A lot of people carry a fixed mindset, where we focus on what others think of us. The first girl had this image she had crafted for herself, and when reality sp

A lot of people carry a fixed mindset, where we focus on what others think of us. The first girl had this image she had crafted for herself, and when reality split from that she came up with rationalizations that disconnected her from others and herself (and likely prevented her from getting treatment sooner, and may create resistance to “non-pill” treatments). I think it’s really normal to have this mindset because we live in relation with others, and we fear rejection. Others may reject us if we DONT maintain this image. But the truth is we don’t have control over others so it’s a fool’s game to maintain an image. things can happen to “pop” it, and then you are crushed. Like the Michelin chef who committed suicide when he was in debt, felt washed up as culinary trends changed, and recently had a slight downgrade in his reviews (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Loiseau https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Loiseau) A better way I am learning (and far yet from fully realizing) is to anchor your self identify to things you can control. So rather than thinking of yourself as confident, normal woman, you might think of yourself as a woman who feels deeply and takes action. In this case, feeling depressed is not a threat to that identity - it becomes a challenge to rise up and meet, and focuses on what YOU can do, not what others think. This all comes from the book “mindset” if you want more info.