Deplete, Recharge

Convenience Everywhere!
Originally uploaded by bloompy

My husband is a master of analogies, and has helped me understand many a concept by verbalizing a picture I can see inside my head. He told me this one this morning:

Many people naturally assume that what a mentally ill person should do to get better is to push themselves, like a runner. Once through "the wall" things get better. Muscles get stronger by pushing them harder.

But mental illness does not work the way that running does. One does not push oneself to do uncomfortable things in order to become healthier. The mind does not work like a muscle.

The mind works more like a battery. The more it is depleted by over-working it, the longer it takes it to be recharged.