ou’re feeling may be depression — Not laziness
4. Everyday tasks start feeling overwhelming
Our mental well-being is often measured by how we handle major life events such as tragedy, changing jobs, or ending a relationship. However, depression often becomes most noticeable in everyday activities.
When you are experiencing depression, even simple tasks can feel overwhelming. Answering a text message can feel as mentally exhausting as writing a thesis paper. Taking a shower requires immense energy and willpower. Even cleaning a single plate may seem impossible.
This is often where self-hatred begins to creep in. You look at other people managing full-time jobs, exercising, and maintaining social lives, and you start viewing yourself as worthless because you cannot even bring yourself to check your mail.
But, of course, this very “functional impairment” is what distinguishes a depressive state from mere unhappiness. This is more than just the “mood” itself; it is the mental confusion and disorganization that impacts your capacity to think clearly, remember things, and concentrate. In effect, the mind is working in an economical manner so as to save energy.
5. There is no clear reason “why”
Procrastination is almost always situational in nature. You procrastinate due to the grey skies, or the tedious work in accounting that you have to complete, or due to exhaustion from working hard for the entire week. Cause and effect exist.
Depression, on the other hand, is quite perplexing because it often strikes at times when everything seems to be going well in life.
Even though you have a secure job, an understanding partner, and enough food in the refrigerator, there’s an overwhelming feeling of despondency and lack of motivation within you. Consequently, you experience extreme amounts of guilt, as you tell yourself that you have no reason whatsoever to feel that way; hence, you tell yourself, “I have no reason to feel this way, so I must just be lazy and ungrateful.”
However, mental well-being doesn’t involve a calculation of the positive externalities in your life. It’s more of an internal ecosystem. Things such as your chemical makeup, genetics, or previous emotional experiences could cause depression irrespective of how “perfect” your life seems to others. Realizing that you don’t necessarily have a “reason” to be depressed is a good starting point for self-love.
