Josh, do you see the difference between these?
Went to go see the shrink, he's as nice as I remember him, so that's good. I was able to get some stuff off my chest, so I feel a bit better, and we set up a goal for me to be more sociable. Guess I'm gonna see him next week.
I just went to see my therapist, or shrink, or quack, or guidance counselor, or 'paid friend' as he liked to refer to it, and I don't think I could walk away feeling shittier.
-snip-
Just going to the place is such a profound kill to my mood, I just can't muster any enthusiasm in speaking about anything. I'm just speaking in this samish depressed tone for the entire hour. At the end of it all, I'm pretty sure I've only convinced the man that I'm another one of the dime a dozen depressed retards that litter society like the milkable human trash they are.
When I'm depressed, sometimes it helps to look at the person I was before, and compare that to how I feel and act now. Rationalizing through depression might not work the same for you, but that sense of perspective helps me get a grip on things.
I'm very familiar with that impulse to tear everything about yourself down, even seeking to punish yourself because (for reasons a mind caught up in delusions of self-loathing can't fathom), the world wasn't punishing you properly for being such a "terrible person". But punishing and actively hating yourself is a waste of what energy you have. It doesn't address the things that made you upset at yourself at all, or help improve anything. It just spends your energy to hurt yourself.
For the sake of comparison, here's a play-by-play of the way I might handle the Stop Sign incident...
...when I'm in a healthy state of mind:1)
Initial Realization: Oh shit, I just blew a Stop Sign!
2)
Take Responsibility: I could have hurt or killed someone, myself included.
3)
Recognize Fault: I was distracting myself by singing showtunes in the car again.
4)
Self-Forgiveness: Mistakes happen, and I can't change it now. I'm capable of driving better, so I will.
5)
Plan of Action: I'll take the rest of the trip a little slower, and stop distracting myself.
...when I'm depressed:1)
Initial Realization: Oh shit, I just blew a Stop Sign!
2)
Take Responsibility: That was horrible. I could have killed someone.
3)
Recognize Fault: If I had been paying enough attention, that wouldn't have happened.
4)
Self-Doubt: I must be a terrible driver. Why am I even on the road?
5)
More Self-Doubt: Maybe I'm just incompetent? Probably am just incompetent.
6)
And so on... That other guy at the intersection probably thinks I'm an idiot. And who am I to argue?
7)
...etc. I shouldn't be sharing the road with decent drivers. I'm just a liability.
I know it's not easy, but consider how forgiving yourself and making a plan of action might better serve you, and the other people around you. And how throwing yourself in the bottomless pit of self-loathing might not help anyone, including yourself.