In an earlier post you talked about using thoughts to come out of depression. Thoughts can also become a reinforcer that the goals are indeed unreachable and can even make far fetched connections, such as between one failure and a potential new one in the future, soon bringing people to thinking that they are hopelessly incapable of reaching any goals...

Jonathan Rottenberg Ph.D.
Depression
Why Do Depressed People Lie in Bed?
The intuitive answer is that a lack of motivation is to blame.
Posted Jun 03, 2011
If you've personally suffered from depression or known someone who has, you know that when people are really depressed, they have a strong urge to stay in bed.
Why do depressed people lie in bed? It isn't because of great snuggle time under the blankets. It's because depressed people can't bring themselves to get out of bed. Almost any activity or task becomes a painful ordeal, even things as simple as taking a shower or getting dressed. A perfectly able-bodied person can't even bring him or herself to rise out of bed. How does this happen?
The intuitive answer is that a lack of motivation is to blame. Depressed people are directionless because they are undercommitted to goals. Without goals to drive future behavior, current behavior becomes frozen for long periods. Beds are the most natural location for a behavioral pause, as the place in the house most associated with inactivity.
The intuitive answer is okay as far as it goes. The problem is that it just doesn't go very far. It begs the question of how a person loses the desire to pursue goals in the first place. The answer involves a surprising theory that takes us closer to understanding how it is that low moods intensify into more serious episodes of depression.
First, we have to detour to contemporary evolutionary psychology, which tells us that moods have a function: Moods help us pursue goals efficiently. High moods help us to more vigorously pursue rewards. Low moods tell us when our progress towards goals is poor. Often, low moods first arise when we've hit an obstacle, or when an important goal is threatened. Our usual first reaction to a low mood is to redouble effort towards the blocked goal. If the goal still proves to be unreachable, the low mood will escalate. At some point, something has to give: Usually the person will give up, or scale back on the goal and/or move on to another activity that has a better pay off. Authors such as Randolph Nesse and Eric Klinger have made a powerful case for the utility of low mood. In a world where time, resources, and effort itself are all precious and finite, having an evolved mechanism to hasten disengagement from a failing goal is very important to survival.
These relationships between moods, goal, and effort hold for a variety of species. A bear fishing for salmon without luck in a favorite river bend uses low mood to help it move on to another spot. For better or worse, human self-regulation is more complicated because we can choose either to act or not to act on our mood. I believe that humans are the only species that can decide to ignore low mood and to continue pursuit of an unreachable goal. In a sense, this creates the potential for a standoff between the person and their ancient mood system. To resolve the standoff, the mood system must do something more drastic: It turns down the volume on goal pursuit, not only on the one goal but on goal pursuit across the board. Eventually, when the mood system wins the result is flat-on-your-back depression, with fatigue, torpor, a lack of motivation, the whole nine yards.
This alternative theory turns the standard explanation on its head. Depressed people don't end up lying in bed because they are undercommitted to goals. They end up lying in bed because they are overcommitted to goals that are failing badly. The idea that depressed people cannot disengage efforts from failure is a relatively new theory. It has not been much tested in research studies. However, the idea is well worth exploring. It fits well clinically with the kinds of situations that often precipitate serious depression—the battered wife who cannot bring herself to leave her troubled marriage, the seriously injured athlete who cannot bring himself to retire, the laid-off employee who cannot bring herself to abandon her chosen career despite a lack of positions in her line of work. Seeing these depressions in terms of unreachable goals may be useful clinically, and may help us better understand how ordinary low moods can escalate into incapacitating bouts of depression.
Jonathan Rottenberg is the author of The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic, available where books are sold.
Be sure to read the following responses to this post by our bloggers:
Stop lying.
Liar. You always wanted to be a model. Why are you deleting the black women have ugly noses posts.
I know you're a cop asshole.
GO AWAY NOW. You scared me into not putting us on the do not call list. I didn't want Rosemary DiMarco's sunglasses. Why aren't you delivering my glasses, bro?
I agree
I think depression is the result of going after goals and repeatedly failing and/or determining in your head that you will fail at every goal you set. So, for example, the last few days I was depressed about marriage becuase I kept seeing how the divorce laws were so against men and how high the overall risk was. Thus, there is a dissonance between a goal (marriage) and my mind saying that goal is unrealistic based on the facts.
naps
In very low moods I have been able to take naps even when not particularly tired just to escape consciousness and my own miserable thoughts. I liken it to committing a tiny suicide.
