• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Frugal Gardening

Simple ways to save money while you garden

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Garden Frugally
  • Buy These
  • Privacy Policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

5 Ways Depression Costs Me In the Garden

June 14, 2022 by Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

image_pdfimage_print

5 Ways Depression Costs Me In the Garden

I struggle with chronic, recurring depression. While it’s well-managed, the symptoms do creep up from time to time. Depression is an expensive mental health condition, in ways that might surprise you. In fact, during bouts of depression, I find that it costs me in the garden. This does mitigate the many mental health benefits of gardening. However, it’s an important thing to know about if you’re a frugal gardener who lives with a similar mental health challenge.

5 Ways Depression Costs Me In The Garden

Here are the five most common ways that depression costs me in the garden.

1. Lack of Energy Means Slack in the Garden

A garden requires tending. Most plants need attention weekly if not daily. When this is part of a normal routine, it’s great. In fact, it’s a healthy part of the day. However, sometimes, depression wins. When it does, fatigue sets in. It literally feels impossible to get up out of the bed to do anything at all. If that happens, then gardening doesn’t. And this can mean the plants wither and die.

2. What’s The Point Anyway?

That refrain runs through my head when I’m dealing with a bout of depression. Depression is characterized by hopelessness and pointlessness and a lack of interest in doing things normally enjoyed. It’s really hard to stay motivated to work in the garden when you can’t see the point of doing it. Again, this means that the garden withers and dies.

If we can overcome these feelings (through medication, therapy, self-care, and other means,) then the growth and beauty of the garden can remind us of the point. But, sometimes, depression takes over.

3. Low Self-Esteem or Black/White Thinking

For me, depression is accompanied by a feeling of worthlessness. Some people experience black and white thinking because of their mental health conditions. In either case, this can lead to feeling like you aren’t good enough to make a garden grow. A plant starts to die, I feel like “I don’t know how to garden,” and I just give up.

Someone who loves gardening might see a small mistake in the garden and suddenly hate gardening. We lose the joy as we lose ourselves in depression. So, we abandon the garden. Or we get in there and rip it up entirely, destroying what we spent time and money creating.

4. Reckless Shopping

Although this is more commonly a characteristic of mania in bipolar depression, people, like myself, with unipolar depression, can fall into wasteful shopping as well. For me, it’s usually online shopping. I’m imagining some other life I want to have where I’m not depressed, and I’m allowing the easy mindlessness of the scroll to convince me that I just need this gadget or that to feel better. So, suddenly, I find myself buying new garden tools, plants, or a gardening apron that I can’t afford and won’t ever use.

5. Injuries

Ideally, I work through the challenges and overcome them and get back to doing things that I love. However, sometimes, when you push through before you’re ready, you end up injuring yourself. If you’re in the brain fog of depression while working with gardening tools, then you might injure yourself. This can cost me in medical care as well as lost work.

Tips for Coping

There are many amazing benefits of gardening. It’s just sometimes hard to remember them in the throes of depression. It’s helpful for me to keep lists of things I love, what the benefits are, little stories or photos that remind me of the good parts, etc. Then I look at those in depression to try to help myself overcome the inertia and get back to myself.

Read More:

  • 7 Reasons Why You Should Try Gardening
  • If You’re Over 50, Here’s Why You Should Start Gardening
  • 7 Financial Benefits of Backyard Gardening

Kathryn Vercillo
Kathryn Vercillo

Kathryn Vercillo is a long time writer, crafter and author of several books. A resident of San Francisco, she is committed to helping others explore, articulate and share their own individuals stories. When she’s not evaluating investing opportunities Kathryn is an avid knitter, researcher, and blogger.

Filed Under: garden musings Tagged With: benefits of gardening, depression, garden life, garden tips, mental health

Previous Post: « 5 Frugal Ways To Disinfect Garden Tools
Next Post: 4 Reasons to Volunteer for an Eco-Friendly Gardening Club »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar




Popular Posts

  • Garden For FreeGarden For Free by Steph Coelho Is it possible to have a lush flower garden, produce…
  • Vinegar Uses In GardenVinegar Uses In Garden by Steph Coelho 1. Clay Pot Cleaning: Vinegar will remove the white salt…
  • Troubleshooting the Seed Starting Process: Using Old SeedsTroubleshooting the Seed Starting Process: Using Old Seeds by Steph Coelho I'm typing this up on a gloomy day here in…
  • Using Shredded Paper As Garden MulchUsing Shredded Paper As Garden Mulch by Steph Coelho Should you use shredded paper as garden mulch? Normally, I…
(X) Inexpensive Alternatives To Grow Lights

Inexpensive Alternatives To Grow Lights

Grow lights can be a really helpful tool for indoor gardening. Many people find that they are worth their cost. However, they aren’t cheap. Therefore, you might want to consider some of these inexpensive alternatives to grow lights. What Are Grow Lights? Grow lights are exactly what their name says: lights designed to help plants…

Read More

Maintaining a Garden to Keep Your Indoors and Outdoors Clean

Gardening gives your home the required curb appeal and does wonder for your well-being. Physical exercise keeps blood pressure in check and contributes to a healthy weight, and interactions with flora improve your mental health and mood. Below is a list of ways to maintain your garden.   Watering Watering the plants is crucial and…

Read More

4 Reasons to Volunteer for an Eco-Friendly Gardening Club

Volunteering is an amazing way to give back to society and spend your time in a fulfilling way. If you’re wondering whether to volunteer or what to volunteer for, there are a number of causes to volunteer for, including eco-friendly gardening. Read on to see four reasons why you should consider volunteering your time in…

Read More

Frugal Ways To Disinfect Garden Tools

5 Frugal Ways To Disinfect Garden Tools

Did you know that it’s important for you to disinfect your garden tools? It is! You want to do this regularly. If you’re having a problem with fungus or bacteria, then you should even disinfect items before using them to work on different sections of the garden. It’s not hard, though, so don’t fret. And…

Read More

Footer

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework