Helplessness
Found myself backsliding into a depressive state. When I realised that I was accepting an internal narrative that cast me as helpless, the depression went away remarkably quickly.
The anger without enthusiasm definition of depression has a lot going for it. Something about your life--perhaps unresolved issues from the past--provide intense negative emotions. If one accepts a self-position as helpless, then those negative emotions have nowhere to go except to create a mental "loop" of hopelessness: i.e. depression.
Helplessness and hopelessness are, after all, very close.
Of course, spotting the casting of oneself as helpless can be hard to do. But it appears to become easier with practice.
The anger without enthusiasm definition of depression has a lot going for it. Something about your life--perhaps unresolved issues from the past--provide intense negative emotions. If one accepts a self-position as helpless, then those negative emotions have nowhere to go except to create a mental "loop" of hopelessness: i.e. depression.
Helplessness and hopelessness are, after all, very close.
Of course, spotting the casting of oneself as helpless can be hard to do. But it appears to become easier with practice.