Don't buy the lies

I am not a psychic. Obviously.

But how often do I act like I am? How often do you act like you are? Isn't that essentially what we're doing when we assume we know what someone else is thinking? We all do it, I think, and it is often relationally destructive. But for someone who struggles with depression, it is also very often personally destructive. As I've said before, depression lies to you. It interprets the world not through rose-colored glasses, but through blue-tinted ones. Clearly, everyone struggles with self-doubt, with fears and concerns, with insecurities. For someone with certain mental illnesses it's a way of life, and it can be crippling.

Some of the major lies depression whispers to those in its grasp are that they are unloved (even unlovable), that they are thought ill of, that people don't care about them, or that people even wish them harm. Suicidal ideation is an extreme consequence of this line of thinking. Even the milder consequences can be catastrophic. The lies create distance, instigated by either party of a relationship, and serve to isolate that person—presumably, since you're reading this, you or someone you love—who so desperately needs companionship, intimacy, friendship.

It is critical, then, to head these lies off, as best as possible. If you have to, just keep repeating, "I am not a psychic" until it sinks in. It is also critical to have people around you who love you well, and who understand the negative tendencies of your mind, and who stand ready to encourage more accurate perceptions.

Don't try to guess what others are thinking. Depression will tell you all sorts of lies. The only real way to know what another person is thinking is to up and ask them.