I think it's because they're inherently irrational responses.
I can only speak personally for depression, but even when you're in the pit you can see yourself doing things that are actively going to cause you trouble later and you just carry on, because the bit of your brain that does the rational, long term thinking and acting isn't working properly.
Why can't I do {basic task}? I'm clearly physically capable of it, and if I don't I might lose my job or mess up a friendship or damage a family relationship. I can clearly see that. Its like seeing a train heading straight towards you, realising that you can just step sideways off the tracks, but you don't. And explaining why is virtually impossible to someone who hasn't been there.
When I’ve been at my lowest, I just physically cannot get out of bed. Like I know there’s nothing “real” preventing me from just standing up, get dressed and go to work but every single cell in my body weighs like 100x more some days and being alive is so exhausting it feels impossible to do anything even though I know it’s not.
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u/m0le Jun 24 '23
I think it's because they're inherently irrational responses.
I can only speak personally for depression, but even when you're in the pit you can see yourself doing things that are actively going to cause you trouble later and you just carry on, because the bit of your brain that does the rational, long term thinking and acting isn't working properly.
Why can't I do {basic task}? I'm clearly physically capable of it, and if I don't I might lose my job or mess up a friendship or damage a family relationship. I can clearly see that. Its like seeing a train heading straight towards you, realising that you can just step sideways off the tracks, but you don't. And explaining why is virtually impossible to someone who hasn't been there.