Has anybody tried to write while depressed?

GeoJon said:

I don't feel qualified to comment as I'm not sure I truly understand depression, but can you not just pour it into the writing? As in - write a scene (which may never be used) which feeds off your state of mind? I know I like to do something similar if life puts obstacles in my way.

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I'm not sure of what I do is mind over matter or distraction, but I'm in a lot of constant pain from osteoarthritis. If I dwell on it, the pain depresses me. However, if I write or edit through the pain, it tends to take the edge off, and I feel empowered.

I have GAD and depression. Writing is what keeps me sane - even though it's a chore sometimes. My baseline is higher when I'm writing something that matters to me. It might be hard to get into it, but I seriously recommend pushing through and trying to get some writing done anyway. It might be slow whenever you start, but as the minutes go by, you might just get more and more into it and find that it's a blessing in disguise for your depression. That's how it works for me, anyway. Best wishes to you.

I had depression for several years through my mid-20's and wrote in spurts. Finishing something is better than finishing nothing. A few pieces turned out nicely and it helped keep me busy.

Don't push yourself if it's causing more hurt than help. Your health always comes first, and I hope you find something that works for you.

Pouring depression into writing works sometimes and for some people. Depression can also leave you feeling disconnected from even yourself or with barely enough energy to get out of bed.

Gosh, can't offer any advice about depression itself, but you might think of it (and any other mood or state of mind you find yourself in) as an opportunity to explore thoughts and feelings you couldn't conjure up as realistically by trying to imagine being depressed, angry or whatever. Our own thoughts and feelings can be a resource to lend realism to our writing, to make it more likely our readers will experience presence and immediacy. At the very least, they can be a door that opens to show us a way out of a writers block. "Opportunity knocks so often," wrote Barry Kaufman in Outsmarting Your Karma, "it has sore knuckles."

Doing it right now. I have been having a struggle with depression since I retired a year ago. It was a well planned retirement. They wanted me to stay but I had been looking forward to retiring for a long, long time. The first three months were euphoric and then depression mowed me down like a run way cattle truck. I am going to a mental health counselor. I have had several bouts of depression in my lifetime (it's in the family genes) and know enough to get help immediately.

The worst part of the depression is that I cannot seem to write more than a paragraph or two at a time. On my counselor's advice I split the day up with tasks, writing and plain old house and garden chores--yesterday I washed windows, today I am taking in houseplants, repotting them and starting new ones. My counselor and I had a long talk, the last time I went--have to drive 60 miles for the appts so I go once a month. It was productive. I have this feeling of being useless-- "rudderless in the horse latitudes." I live alone. I am a widow. My last kid moved out in August. The counselor said lists might help because when I don't know what I am supposed to do I don't do anything. I started working when I was 11, watching my sibs while my parents worked so that makes sense. So far the lists do work.

I hate and despise November more than any other month because so many bad parts of my life have started in November. And because I live in a very small, isolated prairie town. Winter is dreary here, ugly, windy and dry. So I try to find things to do that will promise results in the spring. In a few minutes I plan to plant a couple daylilies in my flower bed. Then I will finish page 5 of a novel that I started on Wednesday. Then I will root 3 begonia starts--after I have read up on them. The tv is off. No music. It all brings me down right now. I have a bill to get in the post office by 3:35 today. I usually walk. I plan to spend an hour doctoring a short story this afternoon and then will read after dinner. I make a list on the back of an envelope and then check things off. Boring but it keeps me writing, albeit in bits--s6

Creative writing assists one to alleviate low spirits, is what I have found. When I'm not writing consistently; I'm probably struggling (with the world).
Writing is self-expression and it helps to envision your words eventually reaching someone; making a connection between you and someone else.
This helps dispel the mean reds.

My new book is not the most pleasant read, but nonetheless I hope people will consider checking it out.


https://www.amazon.com/My-Holocaust...87277&sr=8-1&keywords=My+Holocaust+eli+shupak

or

http://tinyurl.com/zzntmsh

?

Writing while depressed: Everyday. For my whole life.
Write anyway. Don't wait for it to be great, or right, or good, or easy, or for things to make sense, or to feel better, because circumstances will always contrive against you. Writing, and writing through block, can be a form of therapy of its own.
Whatever you do, Maggie, don't stop writing. Depression (in its many forms) is a byproduct of you own unique sensitivities. You have finger on the pulse of humanity's emotional heartbeat and that can be a gift (if you combine it with appropriate help when you need it). What you have to say matters. We need to hear it. Press on. We will be applauding from the wings.

Hi Maggiee19,

First of all, great job posting this. It takes A LOT of courage to put yourself out there, so well done. I have found that my mood has very little to do with my quality of writing. I've looked back on work from days I was super-inspired and think, eh, and from days when I REALLY did not want to write, didn't feel like it, etc., and found some of my best work. So, mood, for me at least, doesn't determine quality.

That being said, there is a difference between sadness/lethargy/weather and actual depression. I'm not a doctor, but as I understand it, depression is an actual illness, a medical condition that is perhaps genetic, etc. It's a chemical thing where someone isn't getting the balanced amount of certain chemicals in their brain, and this can be mitigated by exercise, humor, friends, etc., but not entirely lifted without medication. Antidepressants can DEFINITELY help a person. To someone with Depression, they're like insulin to someone with diabetes. Depression isn't a 'weakness of character' or anything like that, just as diabetes or chronic fatigue syndrome are not. My opinion is that anyone struggling with depression that lasts more than a week or two would be greatly helped by talking to a doctor/psychiatrist...because if a pill made to fill in those chemical gaps in a person with depression's mind lifts depression and allows someone to live normally, that's a miracle. And it's available to people suffering, right now.

I think someone trying to fight actual Depression (the medical condition) without professional help/medication is like always trying to swim through life with weights on their feet. I wish you good luck. And if you need some inspiration, just google 'famous authors who had depression.' You may be surprised!

Best of luck!