As I am (slowly) recovering from depression, I’m realizing that I’ve probably been at least a little depressed for most of my life. What I’ve discovered is that depression doesn’t just make you lethargic and despairing- it makes you stupid. Stupid and clumsy. Because last week I had an exceptionally good week and it felt like I added 30 IQ points. Instead of staring slackly at projects that seemed too hopelessly complicated, my brain came up with solutions like the Professor from Gilligan’s Island.
Over the course of about ten days I was able to:[ul]
[li]fix our fence gate so it would swing open both ways[/li][li]reassemble a broken-open seat belt latch[/li][li]install a new ceiling light fixture in our hallway that hasn’t had a working light since we moved in.[/ul][/li]
I wonder how many people who’ve branded themselves clumsy or “not mechanically gifted” might be suffering from low-grade depression?
Funny – I had a girlfriend in the old days who swung both ways.
Some may have slight forms of depression but most are just mechanically challenged. My brother, no depression at all and retired from the Army as a Full Bird so he ain’t no slacker like me, couldn’t change a fluorescent light bulb without help. On the other hand you have me who was able to change the u-joint on a beer truck by himself by age 8. But it would be an interesting subject/theory to research.
Good for you!! I’m a classic depressive, and always told that I had no “common”/mechanical sense, yet some of the happiest times in my life were repairing drywall or (similar, but better) teaching myself how to do Venetian plaster. Performing “brainless” tasks where you can get into the zone is very therapeutic, I believe.
I once jerry-rigged a very weird closet to have a normal hanging rod at 4 A.M. using leftover plumbing pipe and plant hangers, and had a blast.