Tiny Suicide
Matthew Hutson wrote:In very low moods I have been able to take naps even when not particularly tired just to escape consciousness and my own miserable thoughts. I liken it to committing a tiny suicide.
Oh yes, this one hit me - the need to sleep and escape was what almost caused an accidental overdose in my case - I figured out what I was thinking before I did it - thank goodness, although I still battle depression everyday, currently going through a cancer scare and being hit with "but I want to live".
I like the theory.
This resonates so well with
This resonates so well with me... because sleeping/dreaming suspends you from your conscious emotional state. It's almost like dying into a temporarily new, temporarily unaffected personality. The only problem is, IMHO, that the sleep never lasts long enough. I keep hoping that when I wake up, I'll feel better, and I never do... maybe I should lower my expectations :)
Escaping consciousness, tiny suicide
I couldn't have said it better myself.
"committing a tiny suicide"..
"committing a tiny suicide".. i couldn't have said it better or capture exactly what lying lead-like in bed is to me..wishing never having to wake up or get up again.
I have not quoted that last
I have not quoted that last statement! I see that we are at least two anonymous participants. I ask that the editors dishes it up.
The theme is important and there is help for those who suffer. It is our responsibility to be alert and detect signals from our fellow man.
I have not quoted that last
I have not quoted that last statement! I see that we are at least two anonymous participants. I ask that the editors dishes it up.
The theme is important and there is help for those who suffer. It is our responsibility to be alert and detect signals from our fellow man.
Depression + Bed = Return to the womb like behaviour
Hmmm, I find this very interesting, I have personal (unfortunate) experience of this strong desire to 'hide from life', and I am a very driven type A personality, so it is very out of character for me. That makes a lot of sense, I can see how when its 'all got too much' (nothing I did was working towards my goals) I retreated to my bed. I have heard how this is like a small child trying to return to the safety of its mothers womb, and it makes perfect sense.
However, the less you do, the less you want to do, so it is important to make yourself do say three small things a day, (one being go outside, even for ten minutes with a cup of tea), as this stops you feeling like a total ho-bo!
I found this site useful - http://www.curedepressionwithoutmedication.com, especially regards treating it yourself naturally, without relying on anti-depressants.
That is definitely something to think about, too MUCH motivation in the face of adversity rather than the opposite you get accused of when in that unpleasant state. Hmmm... very interesting article, thanks!
Bed + Depression = Return to the womb
That makes a lot of sense, I can see how when its 'all got too much' (nothing I did was working towards my goals) I retreated to my bed. I have heard how this is like a small child trying to return to the safety of its mothers womb, and it makes perfect sense.
However, the less you do, the less you want to do, so it is important to make yourself do say three small things a day, (one being go outside, even for ten minutes with a cup of tea), as this stops you feeling like a total ho-bo!
I found this site useful - http://www.curedepressionwithoutmedication.com, especially regards treating it yourself naturally, without relying on anti-depressants.
That is definitely something to think about, too MUCH motivation in the face of adversity rather than the opposite you get accused of when in that unpleasant state. Hmmm... very interesting article, thanks!
Is it convalescence from an emotional blow?
I agree with you Jonathan. A hundred years ago, Freud observed that his depressed patients were engaging in some sort of "inner labor" that involved the systematic severing of an attachment to something that had been lost - a ruined relationship, an unattainable goal or an expectation that had been dashed.
Athina Markou and I recently published a comprehensive re-analysis of the biomedical literature suggesting that this "psychological remodeling job" is accompanied by actual structural neural remodeling in the brain. We review evidence that this process is mechanistically similar to an injury repair response.
Data suggests that the behavioral neurobiology of depression is quite similar to convalescence after a physical injury. Hence the not getting out of bed - depressed people may be recuperating from an emotionally traumatic brain microinjury. In fact, data is starting to roll in that this microinjury can be detected in depressed people using a brain imaging technique called Diffusion Tensor Imaging - a technique that was developed to detect subtle brain injury in concussion that is not detectable by conventional imaging.
We argue that during a depressive episode, the person is hypersensitive to psychological pain via a similar mechanism that makes people hypersensitive to physical pain in the region of a physical injury during healing.
well..
..although I admit I am somewhat of a perfectionist these days and have problems getting interested in anything I don't know in advance I can and WILL do well.... that is mostly because my life has consisted of a loooong line of attempts that have failed over and over again.. and usually because of some external uncontrollable factor.. that has come along at JUST the wrong time.. call it bad luck.. bad karma.. I dunno but everything went to shit when I was about 4 years old.... and has never stopped going wrong..
