Dear Richard:

I think your definition of mental illness is a fitting one: “the tendency more often than not to be in a negative thinking mode… anxiety or depressive thinking or a combination of the two“. Using my own words, based on reading your definition, being mentally ill means to spend too much time feeling miserable! (not including when in situations of famine, natural disasters, urban violence, etc.)

In your recent 2 posts/ update, I see three factors that are fueling your anxiety and depression:

“I feel disheartened because I feel like I am never going to find and land a good job“- this is the Pessimism Factor.

“I feel disheartened because I feel like my doctorate prepared me for nothing“- this is the Regret Factor, isn’t it?

“the weekend (July 17-18) after my 3 part interview I was obsessing over how I was going to manage moving if I got the job. I literally was online looking at apartments, pricing movers, and considering various other options. I became super stressed”- this the Overwhelm Factor.

Do you agree with these 3? Are there any more, and would you like to expand on just one of these factors, the one you think is most distressing to you?

anita