Does anyone write and deal with depression?

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If so how do you deal with it? How do you motivate yourself to write? I have the plotlines to do so? for my favorite I have the next thirteen books in the series planned out and that's just one. But depression as is natural affects motivation the ability to do anything beyond base survival before depression writing took the place of my previous special interest and it is the only thing I would think of or do. But now while it's still almost all I think of I just really struggle doing it whereas before it came so naturally.

I didn't. With my cyclothymia, when I'd dip down, everything creative would stall out. When I upped, I didn't have a problem. There wasn't much I could do about it.

Now I'm on a mood stabilizer which has allowed me to keep on writing.

One thing I recommend is that no matter how depressed you get, don't throw/delete your writing. There were times I wanted to purge myself of my creativity and I did as a child. Now I know that's a mistake. Sometimes you just have to wait the depression out if there isn't anything like an anti-depressant or mood stabilizer available.

Also, there are times when you force yourself to write. There is me, right now for an example. I've had a crapptastical weekend. Both my cars decided to break and aren't worth repairing. I've got to buy another car. My grandmother is in the hospital. My brother almost died from his stupidity. My anxiety is through the roof again. I've got a hundred things I've got to do because I've now got to acquire a vehicle, I'm in the middle of moving between apartments, and there is all the normal day to day things that I struggle with. In the last three days I haven't been able to get any writing done. And I'm not going to try for a bit. If I force myself to try and write, I'm just adding another stressor to my life. I'll get through this crap that decided to land in my lap in the last 72 hours. My anxiety will lower, and my writing will be productive.

Writing's probably what helped me out of the depression in the end... plus some anti-depressants. Something funny I noticed though, I like playing video games a lot and that actually got me back into the mood to write (after I went through and played the entire story line). Mass Effect and Dragon Age were my favorites, and Skyrim is good too. The thing that helped me the most was actually playing Sims 3 though. There's this option to learn to write and make money off of the books you write. And I would click on my sim and tell her to sit at a computer and write for hours, and she'd do it. So I guess in my head it got translated that it was that simple. Click and tell myself to write - so I did. After playing other games to help through the possible writer's block. Oh, reading will make you want to write. At least, it does for me. Read what you want to write, and you'll feel like writing. I did go through a major stint of not writing/not writing well - don't worry, it'll pass if you put your mind to it. But if it's chronic depression or something see a doctor about it and once that lightens up you'll go back to liking your hobbies.

Writing is my sanctuary, so it hasn't been hard to at least sit down and draft out a short story to tuck away in my folders.

I delight in things like genre-bending, multiple correct interpretations of major turns, and making do without common themes. I research various esoteric topics to weave them in, and know more about ancient Greek philosophers than what's on the radio or television today. It's my private world that I pour and pour into, and it rewards me by making more sense than anyone around me. Even other writers don't share my niche interests or overwhelming excitement for new things.

Treat it like a playground instead of a workspace, and it might become stimulating again.

Thank you for the response Stardraigh. I don?t delete anything although this does mean I have folder?s full of garbage when it comes to writing failures. Anti depressants didn?t do anything for me personally. I am sorry for all your troubles.

Thank you for the response Wryter13. I really liked what you said about Sim?s. Just tell the human to go do it and writing is just that simple. I don?t necessarily think of myself in third person but that helped, thank you.

Thank you for the response ReverieMe. I don?t think I?ve ever treated writing like a playground I?m not sure how to it?s always a workspace for me. Always serious. Well I guess there was one time I treated it like a playground. I was so frustrated with storywriting that I went for a comedy. And just anything wacky I could think I put in it. One of them started with this lady pulling up to her house from a long hard days work and finds it?s a smoldering ruin. She immediately asks ?what happened?? and it turns out it was a ?minor? mouse problem. At least until they turned into voodoo mice and started a car chase through the city. Ahh, witch doctor mice I did enjoy those. That was a long time ago.

Unfortunately for me, I produce very little when depressed or anxious. I need to feel on top of the world, and flying high on caffeine when I write.