"I've had a lot of what I thought were rock bottoms, only to discover another, rockier bottom underneath " from Bojack Horseman.
Depression is like a poison, slowly but surely weakening you. It makes each day harder than the last. So the past feels so much better than the present.
If you, random reader, liked that quote and haven't yet watched Bojack Horseman, watch it immediately. This is not a request, it is a command. Resistance is futile, non-compliance will be met with swift and decisive consequences.
I feel like that's just... perception. Context and averages mean that 1 hour into suffering likely would be perceived/remembered as worse than after 1 minute of suffering, even if the pain was exactly the same. Even if perception of pain was reduced, later experience of the same suffering would likely include the more painful older event and thus still would be seen as worse.
That and I know I don't really have a good way to measure how well I'm actually doing. I don't have sleep quality or nutrition charts, logged hours of activities, written-down mindsets, or really much of anything that could be tracked down to a particular year. Y'know, other than knowing I'm not doing great with a lot of things.
Though I think most people would say there were things they wanted to do in the past (that didn't work out for whatever reason) that were a source of hope making things seem better as well. Also even if things weren't great, it may have been a high point for a short time. I don't know what years those would be for me, though probably not 2016 and onwards.
So you vote nostalgia. Because nostalgia is just perception while depression is a mental health issue.
2019, I was happy and doing well, sure there were issues, but in general, all was well. What happened in 2020 broke me. It was not just coronavirus, but that was a factor as well.
So you vote nostalgia. Because nostalgia is just perception while depression is a mental health issue.
Well, no. Stress and trauma both involve perception. My main point was that experience compounds, and that is a different explanation than faulty memory. I would also say that if you split this beyond just bad and good, a small change in life circumstance can actually make a big difference particularly near rock bottom.
Nostalgia seems like a different concept/situation for me, one that I personally would say is linked to escapism (particularly with experiencing media it's only a loose connection to that time) at least for younger generations.
Honestly, this gives me strength. 2019 was a year where I wasn't doing too great. Back then everything seemed bleak, and fun things felt like they were just a faint light in a long dark tunnel. But looking back at that year, I now have plenty of fond memories. So if you're feeling down now, then think back to the past times where you also felt down but where you now feel nostalgia towards. One day you might look back to your current "good days" in the same light.
One could say that each decade had their shitty things, but in different ways. Like in Finland 30 years ago – big economic depression resulting in mass employment, suicides and a whole generation crippled. Or the world 20 years ago – terrorism paranoia and the War on Terror.