He Had Major Depression, But He Impressed Me With His Resourcefulness

Conversation with stranger battling mental health

In those days, I used to wait at the metro station on my university campus for a ride back home. As I waited, an old man seated next to me on the bench, started a small talk with me. I told him that I am an Indian, a student here, speaking Hindi, etc.

He shared how the Spanish brought houses from Asian countries, and their descendants are the wild mustangs in the Southwest. He told me the importance of being multilingual and how he saw the staff at the DMV being fluent in multiple languages. I loved the conversation.

After a few days, I was again on that bench, and the man was seated at the same spot. I recognized him but did not greet him, thinking he might not remember. As I was reading a book and eating a banana, I heard him say, “Banana is rich in potassium.”

I couldn’t resist sharing that we had met a few days ago and had a nice conversation. He said he did not remember me. I must have felt a bit disappointed, but I thought it was okay. He is a gregarious old man who talks to everybody, and I didn’t expect him to remember.

After some time, he told me, “I could not remember you. You see, I have major depression. I forget things.” I looked at him with empathy. He shared how his depression made him not talk to his family for months.

The trolley came, and we boarded our own coaches. On the way back home, I kept thinking about the old man who is still working and talking about such wide-ranging topics, while he’s going through such serious mental health issues.

Some empathy will not hurt. If our trolley had not come that early that day, I would have listened to him share all his struggles.

Just by listening to a person, we are doing a great service to them.

Can’t we do that? Are we really that busy? For what?