Mental health struggles impact people from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. It doesn’t matter if you’re making millions of dollars or minimum wage, depression can still strike. Knowing how to care for yourself while depressed can make a huge difference in your ability to operate.
KC Davis, author of “How to Keep House While Drowning,” breaks down household care tasks to make them more manageable for people struggling with depression. In her TEDx talk, the therapist gives multiple examples of tasks that can be broken down into smaller pieces to make your home functional. The first step in the process is being gentle with yourself and changing your mindset from “I’m failing” to “I’m having a hard time.”
In 2020, around 21 million adults ages 18 and up experienced at least one major depressive episode. Depression can be debilitating for some individuals, causing them to have difficulty caring for their own needs or even getting out of bed. In Davis’ TEDx talk she explains how to care for yourself even on the days you can’t manage to get out of bed. Her advice involves a zip-close bag.
Yup, a plastic baggie. If there are days when you feel you can’t get up, Davis’ advice is to keep a gallon size zip-close bag on your night stand to put your dirty dishes in. It’s a simple fix that seals in any odor the food may produce and won’t attract bugs. The dirty dish will stay secured until you have the energy to take it to the kitchen, put it in the sink or wash it.
Small depression hacks like this can help a person feel less shame around the tasks not being done to the standards of society. Davis reiterates that, “care tasks are morally neutral” and “anything worth doing is worth doing half-assed.” Check out her TEDx talk below.