A Way Out Of The Downward Spiral Of Worthlessness, Hopelessness, And Depression

Depression isn't always lying to you. Your feelings of worthlessness might reflect an unmet need for purpose and impact.
I've battled severe depression for a decade. Through this struggle, I discovered that constantly consuming without creating deepens the despair.
This imbalance can make anyone feel invisible and irrelevant. I have a theory on how to break free from this cycle.
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Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.
But I do care.

[@nadnad7099]

The worst feeling is when you know that you have to do something to change the way you feel, but not being able to bring yourself to do it. The absolute worst feeling. You know you're the only one who can save you, but you just cannot. It's soul-crushing.

[@kelseymathias3881]

well said

[@anguswrench]

yeah for sure, i'm fucked for this very reason lmao

[@kelseymathias3881]

@@anguswrench you aren't arrogant, just hurting

[@anguswrench]

@@kelseymathias3881 thank you, but I do believe much of this stems from arrogance and stubbornness, or at the very least laziness. I have felt this way my entire life. I have tried to change many times but it all comes back to the Nothing. Now I find my peace in self destruction to speed up the finality of my existence. We will all experience the bliss of non existence soon, the useless suffering will finally slip from our toiled hands.

[@kelseymathias3881]

@@anguswrench Believe it or not I agree with you. Only those going through hell can understand.

[@Damian.D]

"the world and me are not a great fit". 100% my thought every single day since my teenage years and I am 40 now.

[@NoodlelinniTortelinni]

Same here!!!

[@cakensteak]

Jesus, Bible

[@eringrey9297]

“I've been sick and tired Of being sick and tired Searching far and wide For something that feels real I need something real I don't want to lose my soul Chasing after things that don't lead Me straight to you *I’m lost in the feeling That I ain't from this world* Going Back to Eden Ain't gonna be easy But it leads me straight to you Now I'm running home Like the Prodigal” - lyrics from Prodigal by Josiah Queen. Listen.

[@whiteyfisk9769]

Teenage years?? Ive realized that in preschool honest to God. A fellow classmate came up and attacked me, pushed me off my bike i was riding happily, stealing it. Teachers watched and didnt do a thing because he was one of towns well to do families sons, i wasnt and was the quiet kid. I knew then i was in deep deep deep trouble....

[@cakensteak]

@@whiteyfisk9769 All the best whitey!

[@skeptik-ci5xo]

Consumption is a form of avoidance, and creation is a form of behavioral activation. I have learned (and the research shows) that you really cannot fully combat depression without behavioral activation.

[@GooniesGirl]

Thank you for clearly stating this concept.

[@kathrynturnbull990]

@@GooniesGirl Yes! Behavioural Activation = Life!

[@gusgrizzel8397]

Why renaming?

[@jd3990]

What is behavioral activation?

[@lulumoon6942]

👍

[@danieloleary1067]

I'm so sick of being patronized and told to " hang in there." At 75 I feel life is meaningless to has no purpose. I am lonely, isolated , depression and feel I'm just waiting to die. I hate life. I don't know what to do. I go for many weeks without talking to another human being. Ihave terrible insomnia and NEVER get to sleep before 8am. Thank you for reading this comment.

[@HeartFeltGesture]

Im sorry to hear of your personal plight and I commiserate. I have just turned 50, I have gone no contact with most of my family because I am the family scapegoat and have only in the last 4 years realized (after extensive self-research on the topic) my mother is a covert narcissist who intentionally neglected, emasculated and psychologically abused me and subtly encouraged all other family members to view me as a problem and inferior. Then I had to take a look at what friends and associates I had in my life and inspect them for narcissism and mistreatment. I am left with only one long-term friend, and I have suspicions about this person that still concern me. I am 80% alone, only interacting with a few people at my job. I have depression and anxiety, terrible low self-esteem. I have been single for the past 14 years after a string of abusive narcissistic women, which I finally connected back to my abusive "mother" who had groomed me from childhood to believe I deserved maltreatment. I am not even interested in a women who has been showing interest in me, I have identified she is not a narcissist, and in fact had her own experience of narcissism from her own mother, but I am so jaded about intimate relationships now I have learned to be self-sufficient and Im not willing to compromise my lifestyle, and put up with all the demands and expectations that come from having another person in my life. I dont know what these choices will lead to, but Im under no illusions that it could be as dire as I imagine it might be. For sleep, try supplementing with Magnesium Glycinate, its known as the sleep magnesium and is very soothing for the central nervous system. Take up to 400mg daily, straight after last meal of the day.

[@Birdyblue12]

I’m 65 and feel the same, depressed since childhood, and tired of pretending

[@Di-Pi]

I’m 72 and feel the same way. Luckily I belong to Alcoholics Anonymous and get to go to a meeting everyday to connect socially. Al-anon is also excellent and everyone alive has “co-dependent” issues so don’t be afraid to go. Not as many meetings, but the same empathic connection.

[@Di-Pi]

⁠Bravo for disconnecting from your abusive family. In Al-anon we say, “if you can’t detach with love, detach with an axe! 😂

[@kotenoklelu3471]

Sister of my grandfather passed away recently. Her daughter said she wanted to see us and tell us stories about our family. It's sad. I just strangely remembered only bad things that happened between us and was bad to her. I listened to her stories from her daughter. There is so much to learn for me. She said I am like them. You know my father's family always shamed me for not being extrovert. They were just like me and they died. I had near death experience like they did. I almost drown, my father saved me. I pick food from the ground. My grandmother caught an illness because of such behavior. One my uncle didn't understand the joke and drank poison. And all his "friends" just run away and he died. I once wrote about it in the internet, I was told that he should've just say no. Like anyone in Russia will take no for the answer when it comes to alcohol. I just don't talk with people anymore. Drink without me

[@perrysaperstein3773]

Dr Scott I spent the last ten years never leaving my apartment and only speaking with my younger brother who lives out of state and has a family of his own. Before this hellish time in my “life” I had a career as a pilot for one of the major US airlines and was involved in an accident that ended my career and led into the hellish prior decade. I started watching your videos when they first came out and your voice became my lifeline. I was very close to calling it a life and checking out what might be on the other side. You have given me the strength to finally move out of that apartment in Florida and move out to SW Utah. Back when I was flying I sometimes decided to give international flights a rest and fly domestic. One of my favorite memories was flying the route between Denver and Las Vegas. Westbound over the Rocky mountains out over the grand canyon and Utah desert it was hard to believe such beauty existed. And to top it off I got paid to do it! I drove for three days straight, a bit shaky at first but luckily driving is a renewable skill. Now I’m sitting in my new rental casita watching this video and once again listening to you put into words what I could not. I was out and about all day today just driving around drinking in my new surroundings and feeling like this society is way more messed up than I remember, but at least using your inspiration to enjoy the beauty of the places where there are very few people. Every time I start to panic and want to run back home I hear your voice and it calms me down enough to keep exploring. I’m grateful that you decided you were real and belonged on this planet because you are here to save lives. I know you saved mine.

[@peggymerritt9019]

❤❤❤YOU go Jedi! 😅 love to read stories like yours!

[@gardenia81]

That’s amazing! ❤

[@onepartyroule]

@@perrysaperstein3773 It’s so cool you got to be a pilot. I once visited the cockpit when I was a kid and I remember the view was so much better in there! I wish I’d had access to those beautiful sights =) well done for doing what you needed to do to get to a better situation. Its made my day to read this and I don’t care if this sounds weird but, as a fellow human being who suffers similarly, I’m proud of you.

