Be a Burden

Stingy vulnerability is harming us. Autonomy touted. Needing shamed. Prove how much you don't need anyone, but then sit solo, likely scrolling, wishing you mattered enough to be needed. If I had a dollar for every person who told me they didn't want to be "a burden". Someone. Somewhere. Needs to learn how to be a burden so people can again feel connected. Might taking turns being a burden be the actual thing we are after? Read, not the destination, but the journey. Belittle the pride, let humanity spill haphazardly on the floor. Unsanitized. Unedited. No filter. The problem with never needing anyone or anything is that you become complicit in cycles of not needing. The appearance of not needing? Is that what we are after here? All while passive bids for needing remain pulsing beneath, hoping for people to see you as you are, naked, hanging on a branch without a fail safe. Might you be reckless and need someone? Put in your community service hours. Risk allowing someone to catch you. Lean into the warmth of being with, the intimacy of need, the willingness to trust.

Depression Filters, 9

You do not need to change your depression filter. Sometimes you are depressed for good, human reasons. Might you learn to tolerate your depression filter and continue with what matters most to you. Journal Prompt: Even with a depression filter, I want to...

Depression Filters, 8

Like a doctored photo, your depression filter manipulates what you see. Journal Prompts: With a depression filter I see... Without a depression filter I see...

Depression Filters, 7

A depressive response to a terrible experience is healthy and appropriate. It is the machinelike response we force that makes us unwell. Journal Prompts: My sanitized response is... My unsanitized response is...

Depression Filters, 6

Depression displayed on the outside can vary a lot from the inside, lived experience. Depression notoriously can appear flat and disconnected, yet, on the inside, be a mosh pit of chaos and news tickers. Journal Prompts: On the outside I seem... On the inside I am...

Depression Filters, 5

Depression filters hide anger that has turned inward. That stale anger needs to see the light of day for relief. Journal Prompts: My anger needs to air out... The anger that has turned inward is directed at...

Depression Filters, 4

Depression filters deceive. They claim narrow options and no outlets. Journal Prompts: I need a way out to... I wish I could untangle...

Depression Filters, 3

A depression filter pushes you inward to the emotional fetal position. It brings out our selfish, not because of a moral failing, but because all energy is preserved for survival

Depression Filters, 2

Depression filters are your no stretch, tight jeans. They offer no favors. Stiff. They have little flexibility in how they interpret the world.

Depression Filters, 1

Depression filters are like the audio recording on the airport shuttle. It’s the same thing, right on time, every time, no nuance.