August 28, 2025 • 14 mins
Welcome back, Friends! I have something to share with you. I'm finally getting close to my first book, "Shades of Depression" and I want to invite you to follow along.
When people hear the word 'depession,' they usually picture one thing: total darkness...an all-consuming weight. And yes, sometimes it feels that way. But, I've learned depression doesn't always look the same. It shifts. It carries different tones, different feelings, different weights. That is why I wanted to write this book, and why I'm starting this podcast series-because there's more to the story , and I want us to walk through it together.
My hope with "Shades of Depression" is to give a voice to what so many of us carry in silence. To say out loud the things that are hard to explain. And to remind you, you are not alone, no matter what shade you find yourself in. This podcast is going to be a space where we keep unpacking this together, not just depression, but the life changes that feel heavy, the transitions that are hard, the places we struggle to find our footing.
So, if this converstion speaks to you, I'd love for you to follow along.
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/herjourneytowardschange
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/LauraConrad.LifeCoach
APPLE PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/her-journey-towards-change-life-coaching/id1369218413
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/her-journey-towards-change-life-coaching--2081645/support.
When people hear the word 'depession,' they usually picture one thing: total darkness...an all-consuming weight. And yes, sometimes it feels that way. But, I've learned depression doesn't always look the same. It shifts. It carries different tones, different feelings, different weights. That is why I wanted to write this book, and why I'm starting this podcast series-because there's more to the story , and I want us to walk through it together.
My hope with "Shades of Depression" is to give a voice to what so many of us carry in silence. To say out loud the things that are hard to explain. And to remind you, you are not alone, no matter what shade you find yourself in. This podcast is going to be a space where we keep unpacking this together, not just depression, but the life changes that feel heavy, the transitions that are hard, the places we struggle to find our footing.
So, if this converstion speaks to you, I'd love for you to follow along.
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/herjourneytowardschange
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/LauraConrad.LifeCoach
APPLE PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/her-journey-towards-change-life-coaching/id1369218413
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/her-journey-towards-change-life-coaching--2081645/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi friends, I'm Laura, and welcome to my podcast, Her
Journey Towards Change. This is a faith based life coaching
podcast for women who, like me, are on a journey
to live the best life possible. And then something happens,
something unforeseen, and everything changes. Life feels foreign and you
feel stuck and it's difficult to move forward and reaching
(00:23):
out can be hard. Right. Believe me, I know if
this is you, this podcast is for you. I don't
claim to have all the answers, but I know who does.
God wants more for us, for you and for me.
You are created to live your best life, So I
hope you will go on this journey with me to
(00:45):
a more positive perspective and take those hard steps together
through Her Journey Towards Change. Together, let's break through the
barriers which are holding us back from achieving what God
has called us to be. So let's go, and I
hope you will go on this journey with me. Well,
(01:19):
hello everyone, and welcome back to the podcast. You are
listening to Her Journey Towards Change and I am your host, Laura,
And it's been a little while since I've been here,
and I'm hoping that this will be the start of
something new for me, and that I will be back consistently.
I'm not sure what that will look like just yet.
(01:40):
If that will be every week, every other week, once
a month, We'll see how it goes. Because I am
working on something special that I want to share with
you today. But at the we are at the end
of the month in September is almost here and school
has started, and I just want to share that my
(02:05):
heart is so heavy today and I want to extend
my deepest thoughts in prayers to the famili's friends and
community of Minneapolis after the devastating shooting of Annunciation Catholic
Church and school. What should have been a quiet moment
of prayer turned into an unthinkable tragedy. I just it
(02:30):
is so hard to wrap your head around it. Words
feel so small in the face of this kind of grief.
So to the families who lost their beautiful children, and
to those who were injured and who to all of
those who are shaken by this act of violence, please
(02:51):
know that I know these might just be words, but
you are in our thoughts and prayers. They are being
carried with you. But my prayer is that it doesn't
stop there. My prayer is that change, change will be made,
not just in words, but in actions, that we will
(03:14):
not only send comfort in the aftermath, but also commit
to building safer communities and protecting our children and standing
together against this violence. It has to stop. It has
to stop. So I just wanted to share that before
(03:36):
I started into this episode, which this episode is episode
one hundred and four, and it's kind of hard to
shift gears after that. But I want to welcome back
(03:57):
all of those who have been listening in, who have
been listening to all of my episodes from the past,
and I appreciate all of you, I truly do, so
I'm welcoming you back today. But I want to share
with something with you that I've been working on, something
(04:17):
very close to my heart. I've been working on a
book and it's called Shades of Depression. Just saying that
title out loud still feels a little raw, because it's
not easy to put something so personal into words. When
people hear the word depression, they usually picture one thing,
(04:40):
total darkness, in all consuming weight, and yes, sometimes it
feels that way. I know I felt it. But what
I've learned is that depression doesn't always look the same
it ships, It carries different tones, different feelings in different ways,
(05:03):
and that's why I wanted to write this book and
why I'm starting this podcast series because there's more to
the story and I want us to walk through it together.