[@Dan-Jack_does]

Good luck with the move and restart! Going somewhere different, that you really like, can really help - it made a huge difference for me. Good luck!

[@JudithHamilton-t2b]

And you have just "created " a post that so far has had an effect on over 50 people !!

[@fattidiliberta]

I am so so overwhelmed......

[@t-mac6210]

Yeah, me too you’re not alone in that

[@ruthakers7524]

You are not alone. A lot of people feel that way. Thank you for having the courage to admit your feelings and for letting others know that they are not alone.

[@wendypatram7800]

Wow! I thought it was just me. Thank you!

[@fayemclemore504]

Same and it seems never ending.

[@kotenoklelu3471]

KZbin channel something with gamer in the name said that you feel overwhelmed if passive challenges (what life throws at you) outweighs active challenges (what you decided to do). I felt overwhelmed. Now I don't I refused to do job because I got offended by person who I thought was my friend (she laughs at my illness). She always found it funny. Now I remember it. What she don't understand is perspective. It's real and unreal in the same time. Ok, maybe it just I am scared of my thoughts. But it's real for me.

[@mah3223alia]

Scott, thank you. Im 62, former Mental Health worker. For the last 18 years I've cared for one of my children who has schizophrenia. The last two years have been a hell hole of depression for me.... despite my training, education etc. This video really turned on a light for me. Nobody, in 40.years of psychiatric work, has ever described depression, or a way out like this. I have yet to absorb fully.....But I really think you have hit on something really life-changing here. 👍

[@rafaelfpombo]

That reminds me of that famous Kurt Vonnegut letter to a class of high school students. He proposes an exercise of just making art, however simple-be it drawing a funny picture or writing a small poem. But the students shouldn’t let anyone see it. Instead, they should destroy it afterwards. That’s because the purpose of it all is not to create something amazing or get famous-it’s to make their soul grow, learn more about themselves, and experience, as he put it, BECOMING.

[@apoet-y6c]

This reminds me of the Twenty One Pilots song Kitchen Sink. Its about finding the beginning of purpose in creating something that only you know what it means. If you were to die, all of the understanding of your "kitchen sink" will be gone.

[@adhhxgxhhg]

Thanks for sharing that, I heard it once and forgot. Vonnegut is one the best to do it.

[@shroudofclouds]

​@@apoet-y6cwow did not expect tøp to be mentioned in the comments, let alone a much lesser known song. love tøp :)

[@artwithmamafairybreadd]

“I was irrelevant…I was close to non existence as a person can be without being dead”…. (i feel this way too often)

[@skellener]

I feel like an empty shell moving through a miserable life. Yes.

[@anguswrench]

"You are not alone!" = everyone is in hell so you should feel better that everyone else is suffering too!!

[@gregsmith7949]

Same.

[@toddraderman5742]

It’s so hard when you don’t understand who you are anymore. One moment I’m a happy person with a good job, beautiful woman in my life, and having a great time with my two kids before they go back to college. This was a year ago! I got laid off, crashed my car, lost my GF, and my kids backed away. I haven’t smiled in a year. I just want to feel normal again. 😢 plus I hate taking meds! This is the first time I’ve ever posted anything like this before. I’m amazed at how well some people are.

[@kotenoklelu3471]

I had a good life once. I had love, job, friends for the first time in my life. Then it all turned out to be lie. My love was married. He never would marry me. I got sick and no one from my friends even check up on me. They say I was bad friend myself. I wasn't there for them when they had bad moment. She is lying. I wrote her about antidepressants when her kid tried to kill himself. You feel high on them. I didn't need them, I decided to live. But I said to her that they were helpful. They all disappeared. Now I know why, they all alcoholics and they hate people who don't drink alcohol. I lost my job, I resigned because of my illness, I couldn't go out of my home and wrote resignation letter. I hated my job. Now I think I was wrong. There was nothing wrong with my job. There is something wrong with the system but it's corruption. You can't make people want to stop stealing and taking bribes. They are not gonna comply. There was nothing wrong with my job per se. I wrote letter to politician. Maybe he will beat some sense in this corrupt field. But I don't believe it will happen. I don't know what to say to you. I remember this time in my life. I tried suicide for various reasons. You know what I thought about laying in reanimation, I don't want to die, world is still a beautiful place even if people are bad, there is still sun, sky, trees, nature... As Russians like to say animals are better than people. Hang on there. Don't do stupid things. Maybe you learn something from this experience. Check out antipsichatrist I don't remember his name, he is journalist that report on science, he wrote award winning book about psychiatric meds, he has site. He believes that meds do more harm then good. He made exception for me when I have bad time. He said antidepressants are bad in the long run if it's your meds.

[@kotenoklelu3471]

I remembered his name Robert Whittaker if I remember correctly

[@gazelle3635]

Hang in there Todd. So many of us can relate. We remember when our lives were better and long for those better days. But we never know what next year or the year after may bring....better days may return.

[@toddraderman5742]

@@gazelle3635thank you

[@sandraalegria3439]

Thank you for sharing,I know what that feels like ,things are better now but I can't convince my body and mind it's going to get even better. I hope you can fake a smile until one day it's real. Please laugh and play everyday .

[@QGBFH]

When a video on KZbin is more helpful than the thousand’s of dollars I’ve spent on therapy. 🎉

[@sandraalegria3439]

Amen this is so helpfull .

[@KD-kp3zc]

I get what you're saying and I agree. But when someone is so at the end of their rope, sometimes they don't have energy for anything else but consumption, if not just for the reason that it keeps them distracted from slipping into the darkest of places, at times, literally keeping them alive.

[@sert1far716]

I think you can distract yourself by cooking a good meal, making art or something else. But it is so hard to find the motivation to start, because if you feel worthless, you think that what you create is also worthless. What’s the point in creating when you don’t value yourself? Before being able to start creating I think you have to change the way you feel about yourself, it is not the other way around. But maybe I’m wrong and I’m not seeing the big picture

[@sticklerforchange]

@@sert1far716 It is a very difficult leap sometimes. I think fixing up a car, or getting into better shape, is not realistic if you are spending most of your time in a fetal position in bed. But the tiniest thing you can manage helps. Grabbing some colored pencils, and a coloring book, is a low bar, but it is creative, and it is something that you can complete, and any minor accomplishment can start a process.

[@lindateeter2363]

Seriously, who needs to pay for therapy when you have this guy? 😊

[@jonathonlivingstonelemming1024]

Me. And many, many others. Therapy is WAY more than a 15 minute YT video.

[@Chel.C.B]

lol, you’re clearly not doing too badly.

[@Drakenknight45]

I am really enjoying this. I've listened to alot and this has at least for the day that it Is been what I needed and . hear it put into words

[@andreeaburian1408]

Yes! ❤ Thank you dr Scott ❤

[@Inkhaurt-Design-Art]

I’m 32 and I’ve been battling depression+ADHD unmedicated since the age of 16. It’s hell on earth and I think this struggle gave me some form of brain damage. I haven’t acknowledged it out loud but it’s like what you said that sometimes you feel like you’re an apparition in this world. Depression feels to me like someone is constantly taking my brain and factory resetting it rendering all that momentum I build into dust, and the ADHD gives me the shot-term memory of a fly. I’m a designer/artist and I always feel alive the second I finish a project, but that feeling of accomplishment fleets away because of my current mental constitution. Although, I do realize that the more I’m consistent with making creation into a solid routine, the easier it’ll make it for me to escape this hell I’m in. So, you’re right on the money Dr. Eilers. Being more creative and less consuming is key. Thank the algorithm this video made it to my feed, and thank you for making this video. Guys, wish me luck in maintaining whatever momentum I built myself for today 🤞.

