That's right - the benefits of depression. While we're all so busy looking at the bad side, let's look at the green side.

Ever notice how it seems so many of "The Greats" were depressed? Monet, Van Gogh, Michelangelo, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Abraham Lincoln, Princess Diana, Elton John, and so on.

Being critical of ourselves means also being critical of our work. We see all the negative aspects of our work. We want to be truly satisfied with our work. Sometimes, we do find the negative parts and fix them, going above and beyond. It's just that... sometimes we find parts that have nothing wrong with them and pass on the criticism to ourselves. We think more about our work than others would think of theirs, which increases the chances of creating high quality work. We, because we have depression or anxiety, are more likely to be introverted. Sometimes we prefer alone time to socializing - and during our alone time, we spend a lot of time thinking about our work. How to improve it. What needs to be fixed.

We're also critical of our behavior. Because we are so critical of our own, we can recognize others' behavior. We are sensitive to others' emotions. We often empathize with others for what they're going through because being overwhelmed, uncomfortable, or depressed is a feeling we understand all too well. Because we spend a lot of time thinking, we often know how to make others feel better or feel comfortable. We show others that we don't judge them about things we feel judged about. We are compassionate about what we believe in because we spend a lot of time thinking about our morals.

While all of these may not be true for every depressed or anxious person, I'm sure you have gained something from your condition. Maybe you're thinking, "That's not worth it for all the suffering I go through. I can't even appreciate it, so why does it matter?" Well, here's some hope for you and a little hypothesizing on my part:

Personally, I had a very happy childhood up until middle school. However, I was always critical of what I did. I was always critical of my drawing and writing (I've been a writer and artist since about age 8). But I was proud of my work. I didn't let it get to me. I didn't criticize myself - it was strictly my work. The pressure and cliques of middle school is what really "turned on" my depression. Then my critical eye started feeding my depression and anxiety. If I used my critical eye only for positive expression in the past, who says I can't try to reverse things? If depression is a biological condition, and I managed to have a very happy childhood, maybe that means I can be happy now. Let's not give up yet. Our conditions were likely set off or "started" at different times because of triggers. While it's unfair that other people aren't as affected by triggers, there are ways to stop them from getting a hold of our lives. If depression can be dormant once, it can be dormant again - evidenced by the fact that we all have days that are worse than others. In other words, we can have better days.