Being depressed is not wrong. It’s not a disorder. Social anxiety is not a disorder either. Many people are identified with their mental disorder and are even protective of them. The label gives them certainty about who they are. It’s issued by a certified professional after all, so it must be certain! This is not an attack against the mental health sector. Most people in the mental health sector genuinely want to help and are doing a good job. Diagnostics puts the person further in the line to receive help. It gives the person a sense of sympathy which is a great need to have covered. But the ego also loves being special and victimized, because it’s scared and feel helpless by nature.
Depression is rather a symptom, and all the uncomfortable signals are meant to tell you something.
“This is not working. There’s no meaning here.” It’s like an old part of you is dying.
Depression is a great chance to get to know yourself. When we’re depressed we’re confused about who we are, what we want, and meaning. All seems so meaningless. But once we accept that there’s no meaning where we looked, a greater and truer meaning will show up. This is spiritual progress. But if we resist the process and jump on the same train that didn’t work, the train will just lead us into depression again.
It’s like your system is saying, “Hey, this can’t go on for much longer. We’ve had a load of shit in the trunk now for a while. It’s time to let it go, otherwise it’ll slow us down”.
Life is on your side. It’s an interesting dynamic. Whenever we’re ungrateful and take things for granted we get arrogant and start doing things that’ll make our lives suck. And when we get out of the suckiness, we remember how great it actually was and we have reclaimed our appreciation.
A student asked Zen teacher Richard Rose, “Are you happy?”
He answered, “I’m free of happiness”.
Happiness is great, but freeing yourself from happiness is better.
Being okay with just feeling okay. If you’re gonna find happinesss, you gotta “be okay with feeling okay”.
Whenever you get depressed, let it work through you. Don’t fight with it, and eventually you’ll be shown meaning and answers.