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.

I would like to elaborate on the subject of choices available to us as a follow on from a previous article relating to choices. There are usually at least two choices that we can make on any subject that we choose to think about [another choice]. We can even choose not to make a choice, and that in itself is making a choice to do nothing.

There is generally a direct opposite to nearly everything that we can think of in life, and many degrees in between. Take, for example, the atmospheric temperature and consider it to be perfectly comfortable. If the temperature increases it will become warm, then warmer until it becomes hot, then hotter and so on until it becomes unbearably hot. If the temperature decreases it will become cool, then cooler and so on until it becomes cold, colder, and then eventually freezing.

The extremes are referred to as being of opposite polarity. An example of this is the axis of the Earth with it’s North Pole and South Pole being at extreme ends of the axis. This is also why the condition where a person may be deeply depressed for a while, return to being contented, and then swing to being deliriously exuberant and unreasonably overconfident [manic], is called “bi-polar disorder.”

This used to be known as manic depression. Between the extremes the person may have passed through being very sad, sad, disillusioned, unhappy, discontented, joyful, happy, very happy, and ecstatic. [Amongst other feelings or emotions]

As it says in the book, “As a Man Thinketh,” we tend to become what we think about. Therefore we have a choice. Do we focus on negative things in our lives or our past and be miserable, or do we focus on pleasant things associated with our lives, including our achievements, no matter how insignificant? We really DO have a choice you know!

Have you ever noticed how it is hard to be depressed when you are happy? Conversely, it is hard to be happy when you are depressed. But you CAN learn several ways how to find happiness. One of the best ways is to focus on being grateful for all of the good things in your life. By doing this, we can re-program our brains into being happy just as we can re-program a computer to overcome a glitch.

If you take just a few moments each day, preferably just after you awaken, to think of several things that you are grateful for, you will be off to a good start for the rest of the day.

You can be grateful for making it through the night, your good health, your cozy bed, your comfortable home, your caring partner, the fact that there is food in the refrigerator, etc. etc. If it is raining you can be grateful for the plants and crops getting a good drink and the reservoirs being topped up with water. If it is sunny you can be grateful for the plants and crops getting good light for growth via photosynthesis.

If you think of your friends you can be grateful for their friendship, and if you happen to think about somebody you do not like you can be grateful that you are not like them. Be grateful for your job if you have one and the fact that it provides you with money to cater for many of your needs. If you do not have a job you can be grateful that you have managed to survive and that you live in a land of opportunity where you should be able to find a job. Your new disposition may help you to get a job over a person who is gloomy or pessimistic by choice [not by nature.]

What about some of the achievements and experiences that you have had to date? Think of some of the lovely sunsets that you have witnessed. Be grateful for your vision. Remember, you won the sperm race to enable you to be born. You managed to beat all of those other sperm to the egg and fertilized it. So you are a winner! 🙂

Even if you have had experiences that you would prefer to forget, be grateful for the fact that you have the opportunity to forge a better future. The list is almost endless if you apply yourself to thinking this way.

Why not write down in an exercise book the things that you are grateful for? Be prepared to buy several more books as time passes as you should fill them up quite quickly once you get the gist of thinking of things to be grateful about. You will be amazed at how powerful this simple exercise can be. If ever you find yourself feeling a little disconsolate you can get out your book(s) and jog your memory into being grateful again.

Another action that you can use to find happiness is to look at yourself in the mirror and smile, even if you do not feel like doing it. Tell yourself that you love yourself and that you are improving your lot in life each and every day. You can even give yourself a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. 🙂 When I did this exercise to overcome my depression I would often sing a little rollicking ditty that I learned a long time ago at school. I am 65 years old and so I must have a good [long term] memory. Here are the words to the ditty that certainly helped to get my days off to a good start:-

“Good morning brother Sunshine!

Good morning sister Song!

I beg your humble pardon if you’ve waited very long.

I thought I heard you knocking.

To lock you out was sin.

My heart is standing open.

Won’t you walk right in?

Good morning! Won’t you walk right in?

(2)

Good morning sister Gladness!

Good morning brother Smile!

They told me you were coming. So I waited on a while.

‘Twas lonely here without you.

A weary time it’s been.

My heart is standing open.

Won’t you walk right in?

Good morning! Won’t you walk right in? ”

I have promised to record this ditty and will do so soon when I overcome my self consciousness and pluck up the courage to do so.

Another way to kick start being happy is to listen to your favorite music and, better still, dance to it. This is how the ancient Greeks cured melancholia. Dancing and other forms of exercising, even walking, produce the “feel good” hormone, beta-endorphin.

