In this diary I talk about how stress can lead to depression and how you have to keep a watchful eye on your mood.
I recorded this last week, and while I am still feeling stressed (possibly more so), I'm not depressed, so don't worry about me.
89 - Stress and Depression
89 - Stress and Depression
Sorry guys that I haven't been posting many developer diaries! I got back from Seattle for Steam Dev Days Friday night and have been playing catch up.
In this diary I talk about how stress can lead to depression and how you have to keep a watchful eye on your mood.
I recorded this last week, and while I am still feeling stressed (possibly more so), I'm not depressed, so don't worry about me.
In this diary I talk about how stress can lead to depression and how you have to keep a watchful eye on your mood.
I recorded this last week, and while I am still feeling stressed (possibly more so), I'm not depressed, so don't worry about me.
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Re: 89 - Stress and Depression
What do you think about the concepts of eustress and distress? As in, stress that drives you onwards and feels rewarding versus what we typically associate with stress in the sense of negative feelings, being overworked and so on? And how does that relate to the connection between stress and depression? Can the right "kind" of stress actually help you out of a low?
Re: 89 - Stress and Depression
Hmmm... I have trouble dealing with stress, and I'm not sure it has any positive repercussions for me. With OCD, any sort of stress causes worries, which makes it hard to concentrate. I'm sure it has different effects on different people, and I'm sure there are some people who find it motivating. I've never really had problems with motivation, so I don't need stressors to keep me going.
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Re: 89 - Stress and Depression
Yeah all this talk about stress is rather relevant to me as I'm in my final year of University now so it's that final push to do well, so it's just been non-stop working on assignments and such to make sure they're good! Hence why this transcript is a little late hahaha but I'll try my best to keep on time 
"Hello, in this developer diary I’d like to talk about stress. Well I’ve been feeling quite stressed lately, it’s hard to put my finger on exactly what is causing all of the stress. I think a lot of it is due to a lot of things going on at once, everyone is working really hard and so I’m trying to make sure that everyone is doing what they’re supposed to be doing, everything is getting in the game, we’re going in the right direction etc. It’s a challenge to take care of all of these things as well as doing some consulting so I’m quite busy which I think contributes a lot to stress.
It’s funny because the game is going really well right now, I feel like we’ve finally hit our stride which is a really great feeling and the new stuff we’ve been working on is really quite good and I’m rather impressed with it. Despite all that however I still feel stressed and it’s a bit of a challenge, also I’m recording this before I go to Steam Dev Days so travel in general is stressful as its several days away from my work computer which is a challenge. Well it’s not really much of a challenge but it’s just that I always feel so behind when I come back which in turn contributes to stress, plus I don’t know if anyone really likes travelling on planes and going to airports anymore. I feel like it used to be, you know, exciting, fun and luxurious to fly on a plane! Certainly it seems like we’re very far away from that, it’s become an unpleasant experience.
All of that combined has really given me a lot of stress which is hard and hard to deal with, certainly I have an anxiety disorder and so stress is going to be a big part of my life which means it might be more challenging for me than it might be for other people. The interesting thing is that stress can lead into depression and so this weekend I felt a little depressed even though everything is going pretty well, you know the game is really shaping up to be impressive so why was I feeling depressed? It’s just interesting that stress itself can cause these other feelings and fortunately I try to be very vigilant of when I am depressed because I think that just knowing that you’re going down that path and that you’re not quite where you were, you can sort of work to fight it before it gets too bad. I think that the warning signs for depression are like you don’t enjoy things as much as you used to, so you could be doing something fun but it just doesn’t have that same appeal. There are a lot more warning signs of depression and especially if you’re someone who suffers from depression then it’s a good idea to pay extra attention to those warning signs. So for example if you find that you’re not having much fun doing something that should be fun then it’s good to focus directly on that task to make sure that you do get the most out of it.
Fighting off depression itself is difficult and different for everyone who suffers from it so I’m not really sure I can give advice on that part, but that’s what I try to do. Seems strange to talk about how the game’s going really well and having to battle depression but that’s part of the problem when having a mental illness, it doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t have to make sense. Feelings themselves don’t always make sense, they’re not rational but that’s just a little recap of what I’ve been doing lately anyway."
"Hello, in this developer diary I’d like to talk about stress. Well I’ve been feeling quite stressed lately, it’s hard to put my finger on exactly what is causing all of the stress. I think a lot of it is due to a lot of things going on at once, everyone is working really hard and so I’m trying to make sure that everyone is doing what they’re supposed to be doing, everything is getting in the game, we’re going in the right direction etc. It’s a challenge to take care of all of these things as well as doing some consulting so I’m quite busy which I think contributes a lot to stress.
It’s funny because the game is going really well right now, I feel like we’ve finally hit our stride which is a really great feeling and the new stuff we’ve been working on is really quite good and I’m rather impressed with it. Despite all that however I still feel stressed and it’s a bit of a challenge, also I’m recording this before I go to Steam Dev Days so travel in general is stressful as its several days away from my work computer which is a challenge. Well it’s not really much of a challenge but it’s just that I always feel so behind when I come back which in turn contributes to stress, plus I don’t know if anyone really likes travelling on planes and going to airports anymore. I feel like it used to be, you know, exciting, fun and luxurious to fly on a plane! Certainly it seems like we’re very far away from that, it’s become an unpleasant experience.
All of that combined has really given me a lot of stress which is hard and hard to deal with, certainly I have an anxiety disorder and so stress is going to be a big part of my life which means it might be more challenging for me than it might be for other people. The interesting thing is that stress can lead into depression and so this weekend I felt a little depressed even though everything is going pretty well, you know the game is really shaping up to be impressive so why was I feeling depressed? It’s just interesting that stress itself can cause these other feelings and fortunately I try to be very vigilant of when I am depressed because I think that just knowing that you’re going down that path and that you’re not quite where you were, you can sort of work to fight it before it gets too bad. I think that the warning signs for depression are like you don’t enjoy things as much as you used to, so you could be doing something fun but it just doesn’t have that same appeal. There are a lot more warning signs of depression and especially if you’re someone who suffers from depression then it’s a good idea to pay extra attention to those warning signs. So for example if you find that you’re not having much fun doing something that should be fun then it’s good to focus directly on that task to make sure that you do get the most out of it.
Fighting off depression itself is difficult and different for everyone who suffers from it so I’m not really sure I can give advice on that part, but that’s what I try to do. Seems strange to talk about how the game’s going really well and having to battle depression but that’s part of the problem when having a mental illness, it doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t have to make sense. Feelings themselves don’t always make sense, they’re not rational but that’s just a little recap of what I’ve been doing lately anyway."
"Always look on the bright side of life"
Check me out on Steam if you like! - http://steamcommunity.com/id/JPrice321/
Check me out on Steam if you like! - http://steamcommunity.com/id/JPrice321/
Re: 89 - Stress and Depression
Thank you so much for doing the transcript! I really appreciate it. No worries about the schedule. I definitely don't want to add to your stress.
University can be stressful. My last year in college was when my depression was at its worst. Best of luck with your studies!
University can be stressful. My last year in college was when my depression was at its worst. Best of luck with your studies!
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games