Depression
Depression is real and it can be very dangerous if you do not treat it in the early stages. Depression can make you feel like you are trapped in a hole that you can't get out of, but I'm making this post to let you know that you can. You have the power within you to change your reality by simply challenging your thoughts and feelings. My therapist makes it a point to let us know that "there are no facts to feelings, just because you feel a certain way it does not mean that is your truth." Once you are able to understand that there are no facts to feelings you can start to challenge your mind on why you are feeling this way? One of the most important strengths that I have developed since being in therapy is being able to identify why I feel the way that I do in that specific moment. Whether I am happy, sad, mad, or anxious, I am able to recognize the emotion and challenge my mind by asking what made me feel this way.
Once you have identified what you are feeling it is important to ask yourself why? Why did this situation make me feel this way? This question may take a while to answer, and that's okay this isn't an overnight process you are going to have to do some digging to get the results you want. I suggest using some mindfulness techniques to help you have a clear mind in order to get the answers you are looking for. I'll share some mindfulness techniques after we are done talking about challenging your thoughts. The next step after you have found the answer to why, is you have to challenge the thought for example, if you are feeling anxious about something you have to ask is there anything I can do about this problem right now? If there is then Nike that SH** and just do it. Yes I know to most that is a lot easier said than done, but you have to try it because I promise you it works. If there isn't anything you can do about it that's defined as a hypothetical worry, stop letting hypothetical situations dictate your reality, you have to just let that worry go. Distracting yourself is one way you can stop thinking about the what if scenario by distracting yourself it causes your brain to focus on something else and a fun fact about the brain is that it can only focus on one thought at a time.
Mindfulness Tricks
Mindfulness is defined as "purposely bringing one's attention to the present moment" and by using mindfulness we can escape the thoughts of selfhatred, or those pesky what if thoughts and enjoy the moment that we are living now. One trick that was taught to me by my therapist is the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method. This method involes finding 5 things that we can see, 4 things that we can hear, 3 things that we can feel, 2 things that we can smell, and 1 thing that we can taste. When we have our mind practice this mindfulness method we are utilizing all five of our senses to reconnect with the present moment, which in returns takes our attention away from the negative thoughts that we might have been thinking. A trick that I use to ground myself in the present moment is meditation and deep breathing. I play a soft mellody on my phone close my eyes, preferably in the sun so I can feel the warmth on my skin, and breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, and breathe out for six seconds. I repeat those steps for at least 3 minutes thinking positive thoughts on my breaths in, and negative thoughts on the way out. If you don't think any of those tricks could benefit you I encourage you to research and find a way that will. There are endless ways to become grounded in the present moment. In fact if you do end up practicing a different type of mindfulness I want to hear about, so that I can try it out as well!
You are not Alone
I wanted to leave this paragraph last today, so that I am able to remind you that you are not alone. While you might be the only one that can feel the depression you have people in your life that are affected by it as well. We all have people that love and care for us and if you ever have the thought that you would be better off dead then I challenge you to think of the ones that you love. I challenge you to think of the pain that you will leave them with once you are gone. By making that final decision it doesn't get rid of the pain, it only transfers the pain for someone else to carry. If for some reason you feel that you aren't loved I want you to know that I love you and you don't have to fight alone. You can reach out to me at any time I will answer your emails, or your comments. Life is difficult especially if you feel that you are fighting this alone, this paragraph was a reminder that you aren't alone, and that if you feel that you are alone email me and we will fight together. lawton4.cl@gmail.com
Closing/Next Blog!
Thank you all for reading another one of my blogs. I wanted to touch base on depression because of my therapy session today. It reminded me that some of us feel as if we cannot be saved when in reality we have the ability to save ourselves by taking control of our thoughts. I really hope that you were able to pick up some useful information from this blog and I look forward to writing to you all again Sunday September 25th. Until Next time ✌❤
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