Gabe Zichermann distinguishes between reactive depression, which stems from specific events like loss or failure, and chronic baseline sadness with no external trigger. Though both feel similar, they need different treatments. He reflects on running his company through depression and the weight of others depending on him.
And it's important to note that like there's two different kinds of depression, right? There's the kind of depression that is, let's call it based on legitimate facts that are happening in the world. Like if you lose a parent, it is normal to be depressed. If you end a relationship that you don't want to end, it is normal to be depressed. If your company fails, it's normal to be depressed. There's another kind which is just this sort of, you know, baseline constant sadness that is divorced from, you know, events in the real world. But it, um, you know, the treatments may be different for those two different things, but the feelings are the same. So it's— it is really, really profound and difficult. And, you know, I still have these people who need me to come in and keep running the show. And, you know, I'm not sure that that's— I'm not sure if that helped or hurt, but it was something.