[@raslalique]

Hoping your momentum is strong today. ADHD is no joke. Congratulations for trying

[@Inkhaurt-Design-Art]

@@raslalique Thank you. Taking things one step at a time and feeling good. Progress, not perfection 💪🧠.

[@sandraalegria3439]

Good luck keep creating !

[@Inkhaurt-Design-Art]

@@sandraalegria3439 Thank you for the morale boost and virtual high five ❤️.

[@riube28]

Wow, are you me? 😮 32, adhd and depressive episodes that started in adolescence. Undiagnosed and unmedicated until I was 30... Hearing that you are an artist is inspiring ❤ whenever I write a poem, or get lost in a dance, or am immersed in nature, it feels like the clouds all lift and the world shines anew...

[@louise_8546]

Burying yourself in computer games, social media, internet, whatever you tell yourself you find 'comfort' from, is a way of self-limiting and hiding but you don't realise that's what you're doing. I agree, being creative really helps get you out of your head and into the real world again...even for a little while. When I'm really chronically depressed I hate it when people taunt me (this is not distorted thinking, this is people who take pleasure in seeing me down) by saying, 'what have you been up to? nothing?' whilst they smile at you.

[@neasahayes6044]

In Ireland where I'm from people virtue signal by taking part in activities to raise awareness of depression but many of them have actually little to no sympathy for people who are depressed. We have our own version of the German concept of Schadenfreude but no actual word for it. But we know it when we see it. So I believe you when you say it's not distorted thinking.

[@louise_8546]

@@neasahayes6044 Yes. Sadly some people delight in others' troubles, it makes them feel better about themselves. It's very difficult for me to drop my guard around people. A friend who ghosted me when I was depressed years ago (so many bad life events happened at once - losing a job, financial crisis, bullying at work beforehand, mugging, loss of a boyfriend, all sorts of betrayals....) did the Facebook MH virtue signalling thing when she found me on FB years later. I read it and thought, but you weren't that understanding when it was me! (Weirdly I miss the fun times we had but I don't trust her). Also with the 'be kind' people. It's a public display of 'look how nice I am'. Same as my father who has let me down again and again banging a drum about all his charitable causes (when he did his best to dodge any caretaking or even financial help to my mother when me and my sister were younger). I could go on!

[@kotenoklelu3471]

If you are taunted because you are genius, try ecology. People say homo sapiens are indangered species. I couldn't watch this interview so pissed off I was. She is gynecologist. Something about not able to have babies. She talked about endocrine disruptors (plastic). There is also agriculture chemicals. Roundup causes pregnant mices to give birth to infertile male mices. Farmers in USA where roundup was first implemented are 2 most common profession that is at risk of being infertile. Mostly they blame pesticides. Pesticides also kill bees, useful agricultural insect. There are less harmful agricultural pesticides, but they are too expensive. European agriculture is believed to be one of the best in the world. They live long life on average. But fertility rate is horrible. Their farmers are endangered species. Too much burocrasy. Nobody wants to do their job. It may lead to problems in the future. Plastic is being eaten by some creatures. In Chernobyl in very radioactive space there is new form of life. Ecology is not popular field. Nobody listens to them because it just too much disruption for usual way of life. Maybe you can make revolution in the field. It's sorely needed

[@angeliquew2131]

Hello Louise, Just a few points to think about : 1) you choose how to react to how the people treat you 2) who cares about what they think ? You are important even if you don't know it yet, your opinion about who you are is what counts, because if it is not positive enough, you can change it, even if it sometimes takes time. The people taunting you are not important, you build your life, their opinions only matter if they are good and realistic, if they lift you up. Ignore them. It is the best thing to do with such people. Their goal is to hurt you, so they are not good and interesting enough to be close to you. Ecology begins in the brain : remove toxic people from your life and your air will be cleaner. 😊 Sorry for my messy english, my first language is french.

[@louise_8546]

@@angeliquew2131 Thank you for your nice words. I try to be robust! Sometimes I can be feisty, sometimes I fail miserably :)

[@wintrywinter]

That downward spiral of depression and withdrawal is so spot on. I have had a major work trauma, that has deeply shaken my confidence in my abilities. So I withdrew from almost everything, stopped creating, talking, writing, commenting. Am not able to get back on that horse, despite good support. So I carry on withdrawing, creating less and less. Am not really missed by anyone, it seems, and depression is growing. Or rather, not caring whether I exist or not. I need to change this, as I can now see this self fulfilling prophecy. Nobody is going to look for me. I have to do it myself. Thanks for this great thought! 😊❤

[@onepartyroule]

People are obsessed with their distractions more than they've ever been. A regular meditation practice can help you find that self sustaining contentment inside of you. It's there, trust me! You have a well of love and creative power inside you that is waiting to be discovered.

[@WhytePip]

Having experience of the downward spiral myself, into very dark headspace, seriously ill and exhausted I can relate to how you feel. I was overthinking, and found myself second guessing myself. I knew what I was capable of but everything seemed beyond me..... I simply had to relax and give up on things even though it caused a few problems. I'm still going through a very long process of rebuilding using skills and knowledge from a previous career to pivot into a new workspace. Small steps towards a satisfying future.

[@DStephens-h1t]

So I’m truly not alone! Thank you.

[@JenZen4life1111]

I hear you, I’ve been in a withdrawal state from the world and I’m trying to get back out there little by little. Exercise has been helping me. I walk and I weight train. It seems to be helping me. Give it time, I know it’s been a while for me. Good luck with everything. ❤️✨❤️✨🙏🏼

[@attheranch873]

I’ve had a lot of work trauma too. Using EFT helped me a lot with it. There videos on it on KZbin so that you can learn how to do it for free if you’d like to try it.

[@user-pm7ck6ij9s]

Couldn't agree more, more creation and less consumption is the answer. I don't question my place in the world when I am drawing and gardening. I often have to fight the resistance of my left brain for a good 30 minutes ("why bother, boring, too much effort") but once I'm past that I am on fire.

[@luckyluna333]

I'm going to create by taking care of my rescue dog and making sure he has a fun time to fetch the ball every day

[@nickjsky1]

Rescue pets are the best!

[@DrScottEilers]

That's a great example!

[@raymondyoungcpa]

learning the scale of money. Six figures for investing. Five figures for seminars. Four figures for many bills. So losing a lot, only affected investing and seminars.

[@gaileverett]

And teach him to shake hands!

[@kotenoklelu3471]

I never thought about relationships like work. Thank you

[@karenr411]

Balance! I very much needed your insight today because I just gave up living 😢 I stopped fighting! I stopped caring for myself! Today the TV does not come on and I shall shower and go out of my home ❤ Thank you ❤❤

[@TheLifaen]

One step at a time dear stranger :)

[@johngallagher72]

Hope you are ok ...just set little goals and take it one step at a time 🙏❤🙏

[@DrScottEilers]

You got this!