And I'm going to be honest. It's hard to talk
about depression when you're living in it. When someone would
(05:25):
ask me, how are you doing, my default answer was
always I'm fine or I'm just tired, which it partly
was true and partly wasn't. Some days I was fine,
some days I was tired, but it felt impossible to
(05:49):
explain because deep down I didn't think people would understand.
And that's the tough part. If you haven't been there,
it's confusing. People love you, but they don't always know
how to respond. Sometimes their words come out I'm not
going to stay wrong, but sometimes they come out not right.
(06:10):
Just because they say things that, for instance, just be
positive or everyone feels that way sometimes, or just be
happy and maybe you've heard that too, it doesn't make
it better, does it. It makes you feel more isolated.
(06:35):
And that's part of why I'm sharing my story, because
silence only makes depression heavier. But when we start to
put words to it. When we find a way to
describe what's happening inside of us, we loosen its grip,
just stay a little bit. And what I've discovered is
(06:56):
this depression isn't one tomans. It doesn't have just one
single face. For me. Some days it was quiet and still,
in other days it was restless and overwhelming. Sometimes it
just sneaks in slowly, and other times it crashes in
(07:17):
without warning. And that's why I use the word shades,
because they are different ways it shows up in our lives.
And my hope with this book and with this podcast
is to help us recognize those shades so we don't
have to carry them nameless and alone. So let me
(07:37):
ask you this, If you could describe the season you're
in right now, what word would you choose? Not a color,
not a diagnosis, just a word that feels honest. Maybe
it's falk, Maybe it's heaviness, Maybe it's survival. What comes
(08:00):
to mind to you? I'll never forget. When my husband
and I came back from our Route sixty six road trip,
it was awesome. We had never taken a road trip
like that before, and we went to several different states,
(08:22):
took back roads. It was just amazing. And when we
got back home and I started putting in some more
of the photos I had taken to share on social media,
it felt strange. It felt like I was somebody else
(08:45):
on the outside looking in. It didn't even feel like
that it was me and those photos and that I
was even on that trip, which I was. And I
remember sharing how I was feeling on social media. And
I love my friends. They were very helpful. They still
are to this very day, and I thank each and
(09:07):
every one of you. But I remember once stood out,
and I get it. I thought the same thing. But
I had said that it was just coming down off
of cloud nine after being on a high of being
on that road trip and then coming back to reality.
(09:31):
And I thought that at first, but it was more
than that. It was way more than that. It just
did not feel right. And that's the thing depression, isn't
It shows up in different ways. Sometimes people see a
(09:53):
smile and a laugh and a moment of normal and
assume you're okay, but they don't see the weight that
it took to show up at all. Maybe you know
what it feels like, maybe you've lived it, or maybe
you've watched someone you love, live through it. I want
you to sit with a few questions today. How do
(10:16):
you describe your hardest seasons if you haven't been through
depression yourself, how do you try to understand it in
someone you love? And what happens what helps for you
(10:40):
to feel seen, not fixed, just seen when you're struggling.
I don't want to just talk about the struggle. I
want to leave you with a few things that might help.
Number one, give yourself permission to be honest. You don't
have to have polished words. Just saying I don't feel
(11:05):
like me right now is enough. That's all you need
to say. Number two, reach out for save people. Depression
wants to isolate you, but one person who listens without
judgment can change everything. Number three offer compassion instead of solutions.
(11:26):
If someone you love is walking through depression, they don't
need you to fix it, They need you to stand
with them in it. And number four take the smallest
next step. When everything feels overwhelming, look for one small thing.
(11:48):
Believe me, this sounds too simple, but it works. Take
that walk outside, take that deep breath, say that single prayer,
Write that one word down on a piece of paper.
