So you know how people spend all this time getting things and stuff? And yet at the end of the day they can’t enjoy any of it because they spend all their time getting more of it? And if you’re one of those people, it’s even worse because your depression makes it so that all those things don’t really mean that much to you anyway?

And that’s not all! Because having more things and such is a great way to grow fear, and fear is the tastiest fodder for depression. Om nom nom.

Accumulation is funny like that. The more things you get, the more you have to take care of, and the more you have to worry about what would happen if it was taken from you. You get addicted to your things, and afraid of losing them. Which isn’t to say you should go all Fight Club and start a nihilist revolution, as fun as it might be. Rather, finding a way to recognize what you need versus what you want will help ease that anxiety.

You need: food, water, shelter. You also kind of need: other people, sex, some modern conveniences, sex, mementos, sex, and information about stuff. Jokes. Sex is cool and all, but that amount probably goes on the “want” list. Also on that list: all the other bullshit you have.

Now, this is not to say that you should give up all your things and go live in the wilderness, though that sounds pretty interesting. The point is more that knowing what you need means that you can limit your fear of loss. If you lose the things you want, but don’t need, or if someone takes them from you, that’ll really suck. Still, you’ll be alive and can work to get it back. And reducing that fear is important to keeping your depression in check.

So go on and keep your shit. Just recognize that having more comes with with a weight that you may or may not want to carry. It comes with responsibility, and beyond that, it comes with anxiety. Find ways to mitigate that fear and you decrease the downside to the capitalist consumer culture that we all know, love, and live.