When You Are Depressed, Make Something
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Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#2I agree with this 100%. I find though, that the crippling part of the worst bouts of depression can be the inability to get up and make something. The impetus to create - usually strong - disappears.
Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#3The first half of the article has a lot of wisdom.
The second half reminds me of well meaning people who make things worse by trying to help. "Just (go jogging, do something creative drink vegetable shakes)"
I would if I could damn it! lol
Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#4[deleted]
Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#5I agree with this 100%. I find though, that the crippling part of the worst bouts of depression can be the inability to get up and make something. The impetus to create - usually strong - disappears.
My strategy in those situations is to get out my phone, set a timer and say: "I'm going to work on x for five minutes, if I still feel crappy after five minutes I'll stop." That mental bargaining is bizarre in that I know its irrational but it always works, five minutes is enough for me to get enough 'creative inertia'.
Making things isn't a panacea for me, when I'm done working I'll still sometimes feel less than great, but it always helps.
Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#6The first half of the article has a lot of wisdom. The second half reminds me of well meaning people who make things worse by trying to help. "Just (go jogging, do something creative drink vegetable shakes)" I would if I could damn it! lol
Quite. The whole thing with (bad) depression is that it makes you unable to get up and do the very things that help fight it: exercise, create, see friends.
Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#7Great insight. I never thought of it this way. Perhaps this is the best justification for art education. It is not about producing beautiful objects. Perhaps it is about our mental health. More like meditation. It is the process that gives us value, regardless of whether other people are willing to pay for the art that we make.
Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#8Actually, when you are depressed you should seek some help. First.
Then we can talk.
Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#9The first half of the article has a lot of wisdom. The second half reminds me of well meaning people who make things worse by trying to help. "Just (go jogging, do something creative drink vegetable shakes)" I would if I could damn it! lol
Quite. The whole thing with (bad) depression is that it makes you unable to get up and do the very things that help fight it: exercise, create, see friends.
Yeah, might be different for different people but when I'm depressed I can become devoid of passion, and caring about things enough to carry them out becomes a daily struggle
Re: When You Are Depressed, Make Something
#10Start with a daily journal. Write down the stuff you did and the thoughts you had. Write down the things you want to get done tomorrow in the same journal and cross them off if you accomplish them.
This way every day of your life will have significance. Even if the day was dreary, mundane, sad, or even horrible, recording the memory records the significance because you lived it.
Journaling didn't cure me of depression, but it helped me build a ladder out of my pit of despair.