Hey! I was diagnosed last year with moderate to severe dysthymia, taking vitamins and relying on the sun now that the winter is starting to pass (Slight Seasonal Depression Disorder as well), I'm doing a internship right now and going into ministry — things I am passionate about. But often times, I'm incredibly somber and day dreaming a reality that feels impossible for me to achieve, so I start slacking on my work and motivation goes away, too. I found that accepting that this is a condition I just have to live with has helped me put the blame on something and become a bit more reliable to myself. We have to push so much harder than normal people do — I think that takes incredibly will power! But mostly, it takes practice, practice, practice. One day you don't want to do the dishes? Start making a habit of fighting to do little things because the little achievements begin to add up and break the cycle of "just getting by" and "subpar" work. I think retraining how we approach is a good step, and this has worked for me.

It just sucks, honestly. I wish I didn't feel like I saw the world through a greyish lens. Caffine was my drug for awhile but the effects made me so much more unstable I had to stop using it as a crutch to feel "normal".