Sure one could argue that because I am depressed I feel things heavier than most but people who know me and my background are quite shocked at how incredibly unlucky I and my family (which is now all dead) have been in life.. so its not something only I feel..
I've also been diagnosed with dysthymia by multiple doctors (that did not know about any previous diagnosis).. and it does fit so..
I echo: "great post". If you
I echo: "great post".
If you think about an overall conceptualisation of brain evolution, it is the successive development of layers functioning to itegrate the output of lower layers and feed back to fine-tune and reinforce them.
So there is no locus of control but a dynamic system; though if we were forced to point to the central feature it would have to be the lowest rather than the higher layers. These call the shots ultimately; the rest is superstructure. [See my lead paper for the Politics & Culture journal's symposium 'How is Culture Biological?']
I recall that depression in my youth was a result of a ridiculous crush that got totally out of hand. My brain was shutting down this hopeless trajectory so as in time to resume being real.
gloomy sunday
Im out of school on break now but when I was going I would have to poke and prod and scream at my self to get out of bed the process would take nearly 30min on a good day and sunday night was the worst the dread of school the next morning go to school with dread fear during the school day of the other hateful kids (i swear they were like little hitlers)
go home worn out and dreading the next morning this didnt really get THIS bad until winter started its probably a contributing factor to the morning fear i hate waking up to cold cloudyness.
-jehovahs girl
Depression is also an
Depression is also an immunological reaction, as a reaction to some form of inflammation. It is perfectly possible to induce a depression by giving TNF-alfa to people, as done in cancer treatment.
The theory mentioned here does not incorporate any biological explanation to the state where one put ones body in a resting state, but it is perfectly logic reaction to an inflammation state.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18504118
(Depression, comorbidities and the TNF-alpha system)
It is not very logic for a biological living body to induce a immunological reaction to not reaching goals.
Stresshormones do interact with gut microbes, and is interpreted as a signal to turn over to a patological state for some bugs. That might explain why stress, as in not reaching goals, may end up as a inflammatory respons - depression - and seeking the bed.
Might. We´ll find out.
Depression is spiritual issue
We are essentially spiritual beings on an earthly journey. When we believe that the converse we can easily lose the meaning and purpose of our lives. To surround himself with people who have the right attitude, it can be the right way.
Well you're right and wrong.
Well you're right and wrong. I'm depressed because I hang on too much to my failures though I've stopped pursuit. I can't get out of bed simply because the world is scary and the bed is safe.
This understanding of depression fits with dreams in depression perriod
This understanding of depression rings true given a recurring dream I had when very young and depressed through a hopeless, virulent crush on a girl at school.
The dream was of myself with a black dog, with which I leapt across a series of streams in the headmaster's garden in the school grounds.
They were infinitely deep, so that to fall in would mean death; and they got progressively ever wider, so that in the end I was faced with having to decide whether or not to stop jumping with the dog in tow to better ensure I could leap the stream and make the opposite bank.
Clearly, this dream related to my need to break the cognitive logjam into which I'd fallen: the black dog being the dark and dogged cognition that was the crush.
Depression due to overcommitment to failing goals
This is very, very interesting. I think you are on to something. My tendency toward depression morphed in to clinical depression when all the "things" I had been striving for had failed. Trying to meet the right man. Trying to succeed in my career. Trying to establish and keep my friendships. Now that I think about it, I was trying too hard to make these things happen. I wanted those things so badly, that failure was not an option. Was I too attached to having those things? But having a career, a mate, and meaningful friendships are not optional. We all need them for our health and well being.
Now, it's 5 years later, and I've given up trying so hard, or even trying at all. But the problem is that not trying, hasn't resulted in a new job or career, new friends, or a mate. Life is still in limbo. Is my fear of failure keeping me frozen?
If overcommitment to failing goals caused depression, than giving up those goals should reverse it. But it hasn't. Even though I am no longer desperately trying to make those thing happen, I still want them, and feel depressed about the fact that I don't have them.
