Why do I feel worse after good days when I have depression?

Feeling worse after a good day is a cruel but common aspect of living with Major depressive disorder. After experiencing a glimpse of how life can feel when Major depressive disorder lifts, the return of symptoms can feel even more devastating by comparison. It's like getting a taste of freedom before being pulled back into a dark room—the contrast makes the darkness feel even more oppressive. This pattern often happens because Major depressive disorder creates a kind of emotional whiplash. Your brain, accustomed to the low baseline of Major depressive disorder, can actually feel threatened by sudden improvements in mood. There's often an underlying fear responses that the good feeling won't last, which can create Anxiety disorder that then triggers depressive symptoms. Additionally, good days can sometimes lead to overexertion as you try to catch up on everything you've been unable to do, leading to exhaustion and a subsequent crash. It's important to understand that having bad days after good days doesn't mean you're not getting better or that the good day was fake. recovery from Major depressive disorder is rarely linear—it's more like a series of waves where the overall trend moves upward even though there are still dips. Learning to appreciate good days without putting pressure on them to last forever, and accepting bad days as part of the process rather than evidence of failure, can help reduce the emotional impact of these fluctuations.