Understanding Depression from the Outside
I‘m lucky enough to not know what it’s like to experience deep depression, and appreciate the devastating affect it can have on people’s lives and relationships. This keeps me on the look out for ways to empathise with the depressive state of mind and identify early signs before it enacts a vice grip on one’s thinking.
The difficulty is that depression often defies description and is deeply personal. But Adam Robinson, financial advisor to Warren Buffet, took me one step closer in his interview with Tim Ferriss when he reflects on his battle with depression and suicidal thoughts.
What I find remarkable is that in a few short sentences, Robinson articulates depression in a way that is both relatable and authentic:
Transcript (58:10 in the full interview)
The worst aspect of depression is that you come to despise yourself. You believe that only now in depression are you thinking clearly, and that before you were delusional. And you hate yourself for it. You hate yourself for being deluded. And that nobody understands now. Now I am thinking clearly. Now nothing matters.
That’s really the devil at work.
How does Adam’s description compare with your own? What are your thoughts on this perspective on depression?
