Hello and welcome to Self-Work, I'm Dr. Margaret.

Today we're going to be talking about optimism, fatigue, or a new kind of depression,

but here's a word from our sponsors.

This is Self-Work, and I'm Dr. Margaret Rutherford.

At Self-Work, we discuss psychological and emotional issues and what you can do about them,

whether that's learning self-acceptance, taking action, or seeking therapy or treatment.

Eight years ago, I extended the walls of my practice to reach those of you who might already be knowledgeable about middle health treatment, but also to those of you who might say you'd never darken the door of a therapist.

And yet, you are here. I'll answer your questions while I invite you to take a few minutes for your own self-work.

So now, perhaps we can understand what optimism fatigue is.

When you reach down in your bag of things to say or do that's supportive and helps both

you and others keep chugging along, and the bag feels empty.

This seems to be a result of just continuous crap coming your way.

Negative painful losses you didn't see coming or even if you did, they're hard and they just keep coming.

Welcome to this week's edition of self-work.

Between getting through the pandemic where you may have lost loved ones or lived for a couple of years,

losing your connections by working at home or

needing to be home with kids, watching the suicide rates of almost all age groups rise exponentially

and maybe even losing someone you care about to suicide or having your family, church, or

community split over political divides or disagreement about what's causing climate change, the last few years have been tough.

In this episode of self-work, I'm thinking a loud a bit with you if what we're experiencing is a new kind of depression, one that's mixed with anxiety and fatigue.

What's it called?

Optimism fatigue.

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