Beat Your Depression

The road to becoming President of the United States of America was not smooth sailing for Abraham Lincoln as you will see from the Portrait of an Achiever list below.

He managed to get there though, despite many setbacks, including suffering from depression. Years ago a severe depressive episode was called a “nervous breakdown” and sufferers were often shunned as they were thought to be unreliable and even weak.

Abraham Lincoln proved to be neither unreliable nor weak and he must have been well aware of the axiom, “Winners Never Quit, and Quitters Never Win.”  He obviously had his thinking right!

It can be surprising what persistence and determination can lead to.

Have you ever been to a presentation of an award for outstanding achievement of some form or other? Has the presenter ever said that the recipient achieved their objective WITHOUT overcoming at least some trials and tribulations?

PORTRAIT OF AN ACHIEVER
Failed in Business – Bankruptcy, 1831
Defeated for Legislature, 1832
Sweetheart/Fiancee Dies, 1835
Nervous Breakdown, 1836
Defeated in Election, 1836
Defeated for U.S. Congress, 1843
Defeated again for U.S. Congress, 1846
Defeated once again for U.S. Congress, 1848
Defeated for U.S. Senate, 1855
Defeated for U.S. Vice President, 1856
Defeated again for U.S. Senate, 1858
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Elected President of the U.S.A., 1860
You cannot fail… unless you quit!”

Abraham Lincoln is just one of the very many famous people who have suffered from depression.  Obviously he had his thinking right.

Recently I received an email that I believe compliments the information concerning “Tending the Mind Garden” in the free e-book, “As a Man Thinketh”.  I am sure that you will agree that the email contains some very wise words, albeit tongue in cheek, that will help all of us to brighten our days.

To Plant Your Garden

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:

1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:


1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:


1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW. NOT BAD, HUH?!

My instructions were to send this to people that I wanted God to bless and I picked
you!

Do you ever feel like you want to have a glass of wine, slowly slice your wrists & watch your life leave you? This was a question asked on Yahoo!7 Answers about a month ago.

When I saw this question as I was flitting through questions asked via Yahoo!7 Answers my first reaction was to leave it completely alone. I was concerned that I may not provide an appropriate answer and could contribute to somebody, or several people, choosing to end their misery by suiciding. Then I thought of the many inappropriate answers that are given in this forum from time to time and I felt compelled to give the matter my best shot.

I am now very glad that I chose this course of action as I truly believe, from the asker’s response, that I may have prevented this person, and others, from making a real mistake.

The question was posed by a young woman or late teenager and my thoughts went back to a time when one of my children’s friends took her own life and left her parents and sisters heartbroken.

This was my answer that was voted “Best Answer” with 5 out of 5 points and a comment by the asker, “Thank you so much for the information.”

“A lot of people have had the thoughts that you are espousing. Many have proceeded to do just that, or similar. Some have succeeded and others, luckily, have failed or chosen not to proceed and have been very grateful that they are still alive.

Remember too that things often appear worse than they really are.

I sadly miss one young girl, the daughter of one of our neighbors and friend of our children, who took a similar course of action because she thought that life was not worth living. Such a waste, especially as she really had a lot to contribute to society with the skills that she had but did not appreciate!

She had fallen out of love with herself because of some negative, and incorrect thinking. Then she became depressed and withdrawn.

I wish that I could have helped her those many years ago. If I had known then what I know now I would have directed her to some books that could have helped her to get her thinking back on track.

I am a great believer that depression and similar afflictions such as anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder are caused by the way we think, and therefore they can be treated by controlling the way that we think.

James Allen, in the early 1900s, wrote several books about self improvement. Amongst them was his classic book entitled “As a Man Thinketh.” Here is an extract that demonstrates that he believed we can, and should, control our character, circumstances, and destiny by controlling our thoughts.

“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth…

Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits, which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts. By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master gardener of his soul, the director of his life. He also reveals, within himself, the laws of thought, and understands, with ever-increasing accuracy, how the thought-forces and mind elements operate in shaping his character, circumstances, and destiny.”

This is just a snippet of the many words of wisdom found in this masterpiece that has formed the basis of many modern self improvement teachings. You can learn more and get your own free copy of, “As a Man Thinketh” via the link below..

We cannot stop various thoughts from continually entering our heads, but we can decide which thoughts we choose to allow to remain there, and those that we wish to weed out. Some speakers I have heard have used the analogy that we may not be able to stop birds from flying over our head, but we can stop them from building a nest on our head.

If you want to change your life for the better, consider changing your thinking!

While you are at http://beatyourdepression.com/blog check out the Recommended Resources box for more useful material and especially the “Total Success Library” package that provided me with significant assistance to beat my depression and better myself in many ways to enable me to progress with life.

