decisions with depression

As someone who has suffered with serious depression, I know how difficult it can be to make a big decision with so much else going on inside your head. That isn’t to say I’ve done anything as unpredictable as trying to buy a living giraffe or something, but I know that even small decisions can massively affect your life. Deciding to take a week off from going for your daily run can end up with you quitting all together.

Luckily, most bad decisions can be taken back. You can turn them around or change them entirely, no matter how far away you feel you are from where you started. Most of the time, second chances aren’t as far off as you think. So many people have used my depression as an excuse to tell me I don’t know what’s best for me, and that I’m making a bad choice. Sometimes they’ve been right, but even then, they haven’t bothered to give any helpful advice or support.

I frequently felt unable to make any decision at all, even things as small as what to do once I got off the sofa; so a lot of the time, I didn’t. I’ve also made really stupid decisions that only I could see the ‘benefits’ of (basically, there were none). The biggest of these was moving into a flat with university students at the age of 16, rather than continuing to stay with my caring foster family or any blood relatives. In short, I’m now back at home, confused as to why I ever thought leaving was a good idea. To sum up, my advice to anyone struggling with a big, mediocre, or even mundane decision, is to talk it through with a few people you trust.

Whether that’s family, friends or a professional, the chances are if the people close to you are struggling to support a large decision, it may be worth thinking it over again. It’s not always true that you’ll be wrong and even when you are, you can learn from a bad decision, but extra thought can never do any harm.

​On the other hand, when you’re feeling super indecisive, planning little things like reading a chapter of a book on Monday and going for a walk on Tuesday can help with that, as time to yourself can help you think more clearly as well as adding structure to your day. I hope my advice can reach just one person; keep smiling.

Sarah