[@thestace7777]

Same here! I haven’t showered or left the house in weeks. I guess I had given up living too. My so-called life has been reduced to ordering takeout and lying on my bed watching TV constantly along with scrolling KZbin. I have no energy and EVERYTHING seems sooooooo overwhelming. But, I do want to live before I die. Finding something creative to do, however small, sounds like it could lead to something good. I’m really glad that I saw this video today!

[@gaileverett]

Just going for walks and observing nature and people were so helpful for me. The trick (i.e., the hardest part) is doing it even when you don't feel like doing it. I would tell myself how much better I'd feel about myself afterward.

[@ruthakers7524]

I desperately needed this message today. I am fluctuating between totally giving up or trying to create the life i want.

[@chloescat]

I sat and spent about 20 minutes on my writing project I've slowly been working on since 2016 today, after about a year of barely working on it. I felt good going back to old parts of it and just remembering why I started it and just corrected a part of it. I felt like my usual self for the first time in ages. I'm simply going to try to do 5 minutes and work from there.❤

[@briand1337]

Didn't sound crazy to me. When I was deep in depression, I actually wondered if perhaps my life had already ended and this reality was some kind of personal hell or purgatory. The thought drove me to test that hypothesis by getting professional help and trying to improve my life because any improvement would disprove that theory. It was that dark thought at rock bottom that helped put me on the path to healing.

[@77eternalsunshine]

I have thought that before, too...about being dead in purgatory.

[@robertjsmith]

@@77eternalsunshine everyone is infinite AWARENESS,right now,everything is arising in AWARENESS,you are not your thoughts,feelings,sounds,smells,tastes,YOU are the observer of this ever changing process ?

[@danleonne937]

At this point, breathing seems more like a curse. The only reason I am still choosing to suffer is the thought of how devastated my loved ones would be and how they didn't see it coming behind the happy mask that I wear everyday. Your videos make me feel not alone, even just for a fleeting moment. Thank you

[@SjorsHoukes]

Talk to your loved ones, if you trust them! Even if it’s just one person. Let down your mask just a little, and find support.

[@meatchuck6984]

I've been painting for 10 years, cooking for 20, have 6 music albums on KZbin, and I've been writing and world-building since I was old enough to write. And that used to work, but it stopped this year and I've had the darkest/deadliest spiral of my life. My depression got to the point that creation just faded away. I can't even muster the energy to think of anything creative, because all my creativity goes to aggressively self-harmful ideations. It's a whole new depth of gloom. Glad I found your channel though. You get it. You actually understand. I actually stopped going to therapy because it made me feel more hopeless.

[@ulyanagaydunova2620]

You are so versatile and talented, and it is definitely depressing it is when something used to give you so much fun and sense of accomplishment stop to work.

[@funnymentalhealth]

I am on exactly the same page as you and probably in the same paragraph. I am a professional writer and have not written for nearly 5 years. That's after 35 years of non stop writing. It's horrible so myself and my partner have done something radical. We sold our house, gave away a lot of stuff and decided to go to Asia for a few months and focus on healing and creativity. It's so hard because many of us are down the rabbit hole. I have never known a time or feeling like this so I totally get you. Stay safe.

[@marieke.80]

I haven't painted in a while too.. and when I try it is only frustrating because I just don't feel it and it feels like a waste of paper, time and materials. So I rather do nothing so I can't be disappointed It feels so useless and I am just tired.. I just dread everything nowadays and when I am home I just want to eat and watch tv. I do the smaller tasks like the dishes and vacuum cleaning but besides that I have zero energy or motivation I just can't get myself out of this endless loop😢

[@ulyanagaydunova2620]

@@marieke.80 I feel bad that school failed to teach us this vital stuff e.g.how to deal with the time when you no longer gain pleasure from your hobby that once you are passionate about

[@valveillen]

​@@marieke.80Maybe you can try a new way to create? i also used to draw and paint but i stopped for a long time when my depression got so bad all i saw was flaws in it. I learned to knit and crochet, following a pattern someone else had made helped, i still created something but with less criticism in my head. I started doing scrapbooking. It's so inspiring to find new ways to create. Maybe you'll find those ways too ❤

[@luckyluna333]

I love how this just happened to pop up at the moment I needed it the most with the exact wording that I cannot believe❤

[@reginalooby850]

Thank God for his blessing

[@thestace7777]

Same thing happened for me! It’s a ‘God wink’. He’s showing us that He is with us, guiding us. How wonderful He is!!!🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@luckyluna333]

@@thestace7777 I must mention something about God sending me here but didn't want to offend his masses you know

[@onepartyroule]

=) I love it when that happens! You're being taken care of, and it's actually you doing it!

[@luketulavu-mont9079]

My problem is that i lost my passion for anything. I used to build my career on passion. Now my company goes really bad. Clients behaviors have changed. The world has changed. And i am more that sadden with what i observe around me or in the world. All that corruption at every level. I hate the world nowadays, i don t understand it. And there is nothing i would feel like doing. I feel nothing wherever i am, whatever i try to do anymore.

[@suellenpatrick3587]

Light bulb moment… this is me. I have moderate depression and anxiety. Watching your content lead me to a Psychiatrist and Psychologist and I am working on being better. Thank you.

[@GbGb-gv3wj]

Well done. Taking a step is a movement closer to improvement. Best of luck.

[@fabulouslife4646]

I appreciate how you define creation - it doesn't have to be something monumental.

[@DarkLink606]

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." H.P. Lovecraft Wise words. While the psychotic suffers from losing touch with reality, some depressed people feel overwhelmed and paralyzed from knowing too much, too clearly.

[@nerfarmymedic]

I've said a whole bunch of times that I'm not really depressed, my life just sucks.

[@adroitws1367]

you are not wrong, life kinda suck, even more for certain people that cant really fit the human system in place (I found no matter how dangerous nature can be, nature is absolutely great because it didnt judge you ahaha) Your immediate surrounding also probably didnt understand it or how you feel, which make it worse. I felt the same way before, got tired of them not getting it too. but rather than stuck in this world not doing anything about it, might as well do what make me feel the most alive, writing, doodling, painting One day when I die I can proudly said to myself and to the world, I tried :P

[@MaisyDaisy333]

Dr. Scott, thank you for creating and posting this video today. This is exactly what I needed to hear. I've been in a creative slump since the pandemic, and I just don't have the same level of energy, inspiration, and motivation that I used to have. It really sucks to not be interested in doing the things I used to, like photography. But you have given me pause because I tend to frame my creativity of late as what I can produce for the "world" when I post my photos on Flickr or Facebook or my website. I didn't used to think this way; I didn't always think about how many reactions I'd get from posting my work. No, I did it because there was something so personally gratifying about creating it -- and being recognized for it was just extra. But now, in today's world, it feels like the only reason I should put my creations out there is **for** the recognition -- **for** the likes and comments. Your words remind me of the Before Times when I used to do things for myself -- back when I didn't tie my creative value to how the world would react to my works. Thank you for posting this. It's almost like you're giving us permission to just do "the thing" without having that (often imposter-y) voice in our heads asking how we can use our creativity to make a big impact. We all don't need to make a big impact and have millions of followers. Sometimes it should just be enough to have a "local" impact with your family or friends or just yourself. I appreciate you and the good work that you do. Thanks for reading! ❤

[@thestace7777]

YES!!! LOVE THIS @MaisyDaisy333!!!

