I’d like to share a little insight on depression. Depression is your way of saying “up yours” to the world! Though despair, pain, hurt and anger can be some of the catalysts behind depression, what we end up with is a reaction that has us withdrawing, not wanting to participate in life, feeling the game can’t be won and we’re throwing in the towel. No one seems to care about us, or so we come to believe, and we often turn that feeling of hopelessness outward. Depression can easily have us resenting, blaming, or disliking people. It can also leave us numb, unable to truly feel our emotions, and incapable to work through them.
Your mind, and what it is saying to you, is at the root of all your feelings. Depression is a stunning example of that. There are events and situations in our lives that bring sadness and pose huge challenges. How we treat these shifts is the difference between allowing ourselves to slip into depression, or realizing that we must change the way we think about emotions and feelings. When we stop avoiding, denying or wallowing in any particular state of mind, we’ll be able to move through what may seem impossible to resolve.
It all begins with a sequence of very powerful words – “I am…” Anything in your life that you put the statement “I am” in front of will manifest much more easily than other perceptions and feelings. “I am depressed” is a statement that resonates. You begin to own those words, and become them. But is that who you are? Or does depression, like the ups and downs of life, and even illness (which depression is a form of) have an inherent nature of change and transformation?
We may experience depression to varying degrees, but it is not who we are. Even if we feel stagnant, unable to see light at the end of the tunnel, healing is always there, and always fluid. You might want to begin by taking the word “depressed” out of your vocabulary, along with other negative words/phrases. Depression can last a long time when we “become” it and lose sight of its transient identity. Our mind is the only manifestation of our true and constant self.
There are times that depression can seem to take over our lives. We may also have family members or friends who are struggling with very dark feelings that can lead to serious consequences. It’s important to get help when depression is severe and we, or our loved ones, cannot find a way out of despair. It is not your fault that you feel depressed. Sometimes no matter how much we try to shift our thinking, a mood of hopelessness can persist. Reach out and find a way to stabilize those feelings. Being able to gain control over your emotions and consciousness doesn’t mean you have to go it alone when depression takes over.
If you are experiencing this kind of deep depression, once you can begin to move forward, by way of outside help, the ideas and methods of transformation in my book will aid you in continuing your journey toward a happy and meaningful life.
#LLLD
Depression: What’s That?
How do you treat your feelings? Do you take care of them with kindness and understanding, or do you fear them and try to push them away? Depression feeds on our own resistance to negative feelings, that only grow with our misunderstanding. It’s only when we can look at ALL of our emotions with a non-judgemental eye that we can remain calm and neutral and begin to move beyond them and experience more joy.
DEPRESSION – WHAT’S THAT? part of the GET A GRIP series, offers a new way of looking at our feelings and gives us a new perspective on depression, explaining how we can more mindfully and positively address this often debilitating, and now widespread condition.