It's extremely hard to prepare for a depressive episode. Depressive episodes often happen suddenly and with little warning. And while there are some preemptive measures you can take, what you do during a depressive episode is important too.
When depression takes hold, it often makes everything around you feel dull and purposeless. This feeling decreases motivation and hope, and you move into a water-like state where you gravitate to the path of least resistance.
One of the path's of least resistance is falling into a the familiar pattern of consuming—whether it’s endless scrolling, watching shows, or just letting the world pour itself into you. It feels easier than trying to create something or take action.
I understand that because for years, I lived in that place myself.
What I’ve learned through my own battle with severe depression is that while it might seem like consuming offers relief, it often drags us further into feeling stuck. When you're consumed by the world around you, you lose touch with yourself. Over time, you can start to feel invisible or irrelevant. And that feeling isn’t just a distortion of reality—it’s a reflection of how far away we’ve moved from taking any action that reflects our true selves.
That was my experience. I was 99% consumption, leaving no space for creation.
One little shift to improve depressive episodes
It wasn’t until I started putting a little more of myself back into the world—whether through writing, making something with my hands, or even just cooking a meal—that I began to feel a shift. The important part wasn’t the scale of what I was creating. It was the simple act of taking what was inside me and letting it manifest into the physical world, no matter how small.
When you’re feeling like you’re slipping further into hopelessness, I encourage you to think about the balance in your own life between consumption and creation. It doesn’t have to be anything big, and it’s not about impressing others or changing the world. It’s about reconnecting with who you are by doing something that benefits you.
We’re all works in progress. You’re not alone in this, and though the road might feel endless, there are steps you can take that will help you feel more connected to yourself and the world around you.
You don’t have to wait for things to get better; you can start making small changes today, and they will add up.
If this resonates with you, I go into more depth in this video where I talk about how shifting this balance helped me out of that downward spiral. I hope it can offer you a way forward, too.
- Scott
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