Beating the Blues – knowing depression
Most people suffer from depression at some points in their lives. Depression isn’t always the stereotype we hear about, not getting out of your pjs and staying in bed sleeping all day. Mild depression or getting the blues is something suffered by many people who just momentarily find life overwhelming and out of control with them feeling powerless to do anything about it.
When your system is depressed it means your body energy is not moving. In order to have a healthy body, mind and emotional state you need to move your energy. That means keeping it grounded so you can stay in present time (rather than the past or future) and keeping it moving so you can feel motivated and stay focused on whatever goals you have set for yourself.
When it stops moving that is when we feel stuck and heavy and life feels hard. It also means our connection to life and people is deteriorated leaving life feeling empty and unfulfilling. The insidious thing about depression is that it creeps in maybe as a bad mood, a bad day, an upsetting situation or an illness but before you realize it you’re feeling down and downer for days or even weeks at a time before you snap out of it.
What also happens is when you are feeling depressed the last thing you want to do is things that are good for you. So out goes the gym or exercise plan, out goes healthy eating hello fast food, connecting with friends you know would help lift you out also gets put on hold. Actually life gets put on hold and each day blends into the next and we wonder why it feels so grim!
Being aware of your patterns is invaluable in seeing your way out of this. When you are eating unhealthy food you can then make the link and think why am I eating this right now. Sometimes we just feel like a big juicy burger and that’s fine, but it’s the times that you would rather have a healthy sandwich but opt for fast food that we are talking about here. Or the times you think you’ll stop for one drink and end up having 6. Or you notice that you are just feeling flat and low but don’t know why.
If you are notice you are doing these things you can say, geez when did I get so low, when did it start and what happened around that time that might have triggered this state. It could have been a conversation with a family member, an argument with your partner, a work situation that didn’t go well or a goal or dream that looks bleak at the time. There is always a start to the chain of events that happen.
If you recognize the start, even if you can’t stop it you can at least become aware of your patterns. Change cannot occur without conscious awareness first. So you ask yourself what do you do when you fall into this spiral, how do you act it out and also then what do you know will make you feel better based on past experience. What things can you implement immediately that you know will start making changes in mood right away?
Everyone knows what makes them feel good. Things like a walk or run in the park, catching up with friends, deep belly breathing, meditating, having a massage or hot bath, journaling, changing your posture and grounding are all positive ways to help you regroup your energy and get back on track. But if you figure out why you got off track in the first place, the power becomes yours to make these instances less and less.
