Taken from Jonathan’s mental Health Blog: The Road To Mental Wellness
Say you have depression. On a day when you’re bored, you decide to end that boredom by plotting the ups and downs of your depression on a graph. By the time you’re done, you’d probably notice that the line is never straight.
That’s normal. Our moods are never linear. What you’d likely see instead is a series of swings — dips and climbs. A depressive episode may sit at the bottom of the graph for an extended period, while happier or more functional times rise higher up.
For people with depression, those peaks and valleys often look sharper, with longer dips or shorter bursts of stability compared to someone without depression. You might even see that your “optimized” states — the times when you feel most capable — don’t last as long as you’d like.
So, why would anyone want to plot something like this?
Maybe you wouldn’t — but for some, it provides a visual reminder of where they are. That can be useful…..(Read More)
From Shame to Strength: A New Relationship With Depression
Depression isn’t linear. Its highs and lows once filled me with shame — now I see them as strength. Read the full reflection on The Road to Mental Wellness.
