PLAYLIST: on darkness/depression
Depression is as familiar to me as rain. Heartbreak coloring it is, however, new and unsettling. In my commitment to support all changemakers in their vital work and to compel focused research into changemaking, I have chosen to share my experience with these heavier feelings to help make space for a greater range of human experience.
Through this series, I look at our darkness through the lenses of religion, mental health, psychopathy, optimism, the social value of unhappy people, the Serenity Prayer, grief, and the possible inevitable downside of living our calling.
Professionalizing changemaking has been my life’s work and the focus of my current PhD, which builds on hundreds of hours of interviews worldwide. That said, there is still very little known about the causes, prevalence, prophylactics, and solutions. So, I share from 2+ decades as my own social experiment and hope you will help me by (1) validating what resonates, (2) checking my blindside, (3) and sharing this Substack so that we build a community of practice.
Part 1 | Introduction to (un)happiness
Part 2 | On the “mental health” construct and gratitude
Am I ungrateful — or mentally ill — if I am sad?
Thank you for the reactions — on and off Substack — to my I’m not a happy person, and it may be your gain | On depression | Part 1, which was the first post on the topic of the darkness we all live with to varying extents.
Part 3 | Is happiness a function of helplessness?
Changemakers and the Serenity Prayer
Depression is as familiar to me as rain. In my commitment to support all changemakers in their vital work, to serve as my own social experiment, and to build on hundreds of hours of interviews worldwide, I have chosen to share my experience with these heavier feelings to help make space for a greater range of human experience.
Part 4 | On the 3 layers of changemakers’ grief
Is depression the inevitable cost of changing the world?
It may be. As might be PTSD. Grief definitely is. Those compelled to make a meaningful difference in the world (a new psychological profile I call “changemakers”) experience sorrow our society isn’t equipped to support. This may fuel self-doubt, isolation, and depression. Given that changemakers are the world’s most precious resource, I remain comm…