Tough questions. Are we ever really well? I was a rapid cycler and unless my depressions were suicidal, I didnt even register them as depression. After a lifetime of mental illness I finally broke down and got on meds, found the right ones and I am stable now. I have been free from depression for a couple years now. But am I well? I consider it more like remission. I dont really live in fear of it coming back though, but I am careful to look for the signs so I can catch it before it gets out of control.
As for being well in some areas and not in others, certainly I think this is true. It depends on our level of functioning, how well we cope, how resilient we are. When my T talked me into going inpatient, I left my appt, sucked it up, went back to work and finished my day despite all the emotional turmoil that was going on inside. Would I have been able to handle a chat with a coworker? Probably not. Could I cook dinner that night? no way. But people were counting on me to do my job. I had to make arrangements to cover things there for when i was in the hospital, so I had to function for that and I was able to do that.
I think that we can really muster up the energy to what is absolutely necessary to survive. Or at least I did. Which really baffles me because I have always wanted to die so bad, yet I fought so hard to live.
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