Susan S, I recognise exactly
Susan S,
I recognise exactly what you've gone through and you've put it very well, you could be talking about my life. I don't know whether you've attempted or ever wanted to be a "high-flier" in a "male hierarchy". My experience has been that I think we're supposed to use our gifts - creativity, intelligence etc, work on them and get satisfaction from the achievements we make with them. Unfortunately we aren't always remunerated for that which is a cause of a low mood and the effects as explained in the article. I think you're absolutely right we are supposed to have friends and a mate too and it's such a cause of frustration when you can't have them. What can you do - plead with people? That would make them think you're crazy. Anyone who accepted you after that might be the type who enjoys domineering someone they consider lower-status.
I think there's something wrong with school, it seems to teach boys to hate girls. When I was at secondary school the girls were much better students than boys but the boys would act like the girls were idiots and when they excelled they were just cheating or the things they knew were without value. This means that when young women are ready to find a mate most of the young men they know are still very hostile to them. That seems to make no biological sense. Plenty do get into relationships but the man usually seems reluctant to think of her as an equal and the idea of having children would send them packing. The fact that most women are dealing with men like this explains why it's difficult to have good friendships with them.
I don't know, just some thoughts I've had. I can't help but maybe if we understand it better things might improve.
Jenny, I'm not sure if you
Jenny, I'm not sure if you noticed that the topic here is clinical depression, not "why the male sex is to blame for my shortcomings".
Personal suffering doesn't entail that there must be some other person or group fully responsible for your pain. Sometimes life just sucks and people are cut bad breaks (like getting hurt or getting sick), or run into bad influences. In the end though, you're the one in charge of your life.
"Schools teach boys to hate girls" is right up there with "everyone is out to get me". It is not an informative statement in any way, but more like a bid for victimhood. It can be either a delusion or just someone desperate to lash out. You're a girl and you didn't like the boys in your school and to this day seem to resent nearly all guys you've known, thus, taking it the "logical" conclusion of "us vs them". Too bad that it's still your own reaction to your own life and nothing more. And by the way, seems you didn't notice that the statement "schools teach boys to hate" strongly implicates more than just the male sex. "Teaching" has to be done by teachers, right?
And which sex dominates that field?
You seem confident in your generalizations against men even though your hurt and bitterness shine through pretty obvious (obvious in how judgment-clouding they are). We all have our own stories and our own responses to them. You think men are "too difficult to be friends with". Great. But I guess you haven't heard of the many women who mistrust other women and cite a preference for male friendships. You think men are frustrating to deal with in relationships. Talk to any number of same-sex female couples and see how much "improvement" there is. (Research their domestic violence rates if you really want a shake up.)
Boys are bullies? Right and girls are sugar and spice and everything nice...except for the bullying, feuding and backstabbing that's so legendary in our society there have been books published about it, and news stories showing when it gets out of hand.
I'm sorry you were hurt, but many of us have been. This article was ultimately supposed to be about trying to understand and move forward. It doesn't seem like you were interested in learning much from it. Your blame-gaming is crass. Funny thing is that the real opposite of hate is indifference. You're still preoccupied with men and you obviously yearn for their approval. You even said so.
You may wish that they were "better", but the only thing you can fix is yourself. Letting go of victimhood is a good place to start.
^Gotta make a correction.
^Gotta make a correction. "...the real opposite of LOVE is indifference".
Hi Susan. Doess this analysis of your quandary ring true?
Hi Susan
Do you not think that the issue is not so much aspiring to career, friends and mate per se -- though one way of looking at this is the the problem for women of trying to 'have it all' -- but that there is no ceiling to your aspiration; that is, it forever recedes into the distance?
Isn't an aspiration career-wise putting off finding 'the right one' until you've climbed as high as you can in what is really the male hierarchy, so that you can put yourself in the path of a high-status male who meets your expectations?
A part of the problem women face is that, unlike for men, their mate-value doesn't tend to rise with age as they gain status in the workplace. Status is male mate-value. Female mate-value is best summed up as 'fertility': in human terms, simply youth and beauty. The reality is that female mate-value declines from a young age, falling off a cliff after age 25 -- even without the physical impact of childbirth.
Consequently, women fail to realise that as they spend years trying to ascend a hierarchy (that is not their own natural sociality in any case) in order to to meet 'the right one', all of the potential 'right ones' are more interested in the women they once were -- younger ones.
What is more, high-status men often eschew women high-flyers because they instinctively realise that they would be more prone to betrayal through extra-pair sex (cuckolding), given that such women move in circles that contain other high-status -- or still higher-states -- men.
This is why female high-flyers are so often 'left high and dry'.
