DEPRESSION IS A QUIET BASTARD

Yes it’s a bastard - a real disease, it is a quiet and nasty disease! People who suffer from it don’t want it, don’t like it, they don’t look for attention and cannot even just cheer up.

More people suffer from it than anyone cares to admit. You will be surprise with how many people in your life that could be going through depression at a moment. People hide it like dark glasses over their eyes out of; fear of being judged, made fun of, seen weak or just not being taken seriously.

They feel hopeless, worthless, unwanted; it’s like they feel so tired of being told; ‘get over it or be a real man. They are days they wish they didn’t wake up, they feel like; will it ever end?

Yes it is quiet, anyone can fall a victim to it and much like a mask; people hide it with a smile … “I am fine they say but …” Nobody can detect it but yourself because the cheerer you are, the less people will suspect. But you can’t hide it forever, everybody reaches a breaking point.

I believe depression is the acceptance of how “messed up the world is”. It is more often due to someone choosing to surrender or giving in to the negative occurrences and experiences and accepting that this is how his world is and may always will be. He ends up saying; this how my own things are always.

Some of its symptoms may include;

ü?Persistent sadness or empty mood

ü?Feeling hopeless, helpless, worthless, pessimistic and/or guilty

ü?Fatigue or lost of interest in normal activities including sex

ü?Disturbed in eating and sleeping

ü?Increase in crying, anxiety and panic

ü?Difficulty in concentrating, remembering or making decisions

ü?Thoughts of suicide, suicide plans and even attempts

ü?Cognitive distortion becomes a better idea

ü?Persistent general body pain that do not respond to treatment

Depression should not be taken lightly; it holds us down from our purpose and potentials in life. We keep depreciating ourselves instead of us working to meet results. It is something that cannot just be fixed in a day. We feel discarded, probably empty, shattered and drained. Time can heal us, if we let it.

Of course some people think that endless supply of pills, drugs and alcohol consumption can alter our brain chemistry but if they work on individuals, it provides only a temporal symptomatic relief and the actual source of depression is left untreated.

None of us want to entertain the idea that we are the cause of our own depression due to our responses to what life sends our way and prefer to blame external forces. Stress is not a natural feeling; it is how we choose to respond to what is happening around us. It is a problem you cannot just manage but eliminate from your life for good. It's about individual perception. We are not in control of unpredictability of life. We think. We perceive. We feel. We opine. We act/react. All based on what we are feeling at a particular moment in time.

?

Our spiritual strength is the best defense against surrendering in to a false reality. It is our mental “immune system” and it’s found within us. But our society has turned its eyes to the outside world to seek our identity and our values as a person and our success as a human being.

A spiritual strength that people turn to under look is endurance. Life is long and hard and when shit hits the fan people are often tempted to give up or quit. Enduring pain sufferings, setbacks and the lows of life is hard but necessary for growth. “Trial is refining, test is maturing you, the valley is preparing you, delay is disciplining you and God is working for you.” I think what will help is for you to start viewing challenges or obstacles as opportunities. Once you have this mindset shift to seeing challenges as opportunities, then of course, it is something you will no longer dread but embrace.

The question is; “how do we overcome this demon that eats us off? “

Yes you can be your own therapist, you will move different when you understand your power. Understand that your brain can rewire and you can change. Many people around the world are living their dream lives and you can be one of them ones you discover this missing ingredient. We forget that our thoughts have the power to be converted to reality. The following steps can guide us through; it won’t be easy, but you can emerge better, stronger and more content

Find yourself first - List down the things you don’t like about yourself at that moment. ?Remind yourself why you wanted to get over it. When listing, be 100% truthful to yourself. Those are your demons and you need to face them. You will be surprised at how many power they have over you hence, it is time to stare these demons in the face and acknowledge that they exist - only then will they lose their power. Once you have all of them written down, rip them off, put them in the trash and let them go. Don't let these wolves bark again through your door. “To move on truly, find yourself (Jay shetty).”

Accept the pain and suffering - When you choose to run away from your pain and suffering, without accepting it and experiencing it, the way it is, it gets difficult to overcome the pain and suffering. Nothing works best to overcome pain, than acceptance. Once you accept what is present in the moment, you move in the direction of achievement. The deepest pain of life can be healed, if you show patience with it, and deal with it in a gentle manner. When we are in pain, we forget about healing our pain, rather our mind constantly thinks about the person or situation that has given us the pain. We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey

Practice integrity – think of things that you are proud to do with your life and things that you will rather hide, ask yourself am I proud to be doing these things with my life right now? Make sure you do them. Stop negative self thoughts and talks. Whenever a negative thoughts pops up your mind, consciously change them; Change negative thoughts to positive. Change “I will never be able to do that” in to “I am not able to do that but I will learn to do that.” Yes you can!

Throw that perfection out - Don't put your inner world aside when it asks for attention. Choose your tools of transformation and set your mind to delving into the aspects of your life that you have been trying to forget. Bring them to the surface, dive into their depths and bring those fragments of yourself back home through self-love and forgiveness. It’s only when you accept the event of the past and give all your energy in healing the pain, you can overcome any pain or suffering of your life.

Dress sharp - Your clothes and dressing affects the way you feel about yourself. No one is more conscious of your physical appearance that you. When you look good, it will change the way you carry yourself and interact with others.

Finally, start it - Start it no matter what for those who are facing this difficulty. Not tomorrow, you are going to start it today, now. Start the first step right now.

Depression can be life threatening, please share and leave your comments.