Believe me, I know it works, every small little step counts,
(12:13):
and finally, hold on to hope even when you don't
feel it, especially when you don't feel it, because depression
wants you to believe the season will never end, but
it will. My hope with Shades of Depression is to
give a voice to what so many of us carry
(12:36):
in silence, to say out loud the things that are
hard to explain, and to remind you that you're not
alone no matter what shade you find yourself in. This
podcast is going to be a space where we can
keep unpacking this together, not just depression, but the life
(12:56):
changes that feel heavy, the transitions that are in the
places we struggle to find our footing. So if this
conversation speaks to you, I'd love for you to follow along.
We're going to talk about the real stuff, the parts
of life that are messy and complicated but also full
of meaning and growth. And before I go, I want
(13:19):
to leave with you this one question. What would change
in your life if you gave yourself permission to name
your struggle instead of hiding it? Because healing often begins
with the words we've been too afraid to say, So
(13:39):
with that, I want to invite you to follow along.
You can find me on Apple Podcasts or any platform
where you listen to podcasts, and also you can follow
me on Instagram at Laura Coonrad dot life Coach, and
you can find me on Facebook at her Journey Towards Change.
(14:00):
I hope to see you there and love you guys,
Hi friends, I'm Laura, and welcome to my podcast, Her
Journey Towards Change. This is a faith based life coaching
podcast for women who, like me, are on a journey
to live the best life possible. And then something happens,
something unforeseen, and everything changes. Life feels foreign and you
feel stuck and it's difficult to move forward and reaching
(00:23):
out can be hard. Right. Believe me, I know if
this is you, this podcast is for you. I don't
claim to have all the answers, but I know who does.
God wants more for us, for you and for me.
You are created to live your best life, So I
hope you will go on this journey with me to
(00:45):
a more positive perspective and take those hard steps together
through Her Journey Towards Change. Together, let's break through the
barriers which are holding us back from achieving what God
has called us to be. So let's go, and I
hope you will go on this journey with me. Well,
(01:19):
hello everyone, and welcome back to the podcast. You are
listening to Her Journey Towards Change and I am your host, Laura,
And it's been a little while since I've been here,
and I'm hoping that this will be the start of
something new for me, and that I will be back consistently.
I'm not sure what that will look like just yet.
(01:40):
If that will be every week, every other week, once
a month, We'll see how it goes. Because I am
working on something special that I want to share with
you today. But at the we are at the end
of the month in September is almost here and school
has started, and I just want to share that my
(02:05):
heart is so heavy today and I want to extend
my deepest thoughts in prayers to the famili's friends and
community of Minneapolis after the devastating shooting of Annunciation Catholic
Church and school. What should have been a quiet moment
of prayer turned into an unthinkable tragedy. I just it
(02:30):
is so hard to wrap your head around it. Words
feel so small in the face of this kind of grief.
So to the families who lost their beautiful children, and
to those who were injured and who to all of
those who are shaken by this act of violence, please
(02:51):
know that I know these might just be words, but
you are in our thoughts and prayers. They are being
carried with you. But my prayer is that it doesn't
stop there. My prayer is that change, change will be made,
not just in words, but in actions, that we will
(03:14):
not only send comfort in the aftermath, but also commit
to building safer communities and protecting our children and standing
together against this violence. It has to stop. It has
to stop. So I just wanted to share that before
(03:36):
I started into this episode, which this episode is episode
one hundred and four, and it's kind of hard to
shift gears after that. But I want to welcome back
(03:57):
all of those who have been listening in, who have
been listening to all of my episodes from the past,
and I appreciate all of you, I truly do, so
I'm welcoming you back today. But I want to share
with something with you that I've been working on, something
(04:17):
very close to my heart. I've been working on a
book and it's called Shades of Depression. Just saying that
title out loud still feels a little raw, because it's
not easy to put something so personal into words. When
people hear the word depression, they usually picture one thing,
(04:40):
total darkness, in all consuming weight, and yes, sometimes it
feels that way. I know I felt it. But what
I've learned is that depression doesn't always look the same
it ships, It carries different tones, different feelings in different ways,
(05:03):
and that's why I wanted to write this book and
why I'm starting this podcast series because there's more to
the story and I want us to walk through it together.
And I'm going to be honest. It's hard to talk
about depression when you're living in it. When someone would
(05:25):
ask me, how are you doing, my default answer was
always I'm fine or I'm just tired, which it partly
was true and partly wasn't. Some days I was fine,
some days I was tired, but it felt impossible to
(05:49):
explain because deep down I didn't think people would understand.
And that's the tough part. If you haven't been there,
it's confusing. People love you, but they don't always know
how to respond. Sometimes their words come out I'm not
going to stay wrong, but sometimes they come out not right.
