Dear Jess,

I am glad you’re feeling better and haven’t experienced a slump for more than 3 months! It definitely has to do with attending therapy and putting in place all those mechanisms to help you prevent and/or recover from a slump as quickly as possible.

I do accept the idea that I may be lonely. Even though it’s not a link I would’ve made between less interactions and depression, it definitely makes sense. The question is how to overcome this. I feel like I have done plenty of journaling over the years and unloading my feeling. I don’t feel like I have anything left to unlock.

In my previous post, in April, I made an assumption about what might have happened after you returned from your overseas trip: that you were disappointed that your friends – whom you felt were your family and really cared about you – didn’t really show much appreciation that you’re back and didn’t even ask you about your trip. As a result, you might have felt rejected and unloved. You might have concluded that you don’t matter. And this notion that we don’t matter to anybody, can be a huge driver for depression. How do you feel about your own worth – do you feel you matter?

• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Tee.