OK, so I made that term up. But I think you will agree it makes sense.
Fatigue is a common trigger for depression. And it doesn’t have to be the kind that results from physical labor.
- It can be stress fatigue.
- I can be emotional fatigue.
- It can be mental fatigue.
- And it can be “excitement” fatigue.
It’s easy to understand the connection between stress fatigue, emotional fatigue, and mental fatigue. It’s harder to understand the connection between excitement fatigue and depression.
It really doesn’t have anything to do with fatigue. It has to do with the let-down we feel when the excitement is gone and that feels very much like fatigue. And if we are counting on the “highs” to make us forget about our depression, then it only stands to reason that when the excitement is gone, our low mood comes back in full force.
Our lives needs “evenness”. That’s why I suggest we pay attention to the “highs” and try to moderate them a little because a “high” for any reason anything means a degree of “low” is inevitable. Be prepared for those times with a plan.
I’ve often repeated the words, “Watch out for happiness!”. That may sound awful but hear me out.
Depression is all about moods, their fluctuations, their unpredictability. That’s why we often found that after a wonderful, happy day, our moods can drop very quickly.
When we’re having a great time we want it to continue. Why would we not? Isn’t that normal?
But the truth? Life won’t always be happy or problem free. It feels so good to not think about our depression for a while.
Life is full of routine, predictability, mundaneness so we should relish the high moments. They are life’s reprieves. They give us hope for the future.
But real life happens in the space between the ups and the downs, the in-between places.
Rebecca Platt
It’s in the “in-between” places we find out who we are, how strong we are.
For myself,I didn’t want to deal with those ups and downs. I wanted to enjoy my “great” days without anticipating the inevitable low days that followed. It was one of the motivators for me to conquer my depression. I wanted a smooth ride not the up and down ride of a roller-coaster.
People with depression almost always do better when they keep their moods a little more “checked”.
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Go ahead. Look forward to those good times. Enjoy them. Savor them. Just don’t make them such a high, you are bound to fall.
God bless and have a great day.
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