I hope that you and other readers heed this advice from an old man and that you will be around many years from now sipping on red wine and contemplating how well your life is after getting your free copy of “As a Man Thinketh” and implementing its teachings.

When you do, remember to make a toast to me, preferably with a glass of South Australian red.

All the best for a long and happy future!”

Suicide and depression often go hand in hand because sufferers of depression sometimes get so overwhelmed with some of the challenges that life puts up, or they fall out of love with themselves for a number of reasons that they believe, at the time, are insurmountable. If only they knew that many others have faced similar challenges and have managed to turn things around and eventually lead a happy, pleasant and fulfilling life by weeding out negative thoughts from their thinking and learning how to find happiness.

In fact, have you ever known of a happy person who has taken their own life? Happiness is at the opposite end of the scale to depression. That is why I promote the e-book, “How To Find Happiness.” You can learn to become happy if you change your thinking and set your mind to it. I did!

A great place to start is by learning to be grateful for all of the good things that already exist in your life. Once you start to focus on, and be grateful for the good things in your life, however small or insignificant, you will be amazed at how fortunate you really are.

I am a great believer that depression and similar afflictions such as anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder are caused by the way we think, and therefore they can be treated by controlling the way that we think. In fact I have demonstrated this to myself on several occasions, and in particular on one occasion when I was feeling quite morose from some inward thinking until my wife came home from the local gymnasium with symptoms resembling heart problems.

Suddenly, I forgot my perceived problems and dealt with the real problem of getting my wife medical attention as soon as possible. The good news is that medical tests revealed that she did not have any heart problems. It appears that her problem was a reaction to stress and I am convinced that this stress would have been caused by MY depressed inward thinking and outward actions.

This shows how depression, and related problems, has an effect on friends and family as well as the person who suffers from the affliction.

More good news is that since then I have not had any more bouts of depression. When I realized how much my depression was affecting my loved ones, I made a decision to take control of my thoughts. My thinking and values have now been restored to normal.

James Allen, in the early 1900s, wrote several books about self improvement. Amongst them was his classic book entitled “As a Man Thinketh.” Here is an extract that demonstrates that he believed we can, and should, control our character, circumstances, and destiny by controlling our thoughts.

“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth…

Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits, which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts. By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master gardener of his soul, the director of his life. He also reveals, within himself, the laws of thought, and understands, with ever-increasing accuracy, how the thought-forces and mind elements operate in shaping his character, circumstances, and destiny.”

This is just a snippet of the many words of wisdom found in this masterpiece that has formed the basis of many modern self improvement teachings. You can learn more and get your own free copy of, “As a Man Thinketh” by clicking here.

We cannot stop various thoughts from continually entering our heads, but we can decide which thoughts we choose to allow to remain there, and those that we wish to weed out. Some speakers I have heard have used the analogy that we may not be able to stop birds from flying over our head, but we can stop them from building a nest on our head.

If you want to change your life for the better, consider changing your thinking!

Improve YOUR thinking! Get your free copy of “As a Man Thinketh” now!

As a follow on from the post entitled ” Take the time – Life is short” I thought about how it would be beneficial to mull over how we often tend to think that we seldom have the time to do all of the things that we would like to accomplish. This then becomes a self-imposed pressure to get things done.

Unfortunately, this pressure then develops into stress, which can manifest itself in the form of depression when we often fail to meet these [often unrealistic] self-imposed pressures. We then tend to place MORE pressure on ourselves and the process becomes akin to a snowball. Then the depression deepens, and so it goes.

Eventually we reach the stage where rational thinking may be replaced by anxiety or even panic attacks.

We could take some anti-depressant medication which would make us feel euphoric for a while before developing a “could not care less” attitude about anything and everything, including the task that we wanted to complete, our appearance, and state of health, as I experienced when I reluctantly took such medication.

It would be far better to control our emotions in relation to our time management by thinking, “What is the worst thing that can happen if I do not accomplish these tasks in the desired time frame?” When we think this way we will often realize that these time frames are not such a big deal and, if we take some time out as suggested in “Take the Time – Life is short,” we will probably be much more relaxed and able to do a better job of the task when we turn to it.

There is no doubt that happy and contented people seem to have very few problems with depression. They are generally calm, except when they are excited from having a good time, and they seldom seem to get stressed out. On the other hand, those people who suffer from depression are often stressed, withdrawn, melancholy, continually tired or exhausted, sad, and worry a lot, amongst other things.

This leads me to believe that, if people suffering from depression can become happy, perhaps their dark cloud of depression will lift and fade away. After all, the ancient Greeks believed [rightly so] that the best cure for melancholia was singing and dancing.