[@sarahgerman8593]

Love this! Let’s get back to the innocent “Before Times.” Do it for you!♥️I have hundreds of songs I play for myself that no one will ever hear. I enjoy them all so much, and feel that it raises the vibration of the world to play them. Thanks for writing what you wrote!

[@Tadesan]

Been depressed since kindergarten. Every single time I pick up a hobby or interest it eventually withers and dies. My depression actually destroys the things I love. I used to love riding bicycles and building loudspeakers. I used to spend hours working on my soundsystems. Now I can't even imagine it. Even going for walks now makes my heart sink to the center of the earth.

[@lauramarks4590]

Yes! Thank you. Just yesterday I was feeling I’m not real. I’ve never heard anyone else say that before. You get it. Completing home projects, creating is definitely better for me than reading 12 hours a day. Motivation follows action.

[@Aroos2011]

You have an incredible gift for this, not sure if it’s just that your experience resonates with my own or that you’re hitting on insights that others are missing but I’m hopeful that this will finally get me moving in the right direction.

[@Clairebearthegoodfinder]

So I was watching a Janis Joplin documentary and I heard the narrator say something that really struck me. He said that JJ felt the pain of the whole world and she just couldn’t handle the evil and pain of the world. I relate to that bc I feel for everyone 😢.

[@maryjopeden9201]

Me too, it can become unbearable.

[@77eternalsunshine]

I am in my 50s, and used to raise my kids and work. And then I had to relocate, and no one would hire me. I began volunteering, then i injured my back and couldn't do that. Really was depressed, feeling useless and irrelevant....before age 60, because in the view of the world, that is exactly what I am. I decided that I can decide for myself that i have worth. That i HAVE to do that. But to believe that, i need to interact with others and learn/create, to grow. I have joined a couple of local things. And i have decided i am going to learn to paint well enough to sell. (If people don't want to buy my art, that is okay because i love it enough to do it just for myself.) When 'the world' tells us we are not important, we cannot believe it.

[@keishapearson2035]

I had hoped my novels and poetry would have made me a better fit for this place, but no one appreciates the written word now. What’s the point?

[@77eternalsunshine]

@keishapearson2035 there are still some readers out there, just not as many. Even if only 100 people read your stuff, you are still making an impact. Like, when a community theater puts on a play and the 'crowd' is tiny. The director says to do as good a show as if you were performing for 500. Even if the audience is only one person.

[@twopointwow]

This is an *extremely* helpful message, and I found it at the exact right time for me. I won't go into the details, but just know that not only has everything been on fire for me for a very long time, despite the changes I've made, but everything's been dying down to embers these last few weeks. I believe you are right, and I plan to take your message to heart, and *do* what I can with it, to the full extent that my flagging cortisol will allow. Thank you, my friend, this made complete sense, and I believe it will make a real difference in my approach to navigating my way from here through the smoking landscape around my charred, numb feet.

[@mmm2121]

I spiraled into a severe depression and saw millions of videos that claim to have the cure for it, yet failing to figure out how to get out of this. Your solution to depression is the one that’s actually effective, as I did notice that my symptoms have gotten better whenever I attempted to create something, even for a brief moment. I’d also like to say that the way you described depression and especially on 7:57 is parallel to my experience and very much on point. Thank you so much for this video. And thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience to us! Btw there is no way you’re 41, I swear to god I assumed you were 28~29 lol

[@leesalovely2782]

Thank you so much for sharing this today. So timely for where I am today. Struggling with hopelessness due to persistent anhedonia and depression since childhood ....

[@demongo2007]

This exactly describes my feelings and sense of self. Every element you cover.

[@jadeybabes33]

You are 100% correct and I hate that. Lol. I am soooo addicted to consumption and disappearing into things that aren't my real life - but it's such a hard prospect to get my head around letting that go. But I know you are right and I need to. 😊

[@katzofant]

I am 27 and currently under heavy medication for a chronified disease I had for about 4 years, my body is a wreck, my wife has left me last March and I am looking at months of dieting, building up my body again, having to deal with the divorce, dealing with side effects of medication and having to love with the trauma that the illness and separation caused. I wish I could adapt this mindset, really. But I am just there thinking that I just cannot do all of this just to know that it will be all torn down in the future again. I feel like having to build a giant house of cards with a storm on the horizon... I am really no longer able to see any kind of sense in my existence. I am trying to get into therapy but it's so hard to find and I am always asking myself for what I do all of this as I am basically left having nothing left in my life that I value.

[@ShikisaiMaki]

This video couldn't come at a better time. This speaks to me so much. I'm severely chronically ill and I've been unable to work & study for nearly 10 years and the isolation and nearly 24/7 social media consumption has changed me A LOT. I feel like a shell of myself. I was JUST thinking about how creative I used to be and how I should try to create again earlier today. Thank you so much for this video! I'm really glad that I've found your channel, your videos really speak to me. It's refreshing to see a mental health professional talk about their own struggles.🧡

[@kgc0609]

Finally pointing out that "feeling useless indicates that something is actually wrong" but providing some suggestions to get out of the pit.

[@jillgallinatti1925]

Amazing articulation, blew me away with saying exactly what I feel. Thank you.... I hear you, I'll keep working toward this. I needed to hear this. Blessings to you 🌹💕😢

[@StanCat4]

Dr Scott - you make me feel heard and increase my self understanding. When we have suffered great trauma, it's not easy to just pull ourself out of it.

[@tangerine966]

Great video. “Transforming into a statistical mean” is a perfect description of unhealthy consumption.

[@fattidiliberta]

The more i engage wirh the world the more i feel useless

[@saltiestsiren]

I definitely feel this because when I engage with the world my inner demons really ramp up their yelling and they say the most cruel things ever, and it's just so believable compared to what other people tell me

[@fattidiliberta]

​@@saltiestsirenYes❤

[@funnymentalhealth]

I really don't think you are alone right now. The world right now is very dark and scary. I am over 60 and have suffered depression and anxiety all my life. When I was young it was about my inability to process emotions and very much my battle with my internal self. For the past four years I have struggled beyond anything I ever imagine. The positive here is that it's not me. I"m not useless or wrong. The world is f--c..ed and I want my freedom.

[@fattidiliberta]

@@funnymentalhealth 🙏🤍

[@FullCircleStories]

"Consumption vs Production" - I completely agree with. I thought about it the same way for a long time too. But now I think it's also helpful to frame it as "Active vs Passive". Actively engaging in life will transform you, whether it be creating some kind of art or having a hobby, like you've described, or even other things like getting a new job taking up a course or going on a trip. Reading a new book might sound like "consumption" but if it's something that's actively helping and transforming you then i'd say it's "Active", and having the same effect as producing, only you're not externalising it. "Passive" on the other hand, like you said, is when you just sit there and let the world spill into you.

[@dnxes]

I have been moving in the right direction and yet i still feel hopeless and empty. I have been regularly going for walks, working out, doing yoga, cleaning up my messy apartment, going to therapy, quit smoking weed, and yet I feel nothing. I do not feel joy that i did these things even though i know they will lead me to a better life. I do not want to go back to my old ways which lead me here but what the heck i do good for myself and i still feel empty and hollow. Idk typing this out is nice and this video made me open up a notepad to start writing. So maybe that will help. I dont know how to end this but i am so sick of feeling nothing. Maybe all i need is more time.

[@attheranch4876]

See his videos on anhedonia, it sounds like that’s what you’re experiencing.

[@mellochord]

Get outside yourself by being your true self. Creativity takes you there, and thank you for reminding me of this. I've been stuck for some time now.