It is not for nothing that the leading researcher into women and work -- Catherine Hakim -- finds across Europe that only 10-15% of women want to work full-time and continuously like men; and of this already low proportion, only a quarter see themselves as careerists. That's less than 5%. 95% of women can't be wrong. They're following their deep instincts to first and foremost reproduce.
Not all the time!
This may be the case in many instances, but certainly not all the time. When I was first diagnosed with major depression, I went from 100 mph to 0 in less than a week. I was 17 and was very active in school activities and very goal oriented. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was going wrong with any of those activities and I was keeping my grades up. All of the sudden I became sluggish and before the end of the week I was laying in bed in the infirmary and physically could not get up. I had all kinds of tests done and I was told that nothing was wrong. I went on Paxil and voila! I was up and out of bed, doing everything I had been doing, within 3 weeks or so. When this happens to me now, I make sure I am getting optimal nutrients, eating well and getting enough sun before I begin a medication- but I didn't know any of that when I was 17, and Paxil really worked for me.
I am only one person of course, but several of my friends have had similar experiences.
This was NOT a case of me not meeting my goals or being disappointed in myself. This article was a frustrating read! There have been times in my life when I WAS frustrated by my lack of progress/etc. that yes, I have taken a "time out," and I just shut down for awhile. But there is a BIG, BIG difference between my two experiences.
The difference is incredibly important and the AWARENESS of it is imperative to helping all people with depression. Lumping it all together with a single cause is ridiculous and dangerous.
Depression
Reading all the comments, one thing hit me. The focus of those who are of have been depressed is so self! Been there too. Maybe if we get out of bed to do something loving for someone else, that would be a goal that would be fulfilling! It doesn't have to be major volunteer work, just a tiny action to brighten someone's day
bootstraps, much?
Oh the old chestnut about doing something for others.
Well, when someone is so depressed they find it hard to get out of bed, the likelihood is that they aren't really focusing on the self at all, rather more wishing they didn't exist. When enough recovery has been made to enter the world again, doing something for others is indeed a good step, but when you're at your lowest having this suggested is akin to the old *pull yourself up by the bootstraps* adage. Neither are effective. It's like telling someone who is bed-bound because of let's say pneumonia that going for a run will improve their levels of oxygen.
Going through one of my depressive moments right now
My opinion isn't that its a lack of motivation. All the motivation in the world can't correct a chemical imbalance. But in my opinion, it isn't that every depressed person faces a lack of motivation (speaking for myself at least), its that when I lay in bed and sleep all day its because that particular day looks grim and I am trying to hasten tomorrow hoping it will be better.
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Refreshing perspective on
Refreshing perspective on depression. My depression is always worse when my body is fighting inflammation of known or unknown origin. Fever of any sort makes it worse. Tummy trouble is in the loop as well.
It is hard to know which is the chicken or the egg though.
I am wondering whether the concepts of goals, motivation etc are mind constructs to make sense of our physical ailments?
Terrific minds working on this. Will be reading.
Sleep pattern
I think you've forgotten that a major sign of Depression is distruption of the sleep pattern. During my depressive episodes my sleep goes out the window & therefore I am constantly tired.
Where do people go when they are tired?
That & sleep is the only way I know of, to stop thinking & while Depressed, thinking usually becomes my worst enemy.
I can relate to the wanting
I can relate to the wanting to stay in bed, block out the world in isolation as it feels a safe an comforting place to be and not sure either if this is a sign of depression or just happens when life is not working out a it should!
This is the first article
This is the first article about depression that actually feels useful.
I've fought my battles with depression since high school (and maybe longer . . . I imagine so) and have tried to reason my way out (even tried academic study for a while) but with no luck. So, I kinda just keep on running and I don't even know from what or to what. I've lost so many friends (because it's just too hard to explain and, let's face it, people don' t want to deal and who can blame them) and am losing my entire sense of self. I feel like I don' t want to be alive, but I don' t want to feel that way.
This article feels like it is on the right track. The thing is, how do you get your motivation back and how do you learn to make it work for you?
I really get the little suicide thing. Very well put. The only time it doesn't work is when you can't turn the mind off.
I can relate, but what's the next step.
This article makes a lot of sense. The thing is, however, where do you start when you are directionless. Where do you begin when you do not enjoy any aspect of life. Where do you even begin when you are sitting at home, jobless no school, feeling tired and weak not only mentally but physically which is another aspect depression affects. When you have hit rock bottom, it seems impossible to get back up, because the things that used to interest you before do not interest you any longer. It almost seems like you are a different person, as if you don't even remember the person you were before.
what's the next step
I agree ... what's the next step?