Or you could adopt the methods used by author Norman Cousins and watch comedy movies to promote good belly laughs. Told that he had little chance of surviving from debilitating illness, Cousins developed a recovery program incorporating Vitamin C, along with a positive attitude, love, faith, hope, and laughter induced by Marx Brothers films.

Why not try all of the above? What have you to lose? Better still, think of what you have to gain!

Below is an email that I have just received. It is from Stephen Pierce who is an internet marketing genius and people motivator.

If you ever hear Stephen’s history you will be truly amazed at what he has done with his life after being expelled from school several times, going bankrupt several times, living on the streets, and even being shot with a bullet that is still in his leg.

Stephen, and his wife Alecia, truly do love to help people to help themselves.

This short address has the potential to help you in all aspects of your life and I immediately saw the benefits that it could bring to sufferers of depression and anxiety etc., and to those people who may even be contemplating self harm. The talk discusses “true” and “the truth.” It may sound a little confusing the first time through and so I recommend that you listen to it with an open mind a couple of times to get the important message contained therein. Perhaps you, like me, can relate to this.

Enjoy and learn:-

John,

I spent what felt like a lifetime starving
for success, while standing in a pool of
opportunity that seemed to always recede
away from me every time I reached out for
it.

And the moment I was able to take hold of
something, it seem to always turn to dust.

I had an inverted Midas Touch at the time.

That means, what I touched didn’t turn to
gold… it turned into dust.

I was shattered inside, lonely, heartbroken
and desperate.

What looked like a promising future seemed
to fade away quickly into a cold, dark
valley of nothingness.

It got to the point where the only thing
I could think about is what was true at
the time.

What wasn’t working.
What I didn’t have.
Who was better than me.
What others thought about me.
And “I could of” and “I should of.”

Does this sound like you, or someone you
know?

If so, stick with me here.

Because…

One day I read a phrase. A phrase that would
liberate my soul and recalibrate my thinking.

After reading this phrase I had one of my
life’s most shocking illuminations.

And right now I want to share both the phrase
and the illumination with you so that YOU can
feel freedom in your soul and rip the chains
of bondage off your life.

Now prepare yourself, because the first few
minutes of this TalkBack may seem rather
negative.

However, you need to stick with me and hold
on because it’s just following that heaviness
that your burden will be lifted.

…all in just 9 minutes and 34 seconds.

So let’s get started.

http://www.dtalpha.com/talkback/?p=36

God Bless YOU and YOURS,
Stephen Pierce

P.S. Today’s DTAlpha TalkBack will blast you
into an orbit of outstanding success and
achievement.

Be ready for your ILLUMINATION!

http://www.dtalpha.com/talkback/?p=36

If you liked that, you may also like to listen to the following message as well:-

John,

If it’s true, that change happens in
a moment.

THEN…

YOUR MOMENT HAS ARRIVED!

The few people who previewed today’s
TalkBack say it’s the most powerful
15 minutes of the new year so far.

http://www.dtalpha.com/talkback/?p=35

God Bless YOU and YOURS,
Stephen Pierce

P.S. This is an unforgettable 15 minutes.
You owe it to yourself to experience it
right now.

http://www.dtalpha.com/talkback/?p=35

Check out the rest of the site for other beneficial information whilst you are there.

   I have been suffering from depression since my early teens although I didn’t discover it until I was almost 50.  Also around this time, my marriage was falling apart. Its hard to know if one caused or affected the other but they were both “happening” at the same time. Treatment between then ( approx 2000) and last year was sporadic and only partially effective. Last fall, I hit bottom and ended up in the hospital and luckily the doctors were able to stabilize me and find the right combination of medicines for me. Seem to be doing very well now!

    You asked about my ideas on depression. First, I am not a medical person. I am a Linux/Unix Systems Administrator (or a geek as my daughters say). I am a science junkie and try to understand the world as best I can.  That being said, here’s my take on depression.

     Our brain sits in and regulates a soup of chemicals and electric energy For the brain to function properly, its environment must be kept within a certain range. This environment is in reality a self-organizing chaotic system. Like most “systems” in the natural world, they appear to be organized but are inherently chaotic at lower levels. Hurricanes are a very good example of this type of system. If you are inside a hurricane, all you can see is chaos. Yet, at a macro level, you can see the organization of the storm. The energy flows from the sun, water and atmosphere are the feedback loops that keep the hurricane stable. There is a wide range in which this will all work but outside those bounds, the storm begins to collapse.

     Our brain operates much like this. There is NO normal operating mode. Just a range of stable environments. When the environment exceeds those boundaries, mental illness sets in. Now,destabilization can be caused by many factors from illness, physical injury, chemical imbalances and “maybe” even BAD thinking, but I believe they eventually affect the chemical or electrical feedback loops in the brain. I like to think of it as brain arrhythmia.