[@andrewsackville-west1609]

No disrespect at all, but "being your true self" feels like pandering, or dismissal. What even is one's true self? How do you learn what that is? When I'm experiencing a depressive episode, my true self is a self-abusive, anhedonic, lump of flesh rotting away on the couch.

[@mellochord]

Perhaps the true, or authentic self is the experience you have when you are not caught inside your head being bombarded by dark thoughts. Creativity is reaching out, often into the unknown, for an expression of something new. That experience of creating life anew is a break from everyday existence, and what you expect to feel. I truly hope you find a path out of what you are experiencing.

[@andrewsackville-west1609]

@@mellochord i appreciate that. A huge part of my difficulty is related to neuro-divergent masking. A lifetime of masking means that I don't know what's me versus what is my mask. The only time I'm truly unmasked is in the depths of a depressive episode. I think you can see how this makes it difficult to know what is or isn't my authentic self.

[@erikpetkov5842]

I am the guy you used to be - right now. I feel exactly the way you described it and have come to the same realization you did. You cannot out-think you way out of hell. Only way out is by doing, not consuming. Doing is painful and uncomfortable, especially if you have lived and continue to live in hell. But that's the way life is for you at the moment, pain is unavoidable. So if suffering is necessary then might as well make it useful, if not for you than for somebody or something outside of you.

[@Keturah-Renet]

This was probably the best explanation of how I feel currently. Thank you. 🙏🏾

[@LDJ-r8e]

I’m a muralist. It’s how I’ve made my living for over a decade now. I create 2-3 very large and detailed murals a year. When I’m NOT working on a mural, when I’m not painting or designing the next mural, etc, that’s when I start to spiral. So this theory of yours is definitely on the right track. When I create I feel good, and after too much time spent NOT creating, all those same symptoms creep back in. And as soon as I get a new mural job the depression slowly begins to fade away, I start to slowly get my energy back, and after a few months where I’m powering through the design process despite my depression, the depression begins to lift a little more everyday. But I will admit that forcing myself to start creating again, after having been so low, sometimes for months, is so hard. It takes as much discipline and force of will to start working on the next project as it does to try and force yourself back into the gym or something similar. It’s so difficult that if I didn’t have help (and most people don’t) I doubt I’d even be here. I certainly wouldn’t be making a living as an artist. So if you don’t have a good sidekick like I do in my husband then I pray you’ll find that kind of support from other friends and family who understand your situations. My husband has a lot to do with this. He’s very supportive and he will help me get going, get my motivation back, get some upward momentum, even get out of bed AT ALL., and he’s also there to help me learn how to live healthier in times when I’m not creating as much.

[@LDJ-r8e]

What most interesting from the inside looking out is that the people in my community think I live such a happy life “doing what I love as a career”. They don’t know how crazy my mind is. The actually perceive me as someone talented and who has the coolest job, and the coolest life, and I have it all figured out. They have no idea that the local artist in their town who’s painting all of these murals is actually suffering psychologically and emotionally, and likely to a level they can’t easily imagine or relate to. I often wonder to myself “what would these people think if they know my real day to day, how difficult life seems to me. What if they know how freaking crazy I was?” I do a good job hiding my pain. I can even keep it hidden for many years, but at some point, in some unforeseen way, it will eventually make its way into the public. And that’s one of my biggest fears: that people will see how crazy I am and think less of me. That’s the kind of insecure and negative thought loops I like to spin my wheels in, sometimes for days. I’m a crazy person

[@GbGb-gv3wj]

@@LDJ-r8e ... But within your "crazyness" you actually have perfect/professional/admirable talents inside: you know how to combine colours, you have coordination of movement in your body, you have good eyesight (even if you wear glasses), you can admire art (other people can't)... and much more. Think of the good points in you, even if you don't recognise you have artist skills. When you think that you are a crazy person... see it with a percentage... maybe you are crazy 40 per cent, but 60 per cent of you is normal or even great. I am a teacher by profession, and I am trying to do this "percentage" exercise for myself, to feel more normal, to feel a better person. I am just trying...

[@ksol-px2sl]

Listened to this one last night on the podcast, and there were things I needed to hear. In particular, that working on fitness counts. Since I've retired, I've felt guilty that I haven't pursued creative writing. In truth, all I really want to do is focus on nutrition, fitness, and outdoor activities. Maybe it's not giving back to the world, but I find my meaning and peace out in the forests

[@kathleengriffith9737]

Whenever I hear you talk about depression I am always so amazed at your ability to word it so well and describe how it truly feels. I've often tried to explain it to loved ones and I feel as if I always fall short. I love hearing your straight forward suggestions and often try to put them to use. Thanks so much for the help.

[@BobKubby22]

Dr. Scott.. just starting viewing your channel and you are spot on on so many things. I feel depressed a lot of the time and I have watched a few of your videos and your views are so respectful and to the point that I feel that they are really very helpful! I wish you were my doc...you do a great job! Keep up the great work and i will continue to watch! Thank you!

[@crystalmittens]

I just watched a few videos and I ended up buying your book. I've heard and recited clinical or textbook explanations of how it feels, but I don't think I've ever really expressed how debilitating depression and anxiety are for me. I feel valid, and that is hard to find when you're suffering in the way you explained. I love your content so far, I wish I could get sessions from you. Thank you.

[@irememberla6460]

True consuming too much social media keeps us engaged enough and avoiding being active in the real world...

[@matheustironi3721]

Excellent insight. This is actually great work.

[@CarlyFaith15]

I was here when you made your first couple of videos. I remember thinking that you understood the effects of depression extremely well. It doesn't take very much to light me up and make me feel like me. Sometimes, I just have to mow the back lawn and then, turn around and look. Everything looks beautiful and I know that I changed that environment. In reality, I accomplished millions of little things that were just for me even if it included someone else. I even moved a couple of small mountains. Self-love is important and I know that. I think that I'm intelligent and curious and kind. I take care of myself physically. Someone had taken 23 years and allowed me to ask any questions I had and many were about him. I finally was free to just be me. I was living in the presence of acceptance and growth. But, he had an accident and went into a coma. That's when the mountains got moved. Somewhere there was an inner strength that I didn't know I had. I had to do 100 different things everyday. I'm a heart-centered person and that lined up with me perfectly. I watched a man who had been a genius as I placed 10-piece Snoopy puzzles in front of him. But, I loved him and I liked him. He thought there were three different Carlys taking care of him but, it was just one who was sleeping 3 hours a night. God, I hope this is not a decade thing. He went into our kitchen and he passed away. I didn't allow depression to come near me for 2 years. I just shut off the TV and all noise and distractions. I listened a lot. I didn't know how I was going to heal but, I knew that if I allowed myself to start crying that I would start screaming and there would be no one here to stop me. It's almost the 5-year anniversary and now, the real deal has taken residence in me. I never tried to conform to this world because, I looked around and I didn't like it. Somehow, I just remained me. I am a very specific type of person. Not one bit worldly. I use this space to research. I always have. I have a need to learn something everyday. When he passed away everyone walked away from day one. It's not unresolved grief that caused this. Depression doesn't necessarily need a reason. All I know is that I can't truly be alive if I don't have someone's eyes to look into every day. I need a friend who can talk about deep subjects. An unexpected thunderstorm is a very happy time for me. I think I just don't feel safe in the world anymore. If my friends and family could walk away cold turkey then, knowing and being known is not an option. Sharing what I'm learning with someone is not an option. Listening to someone using big words and then having to look one up now and then was precious. Now, I have to talk like I'm in sixth grade. My soul just got tired. I know how to help other people. I know how to help people change their own lives. I don't know how to be alone. Finding someone who would even care is impossible. And, I don't need a course on that to know it. I'm burned out. I have caught your videos whenever I needed one. I needed to know that someone else understood what is not describable. I don't need to tell you anything. I just want to feel home again. This is not my home. Thank you for making this video. 💙 I'm glad you care. I can see it in your eyes. If by chance you read all this, please say hi. It would mean a lot to me. I respect you as a person. I know you'll get this. My authentic self is made up that little girl that never had to grow up. I allowed her to live and have fun all these years. I know this is long and I should have written it in a letter but, I couldn't see your address. My daughter has called and needs my emotional support. Ironic, isn't it? 😅

