“When Depression Crashes My Happiness Party (and How I Kick Back)”

WARNING: sudden mood swings, sarcasm, depression kicking doors in like it’s auditioning for WWE.

So there I am. Laying in bed. Cozy blanket, maybe a snack within reach, scrolling YouTube like I’m training for the Olympics of Doing Absolutely Nothing. I’m actually in a good mood for once. Happiness levels are pretty high. Birds are singing, the angels are harmonizing, my life finally feels like a chill indie movie montage.

And then it happens...BAM. Out of nowhere. My depression and anxiety come storming in like a bat out of hell. No knock. No text saying, “hey, you up?” Just full-on SWAT team vibes, busting down the fragile little door of my joy. Suddenly my peaceful bed becomes a crime scene, and I’m the victim and the suspect at the same time.

It’s like throwing the world’s worst surprise party. Confetti made of panic, balloons filled with existential dread, and the cake is just me staring at the ceiling wondering why I thought happiness was a good idea in the first place.

And the timing? Impeccable. Depression loves to show up right when I think I’ve finally shaken it off. It’s basically the unwanted guest who not only crashes the party but also eats all the snacks, changes the Netflix password, and steals your favorite hoodie.

So what do I do? I distract myself like a professional. Some people run marathons. I walk to the fridge and back. Some people journal. I binge-watch the same show for the seventh time like it’s my patriotic duty. And then there’s my store, calmbydanny.com — my other coping mechanism.

Honestly, that little store is kind of my salvation. Not in the “shark tank, build-an-empire, retire-at-50” kind of way. If we’re being real, Calm by Danny will probably never be some massive business success, hell it probably won't complete a sale and that’s totally fine. That was never the point. The point was having something to create. To take the chaos swirling in my head and slap it onto a hoodie, a mug, or even a notebook in a way that felt cool to me.

It’s that moment where I make a design and think, “yeah, that actually doesn’t suck,” and for a split second I feel like maybe I don’t suck either. That’s the magic. It’s not about money or numbers — though I won’t lie, seeing a random spike in site traffic does give me a tiny ego boost. It’s about making something out of nothing, turning my brain fog into a sarcastic slogan or a design that might make someone else laugh. Even if nobody buys it, the act of creating is like flipping depression off and saying, “hey, I’m still here, and I’m still making stuff.”

And honestly? I get more satisfaction out of seeing the site visits than I do sales. Like yes, please, come window-shop my brain. If someone scrolls by a hoodie I made and snorts-laughs at it — mission accomplished. That’s the real win.

So yeah, depression may barge in uninvited, but I’ve got snacks, sarcasm, and a store full of distraction waiting to slam the door back in its face. Sometimes that looks like me stress-eating chips at 2 a.m. while binge-watching a show I’ve already memorized. Sometimes it’s laughing at my own designs on calmbydanny.com like, “wow, at least one of us thinks I’m funny.” And sometimes, it’s just knowing that if someone else stumbles across one of my hoodies or mugs and it makes them chuckle for half a second, then I’ve done my part in flipping depression the bird.

Because here’s the thing: depression can stomp in all dramatic like it owns the place, but it doesn’t get to have the last word anymore! For my entire life i let it rule my world! But I'm done being miserable, so I’ll take my little joys — the dumb jokes, the random snacks, the weird comfort shows, and the silly designs — and build a fort out of them. A very sarcastic, slightly crumb-covered fort. And honestly? That’s enough to keep me going, even when happiness feels like it got evicted.

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Visit - calmbydanny.com