     Although I am not a huge fan of talk therapy, I do recognize that we can create new connections in our brains by thinking/talking about things and that this may help in re stabilizing the system. However, and this is an opinion only, this will only really work if the system is only slightly out of whack.  Also (personal biases ahead!), I feel that talk therapy is too vulnerable to incompetents, unscrupulous people, quack therapies and cures and charlatans. I hope I wasn’t too subtle there?

    Ok, enough rantings. The RedSox just won!  🙂

This is a response that I wrote to a young woman who disliked her appearance. Actually, she hated it.

The reason that I have posted it is because it tells my thoughts on how a person should speak to oneself and the dangers associated with negative self talk.

I should have told the young woman to go to a hospital and see people who really have cause to complain. There are so many people in the world who would LOVE to swap places with a healthy person, even if they did not look as good as they would like.

This reminds me of the quote, “I was upset because I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet.”

Anyhow, here is the excerpt. I hope that you gleen something from it. I plan to discuss these matters in more depth later.

“You are so young and should make the most of your youth.

There is a saying that, “The problem with youth is that it is wasted on the young”. One day you will laugh at your present thoughts.

Beauty is more than good looks. It also has to do with your personality and attitude. If you look at beauty competitions you will notice that judges check these features out in addition to looks.

We cannot always help our physical features, unless we neglect to bathe and groom ourselves etc., but we can work on our personality.

I am sure that your friends are sincere with their comments and you should accept them in good faith. Rejecting their comments would be a “slap in the face” to your friends and you may eventually lose them. Be grateful that you have friends.

Life is a matter of choices. You can choose to be miserable or you can choose to be happy. It takes the same amount of effort. It appears that you have chosen the former SO FAR.

I am a GREAT believer in the power of the subconscious mind. It is like a computer and if you feed garbage in you will get garbage out. Therefore I suggest that you carefully consider what you say and think. You are the only person who has control over these two things. Even if somebody did make an adverse comment about you, you do not have to accept it. How do they know the real you?

Eleanor Roosevelt, the President’s wife, was quoted as saying, “Nobody can say anything to hurt me unless I give them permission to do so.”

Look at what you have written. There is so much self-directed negativity there. viz:-

My life sucks. i feel like im just crushing everything, i feel ugly, my friends are just saying that to make me feel better, i feel like no one completely understands me .

Do not dwell on this sort of speech or thoughts. Your subconscious mind does not want to let you down and will do all in its power to make these statements true. You will become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

It would be better for you to say and think things such as:-

I am grateful that I am so young and I am enjoying my youth whilst I still have it.

I am fortunate to be in good health and have an active, enquiring mind.

I love myself.

When “Mister Right” comes along, he will appreciate me for my intellect and attractive personality as well as my good looks.

I am pleased and fortunate to have so many true friends.

If you engage in this sort of self talk or affirmations, your subconscious mind will work on them equally as hard as they do on your negative self talk. I know, as I have been in a similar situation to you and suffered severe depression. Do not let this happen to you.

When you are in the bathroom look in the mirror, smile, and tell yourself out loud that you love yourself. You will be surprised how much of a “pick me up” this can be.

Be careful not to use any negatives such as you did when you wrote, “im not crazy”. The subconscious tends to over look the “not” and focuses on “im crazy”.

To demonstrate this, if you did not want to think about lions, say to yourself, ” I am not thinking about lions”. What happens? Immediately an image of a lion or lions appears on your mental screen. Doesn’t it?

It would be better to say, “I am thinking about cuddly kittens,” or similar.

Try saying, “The dog is not chasing the cat.” Immediately a picture of a dog chasing a cat comes to mind. Better to say, ” The dog and cat are sleeping peacefully on the mat.”

Do you get the picture? [Pun intended]

I hope that this will help you to brighten your outlook on life.

All the best for now!”

——————

You can learn much more about programming your mind and adjusting your outlook on life, as I did, from the Rapid Manifestation package.  Check out his truly value-for-money package here.

Hi.  A friend of mine, Maureen, has had past experiences with depression and she has allowed me to share what she wrote to me on this web site. So here it is.

Thankyou for your web page on depression. I could relate to most of what you said. My depression came later on in life and I feel it was because I was in a very controlling relationship for twenty-four years and had a life I did not want. I thought of everyone else and did not look after myself. I soon realised I had to look after me first and then think of everyone else.

