Hello Friday: The Upside of Depression
So this article out of the UK, actually has scientists saying what I’ve always believed to be true in the back of my mind — basically that depression is sometimes a good thing, as it often forces you to change your life for the better.
Now, I believe in two types of depression: medical and environmental depression. I believe medical depression is chemical and should be treated with drugs and therapy and the like. However environmental depression — which I get from time to time — is the result of your life not quite looking like you want it to at the moment, and I think that a lot of good stuff can come out of environmental depression. Most everything I’ve ever finished writing has been a bid to get rid of this kind of depression. I also find that a some of my best ideas come about after a particularly long spell of sadness.
That’s why I’ve been learning to embrace both my happiness and my bouts of depression as I get older. When I’m blue, I usually roll around in it for a day or two, then I finally get sick of myself, look at my life and I try to figure out what I could change to make this horrible depression go away. When I got sad about being single, I would keep on going out on dates, even though I was sick of dating. When I got depressed about not having sold anything I had written, I would write some more. When I got depressed about my finances, I would make a budget. So now I’m married to a wonderful man, I’ve completed one novel and am working on a second, and I’ve actually become pretty good with handling money — I guess I owe that all to depression.
The worse bit is when your depressed about something that can only be solved with time and patience. I’m still working on patience. But I’m seriously starting to think that this depression stuff is something to be grateful for as far as self-improvement goes.
And now I’m curious if anyone else has had the same experience. Do you owe anything good that’s happened in your life to depression? Let us know in the comments. And here’s that article on the upside of depression.
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I came out of one pretty bad depression believing in God after being an Atheist for 24 years!
I came out of one pretty bad depression believing in God after being an Atheist for 24 years!
At the tail end of the great depression, as I like to call it, I was able to look at a male friend with new eyes thanks to his kindness in my hour of need. Then I went on to marry him. So far, so good!
At the tail end of the great depression, as I like to call it, I was able to look at a male friend with new eyes thanks to his kindness in my hour of need. Then I went on to marry him. So far, so good!
if it weren't for the misery of busted-up engagement and following depression several years ago, i really would not have discovered who i am. this depression actually saved me from a potential life in orange county with a coupla kids…shudder to think.
if it weren't for the misery of busted-up engagement and following depression several years ago, i really would not have discovered who i am. this depression actually saved me from a potential life in orange county with a coupla kids…shudder to think.
This is a wonderful post! I think I'm definitely someone who suffers from "environmental depression." DEFINITELY!! It always hits me suddenly and causes an overwhelming urge to cry. When I'm in that moment, I try to refocus – remind myself that the feeling, the moment, is *temporary* and part of the process and journey – usually to the long-term goal and that which I KNOW will make me happy, what I really want to do and the direction I'd like my life to head in.
This is a wonderful post! I think I'm definitely someone who suffers from "environmental depression." DEFINITELY!! It always hits me suddenly and causes an overwhelming urge to cry. When I'm in that moment, I try to refocus – remind myself that the feeling, the moment, is *temporary* and part of the process and journey – usually to the long-term goal and that which I KNOW will make me happy, what I really want to do and the direction I'd like my life to head in.
I wouldn't be a professional writer if not for a deep depression in fall 0f 2003; I also wouldn't have mended my relationship with my mom right before she was diagnosed with the pancreatic cancer that killed her if not for that same depression, which led to a lot of self-reflection (yes, a lot of it guided by a good therapist).
I wouldn't be a professional writer if not for a deep depression in fall 0f 2003; I also wouldn't have mended my relationship with my mom right before she was diagnosed with the pancreatic cancer that killed her if not for that same depression, which led to a lot of self-reflection (yes, a lot of it guided by a good therapist).