Nigel 
September 2nd,2010
I really can't be bothered (part of a 'Uses for a maths teacher'cartoon by Miriam Slechter
Do you ever have days when nothing feels worth starting and everything is shades of grey? Days when the sun doesn’t shine,and getting out of bed is the hardest thing you’ve ever done? Periods when the smallest chore becomes an impossible task?
Well of course you do. You’re human.
I remember someone telling me that as a youngster he worried he’d inherited chronic depression from his Mum. Later at university he discovered that everyone feels down for a few days at a time,now and then. It’s normal.
Actually feeling like this in adolescence (call that ages 12-25 
) is common. The hormones are rampantly badly mixed,the challenges of life are to be faced without as yet the desired rewards. Who am I? What do I believe? What will I do with my life? How do I succeed? Am I happy? Do people like me? Does she love me?
I get this feeling of lethargy and inertia far more often,and sometimes far more severely,than people without clinical depression. But it’s basically the same feeling. Over forty five years I’ve had many tricks suggested to me. I’ve tried them out,and discovered other possibilities too. This series will be the things I have found work. For me. Often enough to be worth trying.
I’ll be including a mixture of quick,medium,and long term tricks. They won’t all suit you,but some will.
Imagine you are at the top of a hill and the enemy approaches. You need to roll that boulder down onto them. But at first it won’t shift. These will be tricks you can try that might get the boulder started rolling.
Miriam’s picture? Yes we know verticals should look vertical even in a cartoon,but it makes sense when you see the whole picture.
