I'd like to note a few things here, please, in the process of thinking it through.

1. Although I do think "fake it 'til you make it" is a crock, there are times when it is right to just suck it up and do what you need to do, despite how you feel. Plodding through and functioning even though you are in a depression, is in my opinion equal to going to work anyway, even though you have a sprained ankle, and hopping around or using a cane while doing your job.

2. I don't see the above as "faking" anything. I see it as adapting. If you go to work on a sprained ankle, it doesn't mean you're pretending you don't have one. It's wrapped, and you're favoring the injured ankle by not putting weight on it. Presumably you might be taking pain meds as well. You have taken care of yourself. You're not ignoring it.

3. Similarly, you can acknowledge, at least to yourself, that you feel like crap. You don't have to pretend you're not depressed in order to work through it anyway. Feeling is one thing. Doing is another.

4. This is probably just me, but whenever I'm acting like I'm "normal" or "competent," an inner voice keeps telling me I'm being a phony, and that's not who I really am. Still, if I'm going to get anything done that needs to be done, I've got to go right on acting "normal," even if it does make me feel like a phony.

5. Does that mean I *am* a phony? No. Feeling like one doesn't make it true.

6. Conclusion, then, I see "faking" as more the denial of the fact that you're depressed, even though you are, instead of merely carrying on anyway, and doing your job.