[@thestace7777]

💗💗💗

[@doomsdaycrochet4873]

Somehow, I know exactly what you're saying. I'm sorry you've been so lonely and grief-stricken for so long. 🤗❤ Sending virtual hugs! I hope you and your daughter have a good chat and that you feel uplifted. It is soooo difficult trusting others when you have been abandoned and betrayed.

[@CarlyFaith15]

Thank you for writing. Trust is not something that you can never give easily again. People are human and we all hurt others at one time or another. But, if you have someone in your life to love and who loves you then, you are truly rich. ☺️

[@BrutafulStudios01]

First off, thank you for posting this video, I know it takes a lot of courage. These are the kind of videos that make KZbin great, and the advice of Stop withdrawing really hit me and changed my negative spiraling mood this morning. So thanks again. With so many predatory videos on KZbin that are only interested in advertising a useless product or system, it's always good to see people that are genuinely interested in simply helping others.

[@SteveLoach]

Good video! Good theory! I’ve never thought of a ‘consumption to creation’ continuum but I really like the idea. 👍

[@lindablindt7265]

Thanks this makes a lot of sense. I have been at points in my life making myself invisible and been around others who joined in. I will try this and get back to you.

[@juliefaulkner9586]

Amazing. I stopped sharing with people how I felt because I couldn’t take another platitude. I’m a musician but haven’t felt like playing or composing in 5 years. Still don’t really feel ready but would love to hear from others what works for them… maybe baby steps?

[@GbGb-gv3wj]

I agree with you. People do not seem to understand what we say, or maybe they do no have the time in this busy world... Music is one way of being creative, but there are many other ways to cretivity, as Scott suggests... What about fixing something broken at home?, or planting some flowerpots? or washing and hanging curtains? or putting a light bulb and dusting the lamp at the same time?... I am just thinking aloud things I can imagine doing myself... But maybe they can help you too. In the Judeo-Christian tradition we are all valuable, whether we see actually see our value or not (Scott said in another video). Let's keep hope!

[@lameduck6786]

Hello Dr. Scott, I am always so impressed by how precisely you analyze things and get to the point. This is certainly because, as you emphasize again in this video, you are not a theorist, but have gone through the hell of depression yourself. This means that you really understand us and can offer real, practical help. I am very, very grateful to you for that! 🙏🙂

[@thomasendter6770]

Thanks a lot. Especially HOW you present your points, helps a lot in dealing with depression. You know, how it feels, so you know, how to talk to depressed people.

[@Malaikamuskan-v5z]

Psychedelics are just an exceptional mental health breakthrough. It's quite fascinating how effective they are against depression and anxiety. Saved my life.

[@ThailandLottery-vz3pm]

Can you help with the reliable source I would really appreciate it. Many people talk about mushrooms and psychedelics but nobody talks about where to get them. Very hard to get a reliable source here in Australia. Really need!

[@chrisbenoit5044]

Yes, dr.porassss. I have the same experience with anxiety, depression, PTSD and addiction and Mushrooms definitely made a huge huge difference to why am clean today.

[@AfkAliaga]

I wish they were readily available in my place. Microdosing was my next plan of care for my husband. He is 59 & has so many mental health issues plus probable CTE & a TBI that left him in a coma 8 days. It's too late now I had to get a TPO as he's 6'6 300+ pound homicidal maniac. He's constantly talking about killing someone. He's violent. Anyone reading this Familiar w/ BPD know if it is common for an obsession with violence.

[@ThailandLottery-vz3pm]

Is he on instagram?

[@chrisbenoit5044]

Yes he is dr.porassss

[@Turtlpwr]

Just a couple years younger than you but I’ve been in that depression through my 30s. Everything I do feels so pointless and I’ve lost so much of myself that I’m now trying to get back. Life has been really, really challenging

[@kimsteed9401]

A great friend of mine shared you with me. Now I love your shows!! Thank you so much!!!

[@LHydro]

I stopped my psychology pursuit as far as school when I found your channel by coincidence. I have leveled out just focusing on myself for a little while, excellent help from your creative content. Thank you. God bless you and your family.

[@mrs.ogbuagu]

Things keep getting darker and darker. I’m scared.

[@luckyluna333]

That's a good thing because that means you're at the darkest point and then the light will start to creep back in through the ways that you allow it and know that you have a friend somewhere out there in the world that's willing to hold your hand with a flashlight leave you out of the darkness

[@christopherking9338]

Perception........ Use It.

[@MegaPsychoticPanda]

Wow. The “imaginary being” part resonated with me. I also dated a narcissist for 7 years who said he didn’t care whether I existed or not. I’m trying to regain my sense of identity. I know the best path is no contact, but I feel so lonely

[@lunamorvran8202]

Thank you so much for the honesty of this. I just realized that today right now I was starting to consume more as I got caught up into social media when I know I need to sleep so I can wake up for my exercises. I will pay more attention to this creeping up on me.

[@victor3297]

Thank you for putting words to this. This is where I've been for the past ~2 years. It was horrible. I've never felt anything like this ever before, and hopefully won't do to this level again. My break out was an unmade decision that I finally made last week. All of the possibilities are back!

[@forgottensage-o5o]

I’m starting to paint (just posted a video on here) But it’s mostly torture for me because I don’t want to follow what the how to book says but I need to learn the basics of painting. You are so right about creating instead of just consuming.

[@valveillen]

It's so encouraging to see other people who have struggled with depresion for as long time as i am. It has been a slow journey to join society again, but little by little i have done that. i agree with you that Creation is the way to do that. During the first year of therapy i only had energy for Therapy and Consumption but slowly i started doing art and crafts again, i slowly met new people who i was able to be truly open and authentic with. Often I felt frustrated that the progress was too slow, i had many ideas what i wanted to do with my life, but didnt have the energy to do them as quickly as i wanted. I had to learn to be patient with myself. But now as i think back on what ive managed to achieve while recovering from depression, i feel proud. I am graduating soon, i have many good friends, i create art (not for others but for myself), i understand myself better than i did before my depression. I am still depressed, but it wont slow me down as much as it did before, i think i have more ok days than bad. Great video ❤

[@yellowblanka6058]

"I've never felt like I fit into the world"....I feel you man. Also, I'm surprised at your age, I would have guessed early 30's at most, I turned 40 (uggh) earlier this year and the gray in my beard betrays me. I don't know if I feel "worthless", but I definitely feel like I'm not where I could/should be at in life, any area of life. It's not to the point where I don't get up, shower etc. but I'm feeling less hopeful as the years wear on. It hit me particularly hard when my 14 year old Lab passed in July as he had been my emotional anchor I think, and that was after I turned 40 in April, so it was a one-two punch.