(06:10):
Just because they say things that, for instance, just be
positive or everyone feels that way sometimes, or just be
happy and maybe you've heard that too, it doesn't make
it better, does it. It makes you feel more isolated.
(06:35):
And that's part of why I'm sharing my story, because
silence only makes depression heavier. But when we start to
put words to it. When we find a way to
describe what's happening inside of us, we loosen its grip,
just stay a little bit. And what I've discovered is
(06:56):
this depression isn't one tomans. It doesn't have just one
single face. For me. Some days it was quiet and still,
in other days it was restless and overwhelming. Sometimes it
just sneaks in slowly, and other times it crashes in
(07:17):
without warning. And that's why I use the word shades,
because they are different ways it shows up in our lives.
And my hope with this book and with this podcast
is to help us recognize those shades so we don't
have to carry them nameless and alone. So let me
(07:37):
ask you this, If you could describe the season you're
in right now, what word would you choose? Not a color,
not a diagnosis, just a word that feels honest. Maybe
it's falk, Maybe it's heaviness, Maybe it's survival. What comes
(08:00):
to mind to you? I'll never forget. When my husband
and I came back from our Route sixty six road trip,
it was awesome. We had never taken a road trip
like that before, and we went to several different states,
(08:22):
took back roads. It was just amazing. And when we
got back home and I started putting in some more
of the photos I had taken to share on social media,
it felt strange. It felt like I was somebody else
(08:45):
on the outside looking in. It didn't even feel like
that it was me and those photos and that I
was even on that trip, which I was. And I
remember sharing how I was feeling on social media. And
I love my friends. They were very helpful. They still
are to this very day, and I thank each and
(09:07):
every one of you. But I remember once stood out,
and I get it. I thought the same thing. But
I had said that it was just coming down off
of cloud nine after being on a high of being
on that road trip and then coming back to reality.
(09:31):
And I thought that at first, but it was more
than that. It was way more than that. It just
did not feel right. And that's the thing depression, isn't
It shows up in different ways. Sometimes people see a
(09:53):
smile and a laugh and a moment of normal and
assume you're okay, but they don't see the weight that
it took to show up at all. Maybe you know
what it feels like, maybe you've lived it, or maybe
you've watched someone you love, live through it. I want
you to sit with a few questions today. How do
(10:16):
you describe your hardest seasons if you haven't been through
depression yourself, how do you try to understand it in
someone you love? And what happens what helps for you
(10:40):
to feel seen, not fixed, just seen when you're struggling.
I don't want to just talk about the struggle. I
want to leave you with a few things that might help.
Number one, give yourself permission to be honest. You don't
have to have polished words. Just saying I don't feel
(11:05):
like me right now is enough. That's all you need
to say. Number two, reach out for save people. Depression
wants to isolate you, but one person who listens without
judgment can change everything. Number three offer compassion instead of solutions.
(11:26):
If someone you love is walking through depression, they don't
need you to fix it, They need you to stand
with them in it. And number four take the smallest
next step. When everything feels overwhelming, look for one small thing.
(11:48):
Believe me, this sounds too simple, but it works. Take
that walk outside, take that deep breath, say that single prayer,
Write that one word down on a piece of paper.
Believe me, I know it works, every small little step counts,
(12:13):
and finally, hold on to hope even when you don't
feel it, especially when you don't feel it, because depression
wants you to believe the season will never end, but
it will. My hope with Shades of Depression is to
give a voice to what so many of us carry
(12:36):
in silence, to say out loud the things that are
hard to explain, and to remind you that you're not
alone no matter what shade you find yourself in. This
podcast is going to be a space where we can
keep unpacking this together, not just depression, but the life
(12:56):
changes that feel heavy, the transitions that are in the
places we struggle to find our footing. So if this
conversation speaks to you, I'd love for you to follow along.
We're going to talk about the real stuff, the parts
of life that are messy and complicated but also full
of meaning and growth. And before I go, I want
(13:19):
to leave with you this one question. What would change
in your life if you gave yourself permission to name
your struggle instead of hiding it? Because healing often begins
with the words we've been too afraid to say, So
(13:39):
with that, I want to invite you to follow along.
You can find me on Apple Podcasts or any platform
where you listen to podcasts, and also you can follow
me on Instagram at Laura Coonrad dot life Coach, and
you can find me on Facebook at her Journey Towards Change.
(14:00):
I hope to see you there and love you guys,
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