Judging Others When You Have Depression
Judging others is fun. It’s also inevitable, as our species seems to do it all of the time in order to help interact with people and to crystalize (or destroy) our own opinions. But when you are a depressive, judging others can take on entirely different meanings, because of the depressive’s tendency to go to extremes.
You Are Not A Bad Person
If you see someone on TV, read a blog post or meet a stranger, you will inevitably make some judgements about them based on their words, appearance and actions. This is normal. We all do it, whether we have depression or not. If you meet somebody holding a bloodied sword, don’t feel bad if you turn tail and flee. Yes, that sword-wielder may have had a bad childhood, but you also need to keep from getting skewered.
Your Opinions Are Valid
One of the big problems I have with my major depression is that I feel that everyone else knows better than I do. However, after 39 years, I’ve discovered that in many cases, the opposite is true. I know quite a bit more than other people on certain topics - and they know quite a bot more than I do on other topics.
When you have depression, you tend to feel that if you make one mistake or don’t know much about one particular subject, then you’re an absolute hopless failure. That’s not the case. Your opinions and judgements hold as much water as anyone else’s.
Stay Flexible
One of the best things you can do when judging others is to always judge them every day. You don’t just avoid someone because of one thing. Give them another chance, depending on the situation. Judge them at that moment, but not for all time.
Hope this helps.
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