240. Five Traits that can Cause Depression

The twenty-first century is starting to be called the age of melancholy, that is, feeling down or being downright depressed. It is well understood that traumatic events can cause depression; just look at the soldiers returning from Afghanistan. A less understood cause of depression is the traits of those who become depressed.

Feeling sorry for yourself and expecting pity from others.
Thinking of all the bad things that could happen to you in the future.
Ruminating endlessly on the past.
Considering yourself worse off than others.
Not satisfied with anything less than perfect.

Being aware of any or all of these traits in yourself is one thing; doing something about them is quite another. You don’t just wake up one morning and say, “Today I will stop feeling sorry for myself.” Maybe some people can do that, but most can’t. If you recognize any of these traits in yourself, it’s time to see a psychotherapist, counselor, or anyone else who can work with you to eradicate the trait(s).

About Patrick Day

In 2010, I escaped from four long years of deep, dark depression. This blog shares lessons I learned from those years as depicted in my autobiography - How I Escaped from Depression - as well as other insights about depression and anxiety that only come from someone who has gone through it. When you have a heart attack, you become an expert in heart attacks. When you have diabetes, you become an expert in that condition. As such, I am an expert in depression, with a four-year experiential degree and graduate studies in how to live a life going forward that keeps the ever-lurking Depression at a healthy distance.

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