After a whole life filled with depression ... giving up seems the only step to take. One's soul lives in darkness. Hope has flown away.
This article has great comments. As someone has already said ... the best discussion I've seen on depression.
what's the next step
I agree ... what's the next step?
After a whole life filled with depression ... giving up seems the only step to take. One's soul lives in darkness. Hope has flown away.
This article has great comments. As someone has already said ... the best discussion I've seen on depression.
Im going through one of these
Im going through one of these phases. Ive not moved from my bed for 5 days now apart from to use the washroom and to fill my water bottle. I wish I was no longer part of this world but am too much of a wimp to do anything about it. I am estranged from my family. I was incare as a teenager and have dabbled wwith drugs. A lot of physical and sexual abuse when I was younger. Am clean now. Just take quetiapine. I went back to my family and they accepted me. They are sttict sikhs but I met a muslim guy and ran off with him. My dad attacked us and was subsequently arrested.
Now me and this guy have split up but Istill live with him and his sson and mother. But as I said ive been im bed for 5 days. Cos were not together anymore and I do this so oftrm he hasnt knocked my door which bybthe way I have been keeping locked or phoned me. Life is supposed to get better after the last 10 years have been so painful but its not getting better. I hate this. I feel so alone and like a lost cause. I dont even know why writing this. I havent written in my diary for months
Im going through one of these
Im going through one of these phases. Ive not moved from my bed for 5 days now apart from to use the washroom and to fill my water bottle. I wish I was no longer part of this world but am too much of a wimp to do anything about it. I am estranged from my family. I was incare as a teenager and have dabbled wwith drugs. A lot of physical and sexual abuse when I was younger. Am clean now. Just take quetiapine. I went back to my family and they accepted me. They are sttict sikhs but I met a muslim guy and ran off with him. My dad attacked us and was subsequently arrested.
Now me and this guy have split up but Istill live with him and his sson and mother. But as I said ive been im bed for 5 days. Cos were not together anymore and I do this so oftrm he hasnt knocked my door which bybthe way I have been keeping locked or phoned me. Life is supposed to get better after the last 10 years have been so painful but its not getting better. I hate this. I feel so alone and like a lost cause. I dont even know why writing this. I havent written in my diary for months
I am so sorry to hear of your
I am so sorry to hear of your situation. A couple yrs have past so wonder if things got better. Life can be disappointing, eh.
Very interesting article. Some merit, for sure.
Bullseye!
You have so clearly articulated what I am going through..... and I feel REALLY get the motivation ( or lack there of) of my actions, thoughts and behaviors I am currently going through. NO ONE seems to get it, although many people in my life DO care. Just FINALLY being able to read the thoughts I have been internally processing over and over ( and over) in a negative loop on my head is extremely helpful and comforting. It brings some clarity I can share with others and let's me know I am not alone and explains some of the WHY. Please keep up your work. Most useful thing I have read by far. Life changing.
And still no one understands
If you are at rock bottom, and in bed, it's not that you just don't want to get out of bed, or that it's a simple choice to get out of bed...YOU CANT!!! Severe clinical depression saps your energy in ways you can't even imagine unless you have experienced it. If you think you can think your way out, you have no idea. People die every day because they can't get the help they need because no one really thinks they are sick. They just have a bad attitude, and need to chose to be happy. Wow....Just wow. I hope if someone I love needs to get help, they find someone who really knows how serious depression is, so they don't potentially die from it because no one understood the seriousness of the ILLNESS.
This
I totally agree. It's a dumb overthought analysis from someone who hasn't suffered from this specific type of depression. He completely overthought the whole thing. I'm not over committed to goals that are failing badly, I have NO goals.
video chat and bed
i like to stay in bed so your calling me dumb
Perfectionism.
This explains my issues with depression pretty well. However, I think for a lot of people, myself included, perfectionism plays a key role in the failure to attain goals leading to depression. I feel this is particularly true of the depression commonly experienced by artists / creative types.
Makes so much sense!
Each of my major depressive episodes has been precipitated by either a serious physical health problem which has kept me out of school/work (thus depriving me of the ability to complete goals), or a serious adverse event in my life (abusive relationship, becoming disabled and losing my career, etc., severe difficulties with my PhD, despite all my efforts). I just kept trying in each of these situations, until I became so depressed that I had no choice but to stay in bed. Interesting....