Now I know that there are some morbid and sad songs about and there are some theatrical dance routines that depict tragedy and pathos, but The ancient Greeks and I are referring to pleasant, happy music and dancing. Both singing and dancing stimulate the body to produce endorphins that are the body’s answer to opiates. The endorphins give us a natural high and make us feel good. This is why it is best to stop moping around if you happen to be depressed and DO something physical.

It is also good to take time out to do something new, or something that we have not allowed ourselves time for recently, but we thoroughly enjoy the activity. This compels us to concentrate on the activity at hand and to stop the continual re-visiting the past and ruminating about what should have been done, what could have been done, and what I should have said, blaming oneself for being foolish, etc. etc. ad nauseum. If you suffer, or have ever suffered, from depression, you will know what I am talking about.

I believe that we should always endeavor to be happy, calm, and contented, and live our lives in the present rather than in the past.

This is why I recommend the e-book, How To Find Happiness, written by Jennifer Summers. It is a great guide to health and happiness as attested to by Doctor Phyllis Gold, author of “Happiness – do what it takes” who said about How To Find Happiness:-

“If you want to increase your confidence and reduce the stress and anxiety in your life, then this program is second to none. It will make you happier and therefore healthier!”

It appears that many people are having trouble understanding or accepting Rule #6 in the article” Ten Rules for Being Human,” posted on September 12th, 2007. Viz:-

6. “There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”

Perhaps if I share a little of the book entitled, “The Precious Present,” by Spencer Johnson M.D. this could assist to enlighten those people as to what I believe is the essence of Rule # 6. You will just have to replace “here” with “the present” and “there” with “the future.”

You may recall that Spencer Johnson M.D. also co-authored the best selling book entitled, “The One Minute Manager,” which was so popular that it was translated into seven languages.

Apparently, The Precious Present is a reflection of Dr Johnson’s life. He had a happy childhood and a remarkable career with many accomplishments, including earning a degree in psychology; an M.D. from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; training at the Harvard Medical School; and membership of national societies in philosophy and psychology. He also authored many books and had over a million copies of his books in print before his fortieth birthday. However, despite these achievements, he was unhappy as he felt that there was something missing from his life. [This seems to be a common trait in many people who suffer from depression.]

He finally discovered the secret of personal happiness after years of study, traveling, and searching his own mind. Dr Spencer Johnson shares this secret in parable form in The Precious Present. Here is an excerpt:-

“Pain is simply the difference between what is and what I want it to be.

When I feel guilty over my imperfect past, or I am anxious over my unknown future, I do not live in the present. I experience pain. I make myself ill. And I am unhappy.

My past was the present. And now my future will be the present. The present moment is the only reality I ever experience.

As long as I stay in the present, I am happy forever: because forever is always the present.”

From my experience, understanding each of the ten rules for being human can be truly beneficial to people who want to break the shackles of depression. However, I believe that living in the present is THE most important.

The Precious Present is one of the books that has assisted me to overcome my depression by re-adjusting my mindset. Another great book that goes into more depth about the value of the present moment is, “The Power of NOW” by Eckhart Tolle.

ADDENDUM

My wife was unaware that I had made this post last Thursday and she came home from work tonight [Monday] with a quote that she had written down from an email that she had received from a man who was retiring from the work force. When I read the quote I began to wonder if this was a coincidence or not. Here it is:-

“Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.
That is why it is called The Present.”

This is another golden oldie that found its way into my email inbox on a couple of occasions.

I have included it here as I feel that it is good for us all to have a reality checkup from time to time. Reading this certainly makes me sit up and take notice of some of the negative self-talk that I bombard myself with occasionally and encourages me to eliminate such negativity from my thought processes.

Ten Rules for Being Human

By Cherie Carter-Scott

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, “life.”
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work.”
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. “There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.

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When I was overcoming a bout of severe depression, I found that, in addition to learning as much as I could from books such as Understanding and Curing Depression, I also gained extremely valuable insights into my outlook on life, and how my attitude plays such an important role, from the package entitled Total Success Library.

By Francie Baltazar-Schwartz

[I have had this article sent to me as an email attachment on several occasions. It has a very strong and pertinent message that compliments the article below entitled, “Choices”. I hope that you enjoy it and appreciate the message that it conveys.]

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious and so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?”

Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”

“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested.

“Yes it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live life.” I reflected on what Jerry said.

Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

“The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.

“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked. Jerry continued, “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, ‘He’s a dead man. “I knew I needed to take action.”

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything.’Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.”

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

————————

When I was overcoming a bout of severe depression, I found that, in addition to learning as much as I could from books such as Understanding and Curing Depression, I also gained extremely valuable insights into my outlook on life, and how my attitude plays such an important role, from the package entitled Total Success Library. In fact, I firmly believe the Total Success Library to be exceptional value for money.