Me: “Talked to the doc – I’m going off my meds. Going to try to restart and see where I’m at. Feels like I’m just chasing side effects.”

Dad: “Can I give you some advice? You just need to wake up in the morning and decide that you’re going to have a good day.”

…..well shit. Why did that never occur to me before? Nearly two decades of depression and now you tell me?

For the record – when someone tells you about their depression and/or anxiety and you feel compelled to say:

“Look on the bright side…”
“Just feel better…”
“But why are you sad?”
“What’s wrong? Everything is fine.”
“Just cheer up”
“You seem so normal”
“There’s nothing to be nervous about”
“What’s bugging you (this time)?”

or anything along those lines, just shut up and ask if you can give them a hug instead.