Here's what a day in my work-life looks like with depression: The alarm rings at 8:00 A.M. On most days, I am able to wake up with it. In case I don't, I rely on the backup alarm at 8:30 A.M. Either way, waking up is one of the hardest parts of the day. I have to hit the shower immediately after I wake to stay up. Bathing is a challenge, but since it makes me feel better mentally and physically, I push myself to do it every day.

Self-doubt is a recurring theme in my life. It affects multiple areas of my life, from ethics and relationships to my personal and professional choices. What I experience isn't a healthy level of doubt; it is extreme and therefore unhelpful. And my depression and anxiety are responsible for this. Like many people, I have both, and together they make my self-doubt more potent.

We live in a heteronormative world, and our workplaces are no different. It may seem that we live in a time where things are considerably better for those who are not straight. Yes, there has been significant progress since the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, New York. But we have a long, long way to go before homophobia becomes a relic of the past. Until then, it's important to know about the impact of homophobia on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, etc. (LGBTQ+) employees. In today's article, we will take a look at the discrimination they face at work -- and how it may result in depression.

Do you have a strong feeling that one of your coworkers is faking depression at work? They always have a smile on their face and manage to meet deadlines. How could they be depressed in that case? If you feel this way about someone you know, read on.

Have you ever pretended to be someone else at work? I don't mean faking confidence or competence; I mean faking your personality. For example, let's say you like to spend your breaks listening to music by yourself but everybody else in your workplace likes to hang out and chat. Even though you don't like it at all, you join them day after day merely to fit in. The longer you keep up this facade, the harder it is to stop and be true to yourself. It may seem harmless but behavior like this can cause as well as worsen depression. Let me explain with a real-life story.

When was the last time you felt good about yourself at work? Was it because of the amount of work you got done, especially at a time when you had zero motivation? Or was it when you got a pay raise? If reasons like these make you feel worthy at work, you may have a case of internalized capitalism.

Due to the number of hours many of us spend at work, it is natural for work to become an integral part of one's identity. In fact, there's a term for it: work identity. Depression also affects one's work identity, so much so that it might define you in your workplace. What's more, it may also define the way you see yourself.

I started writing about depression in 2017 on my blog, "Mahevash Muses." Then in 2019, I got the opportunity to write about it here at HealthyPlace. The experience has been cathartic, and I wouldn't want to trade it for anything else (other than not being clinically depressed). That said, there are some things I wish I had known before I became a depression blogger.

Being unemployed not only results in a reduced standard of living, but it can also cause depression. Speaking from personal experience, depression can hit the underemployed individual hard as well. However, while I have read a substantial number of articles about depression and unemployment, I have not seen much content on depression and underemployment. And that baffles me because many of us are grossly underemployed today, and the situation is likely to worsen even in a post-pandemic world.

If you have depression, especially for an extended period of time, you might also have a case of internalized ableism. The combination of depression and internalized ableism can have a severe impact on your work and career. Let's take a look.