Overcoming Obstacles like Depression

Ok, so full disclosure?  I have struggled with depression my entire life since my childhood.  I do not believe depression is a medical condition.  I believe it is a spiritual condition with psychological and physical symptoms.  Thankfully, I have discovered the greatest secret of life and how to overcome all obstacles.  All obstacles are essentially created by our own minds and our own desire to create that obstacle.  So depression is an obstacle to Happiness, peace and enjoyment of life.  I can say this with confidence because I am on the Inside of depression looking out....

If you find yourself depressed or starting to feel depressed, you must act quickly to counteract it.  Self-awareness will be needed.  What is depression?  Feelings of sadness and hopelessness?  What is the opposite of this?  Happiness and Hope, right?  So when you start down that negativity spiral, it is time to turn the train around.  You have to remind yourself in whatever way necessary that you still matter...what you LOVE in life still exists...what you hope for is within reach or achievable and most importantly, that YOU STILL DESERVE IT.  If you are reading this and you have never experienced depression or sadness (it could happen), you may be thinking that these steps are overly obvious or over-simplified.  I happen to believe the key to overcoming depression begins in the simple and grows deeper.  Let me explain.

Once you have some happy thoughts to start you off, and perhaps a dose of loving support from friends, you can deepen the feelings.  It only takes a spark to start a fire and then a bit of wind to ignite it into an inferno, right?  It's the same with our emotional condition.  We can get there with the power of our thoughts and our ability to imagine ourselves happier, richer, smarter, more successful...whatever we desire.  Depression occurs when mentally we are far-removed or completely separated from our deep desire and our LOVES.  What we LOVE in life is the life energy that fights depression.  It works, I know this from experience.  To get a little pesonal, I was depressed when I found out I was pregnant with my second child. I was not depressed because of it, just happened to coincide with other conditions of my life at the time and the situation got progressively negative as my pregnancy hormones kicked in. 

One day as I was commuting home and in a depression daze on the highway, I had a strong impulse to drive off the road and down and embankment into a nearby tree.  I spent several seconds (which felt like minutes) contemplating the event and picturing it and accelerating a bit.  Then I sort of snapped out of it...literally shaking my head to clear that picture from my mind's eye.  At that moment a little voice inside my head sounded loudly like a foghorn in a storm!  I had a friend at work who had been bravely confronting me about the warning signs...he saw them.  This amazing friend was the voice in my head that rang loudly...it said, "Angel you need help".  Thank you Jake, you were right.  I went to work the following day and asked him for the phone number that he had offerred me for the RI Hospital Mental Health Dept.   I called and started seeing a doctor there.  It helped to go through counseling but most importantly, it helped to put a name on my problem.  Ultimately, I did not continue counseling for long because my doctor felt I needed to use medication and I refused to do so while pregnant.

I have had several similar incidences to this one from my teen years until present day!  The major improvement for me is that I now have tools to work with to get back to a healthy way of thinking.  I am glad and proud of myself, to share that I can and do feel healthy and well and great most of the time.  When difficult situations arise and I am tempted to feel negative, I try to change it then and there.  When bigger and more pressing problems occur, I am glad to have these tools at my disposal.  There are certain steps I need to take and do take.  I need the people in my life to realize how I tick (so to speak), so that they can help me.  I am lucky because they want to help me and they care.  I try not to wallow in self-pity, because this is the fastest way to lose friends and family who would be supportive otherwise.  It's unfortunate but true.  anyone who has been depressed will tell you, this is what happens in most cases.

I have posted this before, but it bears repetition.  A depressed person needs to make a pact with themselves.  This is my pact...my way of living.  If I follow it, I will not feel depressed.  If I fail to follow it, I will find myself depressed.  If this happens, I just need to refer back to this and ask myself where I took the wrong turn?  Did I let my focus go back onto myself or am I still thinking of the needs of others?  Have I reached out lately?  Who have I helped?  Sometimes, yes, I need to ask my friends to remind me why I continue to reach out...who is out there and why do I love them??  It happens.  But like I stated further back in the blog, you need supportive friends and family around you for times like those.  I suggest all people read the book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and also read her follow up book, The Power. 

WWW.thesecret.com

Be well...mentally.  Reach for the Best there is in you and do not accept anything less!