Friday, January 17, 2014

In the Middle of the Lake, Don’t Know how to Swim, and Advice you get is…

It is a small metaphor I am working on. Sometimes it is in the family, sometimes on the job, sometimes with friends.

So I am in the middle of the lake, don’t know how to swim, and good-minded people of all backgrounds shout: “SWIM TO THE SHORE!” 

Now, I cannot reach the shore with my hands but while wildly swinging and kicking with my arms and legs, I manage to shout back: “I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SWIM!” 

And immediate response from the shore comes back: “IT IS EASY! JUST SWING WITH YOUR ARMS LIKE THIS, AND DO WITH YOUR LEGS LIKE THAT!” Good advice, right :)?!

Well, I feel down sometimes. And lots of people around me don’t want to see me blue or depressed. So they start giving me advice: ‘You shouldn't be in your room, you need to get out!’ or ‘Strolls would help you! Go to nature and walk!’ or ‘You need to find something you like and just do it, that will snap you out of it!’



Great! I am drowning because I cannot swim, and people are telling me the obvious: ‘If you knew how to swim you could get to the shore easily!’ 

Now, unless I am depressed or blue for the first time in my life – you could say it is something new to learn – then no sweat about it. But if I am clinically depressed and have episodes, it sounds more like dear people telling me: ‘Stupid, all you have to do to get better is doing these things you already know…!’

And I am back in the middle of the lake and they are shouting: ‘Just swim.’ Now I am unwillingly swallowing some lake water, feeling really bad – not knowing if I can get anyhow back to the shore and all motivation I get is – do one thing you are currently not capable of doing.

Don’t know about you, but I get frustrated about it. And yes, there are situation in job finding like that, when you are not up to something right now, and nice people around you implicitly advise you: ‘Stupid, all you have to do is do that thing you currently cannot do!’

How do you feel when that happens? 

Does it happen to you too? 

Please share.

l2i

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