I feel like, I'll try it.

Yep, I've felt that way at times, just called it being in a funk. Sometimes I felt guilty or angry with myself for not not doing what I used to enjoy.

One of these days you'll wake up and want to fly, or do something else that hasn't been done since the dark fog set in.

Yes, I know that very well. Even without a depression, I had phases like that.
I think it's okay - we are not on duty.


Yes, I am working hard to get there, and I'm sure I'll be.

That depression fog probably didn't amass all in one day, so it probably takes some time to lift.
Don't get discouraged if days with little or no change run a streak.

Olham

My thoughts are with you - keep postive.