…ion is the most dangerous time. Coming out of depression, I’ve found, is like having your emotional system turned back on. But when it’s turning back on, it sputters and backfires. You feel incredibly raw. You have days where you feel el…

Also, when you’re trying really hard to make things Better, seeing any kind of backslide then triggers a lot more catastrophizing than a static shittiness.

…family a bit more like friends. Also, you should realize that just because your depressed friend or family member is unresponsive, that doesn’t mean that you aren’t doing him or her a lot of good. 5. Cognitive behavioral therapy …

Some of the most helpful stuff never looked like it helped me at all.

…itive narrative for themselves. But this is a very difficult thing to do, because a coherent, believable narrative is a rare thing, and you never quite know what will stick and what will be rejected. The good news is, if you try and…

For me, I remember spending a lot of time/energy feeling like… if I wasn’t constantly castigating myself for being dogshit, then that constituted self-delusion. Having someone I thought was probably doing okay in the sanity department squint at me and go “uh you seem like you’re fine morally speaking?” was massively helpful even if that recalibration wasn’t super persuasive to my gut instincts.

…u about what got you out of it. Turn it into a story of personal triumph, and repeat that story to yourself. And never forget to solidify, ce…

For years there was a blank sheet of paper on a door in my parents’ house with a title: ACCOMPLISHMENTS. I never filled it in because every time I saw it I’d think, “wait, that’s blank, but I’ve actually done a lot since then” and mentally tally up what I’d managed. Framing my accomplishments as “actually a lot more than zero, hey” has been very helpful to me.

…l books. Maybe someday it will. In the meantime, remember, depression is real. It’s among the worst things that can happen to you. But it is beatable. SubscribeShare 101Comment 26Shar…

I remember snapping at a health professional who called depression not a “severe mental health problem”. Anything that can kill people seems like it ought to qualify as severe. But at the same time, what she really meant was the difference between tractable and intractable mental health problems, and that’s sort of what “beatable” means here.