It seems that I'm a little caught up with the subject of depression but I just finished reading an article from the Guardian online that is entitled the "Upsides of Being Down".

In this excerpt, psychiatrist Paul Keedwell argues that "Focusing on depression in a purely clinical way is preventing us understanding our susceptibility to it and ignores the good it can bring". I found it an interesting perspective.

It got me to thinking a bit though. I think that in today's world, we have this "instant gratification" mentality and thus, instead of creating things with our own hands, we just go out and buy it. We don't have to make things anymore because we can just purchase this happiness at any shop.

As well, technology has made life more convenient for humanity. However, now that we have this new lifestyle we no longer have the sense of accomplishment we used to experience because we don't have to work as hard. I know that if I'm not being creative that my sense of self-worth diminishes and if I leave it for too long, it would not be unusual for me to become depressed. I always feel better when I'm contributing to something. In my mind, things like Facebook help to disconnect people from the rest of the world. The so-called "Friends" that I would have aren't people that I share my life with. They are more status symbols of acquaintance and are not necessarily people that care about me (or me them) - instead they are ingredients of competition to prove that I have more friends than others.

So, I suppose there really is an upside to feeling down. Read the article and let me know what you think...