(July 8, 2016 at 2:46 pm)robvalue Wrote: Sure, I agree you can consciously make yourself less happy. (As far as such a notion makes sense.) And make it harder for yourself to be happy. Although again, not instantly. Unless you do something really dumb to yourself I guess.
I mean you don't suddenly decide you need X or else you'll be miserable, any more than you can suddenly not need X and be happy.
I have a lot of experience with depression. Different people's depression is different, but let me mention my experience. For me, depression is like a heavy weight. But if I can start building some positive momentum, I can sometimes get through it. Sometimes, I play the "just one" or the "just one more" game. I'll do some very small task-- make my bed, throw out a toothpaste box from the bathroom, whatever. Then since I'm already up, I'll see if I can talk myself into doing just one more thing.
Sometimes, I end up breaking free from the chains for a while and really accomplishing a lot in a day. That momentum will go for a while-- usually a couple days but once for a couple of months.
But that's my interpretation of depression-- it's negative momentum, not sadness. So the cure isn't trying to make yourself happy. It's trying to build up some momentum by getting out of bed and getting things done.
/my 2 cents
