Faces of Depression, Day 5

Took this photo at 1:45 p.m. I’m busy with work projects and personal admin-type tasks (organizing my office/sewing area, doing laundry, etc.), so that means I’m not looping on the issues that make me anxious or stressed. I’m aware that those issues are on the edges of my thoughts, waiting for an opening to pull me back into depressed state, but I’m doing what I can to breathe through those moments. Today is a 7 out of 10.

Day 5: 7 out of 10. I feel pretty good.
Day 5: 7 out of 10. I feel pretty good.

A few people have reached out to me about the posts, mostly to say I am not alone in my struggles with depression. Another asked about how you can tell if you’re depressed. This quiz at PsychCentral is a good one.

 

How this works:

With each photo I’m going to post a little bit about what’s going on, along with a number to rank my depression level on a decidedly unscientific scale of 1 to 10. A score of 1 means I am feeling extremely depressed, withdrawn and reclusive; 10 is feeling happy, positive and upbeat. Five is what I think of as “even keel”: not feeling depressed to the point that I take to the bed, but in touch with my depression and using tools such as positive self-talk, journaling and affirmations so that I can function normally.