Dealing With Depression Begins With You And Your Attitude

by Reuben Chow

There many aspects of dealing with depression.

A very important one lies within you – your attitude and outlook, as well as the psychological choices you make.

Separate Yourself From The Problem

Winston Churchill was a great man. But he, too, was stricken by depression at one stage. What he did was to give his “depression” a pet name; yes, a pet name! He called his depressed state his “black dog”. By doing so, he was able to separate himself from his mental ailment, rather than see himself as the problem itself, which is something many depressed persons do.

Remember, you’re not the problem!

Have Something To Live For And To Believe In

One very important element in life, to help keep depression at bay, as well as to help you overcome your depressed state, is to have something to believe in and to live for. Well, at least one thing. When life has meaning and direction, you are so much more unlikely to sink into a state of helplessness and hopelessness.

Make The DECISION To Break Your Downward Spiral

Depression has the tendency to suck us into a vicious cycle, an unrelenting downward spiral. Suddenly, you magnify in your mind all the mistakes you have made and the bad habits you have, while conveniently chucking aside all the positive aspects. Your moods become even more depressed, and this results in more mistakes as well as more depressive behavior – negative habits such as alcoholism, failing to perform at work, isolating oneself from friends and other loved ones, turning to thrills like gambling, substance abuse, etc. And such behavior further dampens your sense of self worth.

Thoughts and feelings such as “I keep getting things wrong”, “I don’t deserve anything good” and “There’s no point anyway” become very much part of your psyche and thinking patterns.

Here, it is important to realize that these naughty vicious cycles CAN be broken. And no one but you holds the key to doing so. One way in which you can go about doing this is to focus your energies on positive activities. Leave the pubbing scene and leave the alcohol in the cabinet. Catch up with old friends. Help someone. Set realistic goals and go about achieving them. Pick up a new hobby. Counsel someone who needs a listening ear. Do volunteer work.

Very often, all that is needed to drive a person from a negative downward spinning spiral to a positive uptrend is a decision – a decision of wanting to be happier, to want to lead a more meaningful life, to pick oneself up, or perhaps to just quit being depressed. Don’t underestimate the power of such a spark!

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