![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Jun. 12th, 2014 10:51 am(This isn't new to me, but this morning gives such a clear articulation of this concept that I thought I'd share in case it's useful to any of you)
Often, depression isn't about the things I do; it's about how I think about the things I do.
Depressed-Emma looks at this morning and thinks "Oh god, it's 11am and I am still unwashed in a dressing gown, feeling hot and sticky and lazy and lethargic and all I've done is poke the internet aimlessly and I'm such a failure as a person".
Non-depressed-Emma looks at this morning and thinks "I made breakfast - avocado and eggs and fresh-baked bread! I helped a stranger on a web community with tech support, and then I sent some emails and did some Facebook networking in support of a new group investigating medicine for marginalised groups. (All the time, I had my work email up in the background - I might not have any booked appointments til the afternoon, but it's good to be on call.) Now I'm running a bath to soothe my aching muscles (last night I squatted 90kg and benched 40kg, no wonder I'm a bit lethargic today)."
And, sure, if I'd been at my worst I'd be unlikely to have made such a nice breakfast, or to have gone lifting; but non-depressed-Emma knows "I can't be expected to fulfil all those obligations when my mental health is struggling, and it's fine to be a bit gentle with myself at those times."
Often, depression isn't about the things I do; it's about how I think about the things I do.
Depressed-Emma looks at this morning and thinks "Oh god, it's 11am and I am still unwashed in a dressing gown, feeling hot and sticky and lazy and lethargic and all I've done is poke the internet aimlessly and I'm such a failure as a person".
Non-depressed-Emma looks at this morning and thinks "I made breakfast - avocado and eggs and fresh-baked bread! I helped a stranger on a web community with tech support, and then I sent some emails and did some Facebook networking in support of a new group investigating medicine for marginalised groups. (All the time, I had my work email up in the background - I might not have any booked appointments til the afternoon, but it's good to be on call.) Now I'm running a bath to soothe my aching muscles (last night I squatted 90kg and benched 40kg, no wonder I'm a bit lethargic today)."
And, sure, if I'd been at my worst I'd be unlikely to have made such a nice breakfast, or to have gone lifting; but non-depressed-Emma knows "I can't be expected to fulfil all those obligations when my mental health is struggling, and it's fine to be a bit gentle with myself at those times."