Edgar Allen Poe suffered from depression. If you lived his life, you probably would have been depressed too. He was born in 1809 to a couple of actors. He was two when his father abandoned him. His mother, unable to take care of him, left him with John and Frances Allen. His mother died soon after that.
Poe was rejected by the literary circles of his time, which was a result of his reputation for being a crazy drunk without any talent. Poe often referred to bipolar disorder through his themes using the “double self.” Later it was called a split personality and today it is referred to as bi polar disorder or schizophrenia.
There are days when everyone gets depressed. Monday mornings are famous for triggering depression. An end to family get togethers can lead to depression. Seeing your kids off to college is another trigger for depression.
You are definitely not alone when it comes to depression. We all experience these momentary bouts of depression or sadness.
One of the anti-depression strategies I uncovered in my five-year study of the daily habits of the wealthy involves engaging in a creative activity. Depression seems to fade away during creative pursuits.
It’s in our genes to create. When we create we are at our most human state and when we are at our most human state, we become happy. Creativity creates happiness and happiness displaces depression.
We all have some creative skills. It’s hardwired into our DNA. We are all creative beings. For me, it is writing. For others, it is painting or music or knitting or building. I actually have grown to envy builders because builders get to create for a living.
When you are immersed in any creative pursuit, the right side of the brain takes over and suppresses that part of the brain where depression resides. It’s hard to start a creative project when you are in the midst of depression and that is why you should have ongoing creative projects to act as a salve or buffer against planned or unplanned, depression-triggering events.
As you get older, you get better at identifying planned depression-triggering events. Setting a date for starting your creative project, in advance of the depression-triggering event, will help you better deal with any such event.
