Like those two masks...
And this is the thing about major depression that many people don't realize, understand, or believe.
You can really, actually feel a kind of happiness, you can laugh and joke and feel uplifted. It's just that sometimes it feels horribly fake to you, or that once it's all over you feel shame and guilt and worse sadness.
When they say laughter is medicine, it is absolutely true. But when you are in a clinical depression episode, laughter can often feel strange and uncertain and alien. I do it anyway. I have to. I find things to make me laugh. I ask people to tell me great jokes. I look for hilarious things on YouTube, like this one, a filk mock-up of "Hey There Delilah" called "Hey There Chthulhu" - certainly brilliant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut82TDjciSg
Or maybe those mock-ups of songs from Portal the game (which I've never played). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U_RvUYINpo
And naturally there are my favorite television programs, the ones that make me laugh, comedy or not.
The important thing for me is that during an episode, I try to keep my mood as elevated as I can. Because sinking deeper and deeper makes it so much more difficult to feel better, to get well, to recover, to treat myself, to get help. Even just writing reminders to laugh at certain things can help me.
But above all: Yes, you can laugh and be social and be happy while depressed. What happens on the inside various from person to person. I can only speak for myself.
Migraine and fibromyalgia flare can't help. Bah.
You can really, actually feel a kind of happiness, you can laugh and joke and feel uplifted. It's just that sometimes it feels horribly fake to you, or that once it's all over you feel shame and guilt and worse sadness.
When they say laughter is medicine, it is absolutely true. But when you are in a clinical depression episode, laughter can often feel strange and uncertain and alien. I do it anyway. I have to. I find things to make me laugh. I ask people to tell me great jokes. I look for hilarious things on YouTube, like this one, a filk mock-up of "Hey There Delilah" called "Hey There Chthulhu" - certainly brilliant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut82TDjciSg
Or maybe those mock-ups of songs from Portal the game (which I've never played). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U_RvUYINpo
And naturally there are my favorite television programs, the ones that make me laugh, comedy or not.
The important thing for me is that during an episode, I try to keep my mood as elevated as I can. Because sinking deeper and deeper makes it so much more difficult to feel better, to get well, to recover, to treat myself, to get help. Even just writing reminders to laugh at certain things can help me.
But above all: Yes, you can laugh and be social and be happy while depressed. What happens on the inside various from person to person. I can only speak for myself.
Migraine and fibromyalgia flare can't help. Bah.