Living With Dysthymia (Chronic Depression)

I've had to put aside DepressionPlace for a little while to work on other web sites. I'm finding that I enjoy this work. It's not too taxing and it's creative. It's a nice balance.

balance

This is the key. After working for years on Modern Ferret magazine and doing little else, I've finally learned that a person simply can't do that. Humans are multifaceted. We need to tend to all our needs or we crumble. It's like tending only one area of a garden: the weeds overtake the rest of the garden and eventually so outnumber the chosen plants that there's nothing left but the area you've been tending. Then the weeds overwhelm until you can't even keep up with that one area you've been tending. It's better to have a weed or two everywhere but keep the whole garden in passable condition. This is especially true when you're dysthymic. It's hard enough to maintain interest in life without ignoring most aspects of it. You need to be active in staying active. It works like momentum -- the more you do, the more you can do.

So I begin a long journey back to myself. Who am I? What do I want from life? What do I want to do? I've been rediscovering some of the things I used to love. Some I still love; others don't spark me (though I think that's partially the dysthymia's doing). I know now I'm not just fighting depression and dysthymia, but burnout as well. I'm glad for the web site work. It's something I enjoy doing. It's something tangible I can accomplish. It's something that moves towards financial betterment (because anything is better than where I am financially!).

Balance. Tend the whole garden. Live every part of your life. Take time to notice the beauty and wonder in things. For example, I just looked out my window and it's snowing. I'm going to watch it snow now.

--Mary