[@jayne0814]

I always feel better and more satisfied with myself when I create something. I never thought of it in a context of exercising but you’re right. This is a great reminder.

[@artsyladie7]

This being more creative than consuming is definitely a way out of depression. Having lost my spouse a year ago turned everything in my creative life upside down. I lost most all the personal life circumstances I had. But now I am finding what you are saying, Dr. Scott, to truly be a major way out.

[@debralane7408]

Yes, creation does really help. I have a creation for my yard in my head and now it’s almost done. It makes me very very happy when I’m creating. I make things out of junk. I make jewelry and like you said there was a time in my life where I didn’t even wanna care, I walk with my head down. I had no nothing to look forward to but now I do thank you for all your down-to-earth advice.

[@nikkihstokes]

I've been aware of the consumption-creation balance for a while, but I'd never tied it to depression. That's a really helpful addition to my world view. I also find that if I engage too much with the world that it somehow distorts who I am, so it's nice to hear someone else talking about this experience, and that it's OK to "give the world less of me". Thank you.

[@celenafenner8237]

The downwards spiral. I have used that term so many times the past couple weeks. I feel like I'm losing control. No matter what I do.

[@kyleodonnell4326]

Thank you for this. So many of the interventions are hyper-focused on the inability to see it from the perspective of the effected person. Your videos and perspectives have helped to expand my understanding of these concepts from both clinical and practical perspectives. As I watch this a second time, I realized that I actually wrote 3 books following a particularly challenging part of my life. At the time, I tried not to (but ultimately did), concern myself with their reception in the small world of the audience that I was involved with. I can now see, years later, how that element of the experience was distracting from the actual benefit that it provided. Obviously, the benefit outweighed the aforementioned detraction, and I appreciate your perspective for helping me to see that all of these years later. More recently I've been struggling with another onset and have been trying to identify causality and ways to minimize the paralysis that's setting in. This perspective really resonated with me and I'm going to try to work on my ratio. Thank you.

[@_Geist]

this is the REALEST way to talk about this, thank you SO much. i feel like i can breathe better after hearing you say these things. this tracks with my own developing philosophy how Art and Love make the world go round. it's ancient wisdom, but they are vital engines to the flow of consciousness. when creative and loving actions, intentions, and plans are legitimately blocked in concrete forms like policy and scarcity, it causes all sorts of mutating sicknesses, until flow is able to return to homeostasis. it seems to be how everything works, perhaps even down to a quantum level--therefore, there is nowhere to go but flow.

[@lordsxman]

What I love most about your content is that you continue to accurately describe experiences I've lived through but could never explain or even identify. My darkest moments of depression are when I felt "fake" or "imaginary" as you put it. I think your theory about the spectrum of creation to consumption is REVOLUTIONARY. I work in retail supplement sales. Part of my job is creating or finding solutions to people's problems based on what I know. Although I've only been working for two years, I've found deep fulfillment and satisfaction in being able to accurately help people. Before that, when I was unemployed, I truly felt as though I was vanishing, and that my existence was only a burden on my sister and father as I live with them both. I will now make a concerted effort to create more. Thank you truly for this insight. 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

[@gregduda4869]

I've been trying to calm down my anxiety by meditation and awareness practices (inspired by E. Tolle), but my anxiety is stronger and wins almost every time. I know that going out to the world is my desperate need, but I keep on finding neverending excuses... It's soooo difficult...

[@FragmentedZombie]

You honestly just blow my mind. The way you phrase things is, not criticising, but helpful, honest and clear. It's an action plan, a solution. It's what I've always searched for. I had a conversation with a friend yesterday who is a fellow artist and they said artists bring the light into people's lives. I said I feel the opposite, I am the darkness and feel I just pull people down with me. But he said my dark art is drawing people in and that's a win. I haven't shared any of my art for 2 years next month, I just can't face it. I am determined to get back there and beyond. This video has just made me want to keep on creating art, even if it's not any "good" at least in a very small way I am creating, not consuming. I love that, I will quite that to myself regularly. Thank you ❤

[@domenceuspriest]

Similar to your reason for making these videos (which are immensely helpful), I try to be the "adult I wish I'd had" in my earlier days. And I keep trying to remind myself that the story I've been working on writing isn't meant to appeal to everyone, but that I want it to be "that book that I needed to read at a particular time" for a few people. Your reframing of "creation" to be more inclusive is so helpful!

[@maryorr3257]

I felt all of this , my goodness it’s so comforting to hear another person vocalise these things They are so hard to if not impossible to express I didn’t speak eat function and was basically non existent to my self in my mind There was no colour I was constantly exhausted but also felt fear and dejection Thankfully I had a husband who never gave up and got me in to psychiatric hospital Where I spent some weeks until I got medication that suited me and I got my life back gradually

[@brucekowalski5455]

Just found your videos! Love what I hear, I live in the darkness of life, can't find my way out of it, and I hate life, but I have so much good in it! I am losing the fight! Had a gun to my head last week, but I'm a coward, I guess! The battle continues! Thanks for the content. I'll be listening!!

[@jadeybabes33]

Stick with us friend and keep watching these vids - this guy is the real deal. All the best.

[@sarahgerman8593]

Hang on, the darkest hour is just before dawn. You’re definitely not alone with this group. Hugs!

[@Widgy309]

Find a Bible believing Jesus Christ church. GOD is real and loves humanity. What have u got to lose by seeking the truth at this point

[@ForestRogers]

Brilliant and apropos. Must say, as someone who has wrestled w depression for many decades, I am so impressed with many of your observations. Really excellent content.

[@hattinah6176]

For me it often feels like an exothermic reaction: I need some energy to get started, but once I do, more energy gets released. That's the way with creation as you say (for me that is art and music) but also with things like reaching out to friends and talking about how I feel. But I still need that starting energy. There are times in my life when I don't have that, and then the consumption (for me reading and watching videos / series) helps me survive another day. And that's okay too.

[@lifeinbalance9012]

Thank you, really interesting concept! If I think about it you are right. Actions of consumption usually make me feel worse and actions of creation better (even if it's just cooking a meal or organizing my apartment). But I find it extremely difficult to start those "actions of creation" if it's not something that I usually do or have to do... And even if I start, they feel usually pointless, while I'm doing them. Only afterwads, I can sometimes appreciate them.

[@sarahgerman8593]

Well said! Totally agree.

[@marymedal8665]

I so hear where I am today. Your theory is right. I don't feel imaginary just irrelevant. I am recognizing its on me to be relevant even to myself. I am creating me. The me today.

[@patchoulicolt7093]

Me it be you never lost sight of your vision-that you are creating for yourself, Dr. Eilers, for when you create for yourself, I profoundly see myself through you. My life lesson to all who will read. 💜

[@roseyc.5846]

Dr. Scott is AMAZING!! TYSM. 🙏🏻❤️

[@purrsephone2904]

I've found a lot of joy watching KZbin videos, so I think there needs to be a balance. The KZbin videos help me feel less lonely in my old age. I have not found another good therapist since my old one retired four years ago. I think it's better to accept myself than trying to please others. I've a crush on my younger self :)

[@nathalieryan9912]

Thank you for verbalizing what some of us have lived for so long.