Not-depression

[jack]

I still keep introspecting about what, if anything, is up with my brain. I recently had a bit of a slump in my current work project, several weeks of knowing what I needed to do and it was fairly simple, but not actually knuckling down to it. And that sort of spilled over to a general malaise. But, as best as I can tell from the inside, that's basically how I used to be *most* of the time. And when I have tasks I actually do achieve, I'm mostly fine, even more-content-than-average, maybe. But I don't know how to describe that -- it doesn't sound like depression as such, if I'm able to snap myself out of it *at all* -- but I feel like perennially feeling dispirited, whether or not it's just who I am, feels like a problem of *some* sort.

I should read over some of my old angst-y posts, I think my overall self-perception has become much, much less gloomy over time, but occasional bouts of introspection appear to be part of that.

Comments

[mtbc]

I wouldn't rule out depression just because it still lets you get some work done. Is it partly that you find your work boring or otherwise unattractive: it may just not be a good fit for your inclinations? When you're failing to work, are you distracted by some other kind of thought? Good luck anyway: at the very least, I'm very sure you're not alone in what you're experiencing so there may be good advice out there.

[syderia]

Procrastination can be one of the symptoms of depression. So can feeling like you're going to be in that slump forever. (Sometimes it's just that work is boring, but it's worth looking at.)
To try and gain perspective in cases like this, I've used iMood Journal (which allows you to track your mood at different points of the day, and to assign tags to it, so you can figure out if there are worthwhile correlation), and the PHQ-9 questionnaire.

[fluffymormegil]

To me, "perennially feeling dispirited" sounds pretty much exactly like depression!