Bad behavior Quote by Elizabeth Gilbert
““I took on my depression like it was the fight of my life, wich of course, it was. I became a student of my own depressed experience, trying to unthread its causes. What was the root of all this dispair? Was it psychological? (Mom and Dad's fault?) Was it just temporal, a "bad time" in my life? (When the divorce ends, will the depression end with it?) Was it genetic? (Melancholy, called by many names, has run through my family for generations, along with its sad bride, Alcholisme.) Was it cultural? (Is this just the fallout of a postfeminist American career girl trying to find balance in an increasingly stressful and alienating urban world?) Was it astrological? (Am I so sad because I'm a thin-skinned cancer whose major signs are all ruled by unstable Gemini?) Was it artistic? (Don't creative people always suffer from depression because we're so supersensitive and special?) Was it evolutionary? (Do I carry in me the residual panic that come after millennia of my species' attempting to survive a brutal world?) Was it Karmic? (Are all these spasms of grief just the consequences of bad behavior in previous lifetimes, the last obstacles before liberation?) Was it hormonal? Dietary? Philosophical? Seasonal? Environmental? Did I have a chemical imbalance? Or did I just need to get laid?””
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Moth Storytelling Podcast, 2015
Depression is examined through many lenses—psychological, genetic, cultural, artistic—highlighting the complexity of its causes.
In simple terms: Depression has many possible causes.
Explore multiple perspectives on mental health.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- therapy sessions
- self‑reflection journaling
- support groups
- creative expression
- medical evaluation
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- Which explanation resonates most with your experience?
- How can you integrate multiple viewpoints for healing?
Focusing on one cause may overlook other contributing factors.