Do People With Depression Often Take Shortcuts?

Asking this question is indicative of society’s view of depression and mental illness in general. Shortcuts have a negative connotation, as it implies that those who take shortcuts are not doing the necessary work for a desired outcome. In addition, those who take shortcuts have outcomes that are attained at the expense of someone else, or the desired outcome is never attained or short-lived. Indeed, at its best, shortcuts are a nuisance, and at its worst, shortcuts lead to criminal behavior.

People with depression don’t take shortcuts in life. On the contrary- people with depression would rather just avoid situations, decisions, or life altogether. People take shortcuts to get ahead- people with depression don’t care about getting ahead. Life is just too daunting for depressed people, and indeed, some choose to take their life, as it is not worth living. When you have depression, you don’t care about things anymore, so why would you take a shortcut? When you are depressed, you don’t have energy, and shortcuts still require energy and action, so this is not something depressed people do. When you are depressed, you don’t have hope about the future, so a depressed person would not take shortcuts for an outcome they don’t care about.

Shortcuts are taken by people who want to get ahead and who want something right away. Depressed people don’t have ambition nor want things done quickly. Their depression, a brain disorder, forces them to avoid, slow down, or in the worst case scenario- take their own life.
Let’s cut to the chase: many think that people with depression are lazy. Many think that people with depression get out of things when it gets difficult. These opinions about people with depression are misinformed, judgmental, and dangerous. People with depression need compassion and help, not cruelty and invalidation.