Some Background

The most important aspect of what I’m about to write is in the title, since there is no cure all for depression or single method to deal with it. Rather it is as the old saying goes to each their own. For me, the way I dealt with my spiral into melancholy was to start creative writing. Of course, it wasn’t the only technique at my disposal. It was however what I used to start my journey into developing various routines that ultimately gave me a ways to deal with my depression.

It’s hard to describe depression to people as its such a personal thing. Every person has the capability of succumbing to the all-encompassing mental fatigue. A phenomenon that has become so prevalent in our modern age. Whether it’s stress from work, aggravations from home or the slow development of self-doubt that can erode even the most stoic people. There are many ways to succumb to depression. For me, it was a mixture of things. No one would have described me as being depressed throughout most of my life. I was prone to prolonged periods of sadness however, there was never something specific that could be diagnosed as clinical. That was until 2019 when I spent my first year out of university in the working world. At first it wasn’t too bad, I started my own business and was doing relatively well. I was enjoying selling second-hand clothing and up-cycled painted leather jackets. I was beginning to see the fruits of my labour until the market I was working at began to see a reduction in the amount of foot traffic. Eventually several weeks went by without making prominent sales. I then decided to start looking for more mainstream work in the graduate area since I was still newly out of university.