When I got depression it was like a black cloud coming over me. I did not want to speak to anyone. I could not be happy about anything, everything was black. I cried a lot. The least thing set me off. My kids suffered through this terrible situation and stood by me, loved me and supported me. That is what kept me going when all seemed black.

 I finally  got help and found out that I am the type of person who finds it hard to make decisions in life if it will hurt someone else. So I stayed in a very unhealthy unhappy relationship because I could not make the decision to leave. I got very ill through this and I felt like I was trapped. I did finally make the decision to leave and when I did my whole life changed. My depression went away and I was happy again for the first time in years.

What I got from this is that you can suffer from depression if you are in a place in your life that you don’t want to be. I now see the light at the end of the tunnel and I have learnt to tell people how I feel and what I want.

I am very happy now and have no more depression. That’s why I say thankyou for your web page. Suffering depression is a hard thing to admit to and if it helps one person from depression I will be happy.                                                                                                                                                        

Hi! I am John and part of the beatyourdepression.com team

WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF BEAT YOUR DEPRESSION!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

First of all, I’d like to thank you all for visiting this site and I hope that you can gain some valuable insights, or share some with other visitors.

You may be suffering from depression personally, think that you may be suffering from depression, or have a friend or relative that may be suffering from depression and you are trying to understand how you can help them or yourself. In any case I’m going to do my best to provide you with the most informative articles, facts, and tips in each issue of Beat Your Depression.

Why would I do this, you may ask?

The answer is that I, too, have had this affliction for most of my life and know how debilitating it can be, especially if others do not understand the problems that you are facing.

The good thing is that I finally realized that I was,indeed, suffering from depression and took steps to control it. Until then, I thought that I was just a moody person who could sometimes be the life of the party, and on other occasions a pain in the butt. Often I had so many negative thoughts that tended to snow ball that I would think that life was pointless and hopeless, and I can understand how some people would wish to harm themselves.

The bad thing is that it was not until I was in my early sixties that I finally realized my problem, even though I can remember times in my early teens when, for no apparent reason, I felt depressed or glum.

When I finally realized that my condition was causing awkward problems for friends and family, especially for my long-suffering wife, I decided to seek advice from my medical practitioner. She provided me with some basic information about depression, in the form of pamphlets, took some blood tests that showed that I was low in a particular chemical and a vitamin, and put me on a course of pills and a series of injections of vitamins to counter my fatigue and lack of motivation.

I am pleased to say that I had a remarkable turn around in my life and quickly regained a zest for living. However, I attributed much of this to the fact that, at the time, I was also reading various self help books and listening to certain relaxation/self hypnosis audios.

In fact, I was so pleased that I wanted to cease the medication as I felt that I was cured. This alarmed my doctor, and probably my wife, and so I agreed to continue taking the minimum dosage of medication until I was weaned from it after the recommended nine months. I did not wish to cause my lovely wife any more grief.

I have had several more bouts of depression since then but now I can recognize it and generally nip it in the bud without the need for medication. It is not always easy though and this is one reason for establishing this blog. I believe that I may be able to contribute to others overcoming their depression or understanding how to assist their loved ones, who may be suffering.

In later posts I will share with you some of my thoughts that most literature on the subject either fails to address, or brushes over.

I may even record and share with you a two verse ditty that I sing to myself in front of the mirror in the mornings to prepare me for the coming day. It is something that I learnt about fifty five years ago.

So my memory is not too bad.

Nobody is immune and there should be no stigma attached to this condition as many famous people also suffered from depression in one of the several forms. Abraham Lincoln called his sad spells, “the shadow of madness” and Winston Churchill referred to his depression as, “the black dog.” [Learn more about some of these famous people here]

I welcome anybody to use this blog to share their experiences, insights, or knowledge so that we all may benefit and enjoy life to the full as we deserve.

———–

I contribute my speedy recovery to reading self-help books such as Overcoming and Curing Depression and a package entitled Total Success Library, containing eight e-books, a ten minute audio MP3 that I copied to a CD and listen to frequently, and a software package that streams positive affirmations across my computer screen in accordance with Dr Anthony’s Power of Intention e-book. This package represents true value-for-money and I have no hesitation about referring it to anybody.  It assisted me to revive my sense of humor that staved off depression on many occasions.

Welcome to the first post of beatyourdepression.com . Depression plays a major part of the lives of many people and if it is not understood and controlled, then it can cause stressful lives to yourself, friends and family.

The first thing that we suggest you do is get an idea of some of the well known people who have suffered from depression. There is a 5 part mini ecourse available at the top right hand side of the blog. This gives a good lead into the ebook “Understanding and Curing Depression”.

Feel free to make comments on these blog entries. We would love to hear about your depression related stories.