Depression - When are you kidding yourself?

So, I was thinking today...no really, I was.

When a person is depressed, or feeling down, they are encouraged to 'perk up' or 'look on the bright side' and to stay positive. How does this really help but on the surface? It seems to me that a person might be just fooling themselves if they don't deal with their feelings.

I've been wondering if I'm depressed lately, and I'm not sure if I can really tell. I've had some things go on recently that brought me down, but they seem mostly superficial or small (bad basketball games, stupid things at work, believe it or not, the Ducks losing has affected me pretty big too).

I do know that I'm feeling behind the eight ball so to speak on what I considered my goals since I moved back to Eugene. I'm not volunteering like I wanted to, I'm not exercising like I want to be (I have lost 13lbs or so, which is good, and I feel healthy), and I don't have the job I want yet, but I'm not sure thats enough to bring me down. I've had a really positive attitude since I moved down, but also when I was up in Beaverton I learned how to stay positive through stress and adversity.

I've been really tired lately too, even though I've been sleeping well at night, and its harder to be more positive when you're so tired. Speaking of tired, I think I better get to sleep...lol. I'll think more about this tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day...

Usually these feelings come and go in waves, so I guess I'll keep trying to figure it out, and maybe it will pass on again (besides, I have a TOOL concert to go to next week, so I should be psyched!!!)..

Laters!!