Recession vs depression

There don’t seem to perfect definitions for either recessions or depressions. A recession is commonly defined as two successive declining quarters of GDP, but it’s not gospel. And a depression is a kind of prolonged recession for 3–4 years. So I liked Harry Truman’s clarifying explanation — US president from 1945–1953:

A recession is when your neighbour loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. —Harry Truman

Published 28 Apr 2018

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Languishing

Affordance

Flatten the Curve illustration: 4 different containment strategies for a contagion outbreak and their expected effect on the number of cases detected over time are shown through a series of distribution curves.

Flatten the curve of an outbreak

An unexpected surprise seeing a personal friend in a museum with exact replicas and free gifts

Pleonasm

Johari window illustration: a 2 x 2 matrix of what's known to others plotted again what's known to oneself yields four possible scenarios.

Johari window — a window of feedback and sharing

Phoenix tree illustration with a toppled tree shown pencil-sketch style with its roots still connected at one end, side branches along the trunk becoming trees in their own right, and one putting down roots

Phoenix trees

Meh. Blah. Can't be bothered? Not excited about the future? Perhaps you're languishing. Adam Grant's NYT article, There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing, resonated with so many people as the coronavirus pandemic drew on. While not having a mental illness or being clinically depressed, many of us associated with a general stagnation or apathy towards things — an absence of, or poor, mental health. Languishing is a counterpoint to how we might feel in prime mental health, full of wellbeing or Flourishing. While languishing may not be necessarily dangerous in itself, if you're languishing you may be at higher risk of mental illness. Some steps Adam suggests we can take: Naming our state can be a first step to doing something about it Looking for small wins that show us progress Asking how our friends and family are doing — having the opportunity to speak to someone about it You also might consider working on the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, getting in some forest bathing, walking a labyrinth, aiming for some flow, noticing when you're happy, or seeing what might bring you hope. — The term languishing for that part of the mental health continuum is from Corey Keyes. See for example, Corey L. M. Keyes. “The Mental Health Continuum: From Languishing to Flourishing in Life.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 43, no. 2, 2002, pp. 207–222. Armchair and inspiration, as usual, from Bill Watterson. Order a print…Meh. Blah. Can't be bothered? Not excited about the future? Perhaps you're languishing. Adam Grant's NYT article, There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing, resonated with so many people as the coronavirus pandemic drew on. While not having a mental illness or being clinically depressed, many of us associated with a general stagnation or apathy towards things — an absence of, or poor, mental health. Languishing is a counterpoint to how we might feel in prime mental health, full of wellbeing or Flourishing. While languishing may not be necessarily dangerous in itself, if you're languishing you may be at higher risk of mental illness. Some steps Adam suggests we can take: Naming our state can be a first step to doing something about it Looking for small wins that show us progress Asking how our friends and family are doing — having the opportunity to speak to someone about it You also might consider working on the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, getting in some forest bathing, walking a labyrinth, aiming for some flow, noticing when you're happy, or seeing what might bring you hope. — The term languishing for that part of the mental health continuum is from Corey Keyes. See for example, Corey L. M. Keyes. “The Mental Health Continuum: From Languishing to Flourishing in Life.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 43, no. 2, 2002, pp. 207–222. Armchair and inspiration, as usual, from Bill Watterson. Order a print

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