>What happens when a depressed person forces themselves to do things that are associated with not being depressed?

I’ve been in both sides of this question and, at least in my experience, its like wondering what happens when a tank of gas ignites itself. The activation energy just isn’t there. The thoughts are, but the spark isn’t.

I used to think this was just an analogy in my mind, but we’re an electrochemical beast and what does our brain actually *do* beyond selective catalysis.