Beware......

Shredding many years of "important" old tax records and other old papers and receipts, etc....plus...going through old, saved greeting cards and letters, CAN cause melancholy feelings. The shredding was like shredding up parts of my life. I just took a deep breath, said a prayer, and pressed forward.

Cheer up...

Ah...the good ole days when life was slower and less involved!

photo courtesy of http://jsmagic.net/goodhome/

Yes…the good ole days….when we didn’t have all the mental stress and worries like we seem to do today. Today’s life style is a real struggle, for sure. At least it is for me.
http://jsmagic.net/goodhome/

Retreating to our mental closet

I have a friend who says he goes in his (mental) closet when he has a really bad day with depression. He seeks a quiet place in his home where he can be alone and where he does not have to interact with others for awhile. Here in his “closet”, he can do some reading, or his writings, or just sit and think and analyze and try to work out some solutions to what is bothering him, so that he can come to accept his thoughts and emotions. He says that time seems to be the real cure and then he can go forward again.

Finding life worth living, through the example of others

No persons troubles should be minimized, as we all are unique and we all handle things in a different way with our own strengths. We all have seen people who have made the most of their lives even against tremendous odds.

Meet Nick Vujicic. Watch his following videos...he is an inspiration of hope, faith and courage to all of us. He put me to shame with my whining and complaining:

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=59e9501a8f551df9ff67

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9bc6025b51155e26f6ce

A new year and new determinations

The end of one year and the beginning of a new one seems to bring with it a renewed determination to do better and to try harder.

I hope this is where you are at, in your feelings. I hope that this past Christmas season was good to you and that you felt love and gratitude and know in your heart that you are not alone with your struggles.

There is always someone worse off than we are

No matter how we are feeling on a particular day, there is always someone else that feels a lot worse. Let's try to reach out to that someone else and see if we can help lift that person up a little bit. In the process...we are lifted also.

Some days.......

Be sure to celebrate all your good days and moments

It is important to make a big deal of all the good days and moments that we have. Reward yourself some how, maybe buy a little treat or whatever works for you. By looking for, and recognizing our good moments, we are more conscience of them and will work harder at trying to have those good days. Besides...we sure like the feeling we have when we are up.

Whistle a happy tune

When days are bad and you’re feeling really down...force yourself to whistle or sing a happy tune. Find a song that you like very much and which is catchy and fun, memorize it and whenever you need to give yourself a lift, just whistle or sing it.

Try some midi music:
http://notendur.centrum.is/~sih/midi/

There are also many happy children’s songs that might do the trick for you, so find one of those:
http://bussongs.com/animal_songs.php

Can't I just work through it myself ?

I don’t want to be on any meds for my depression. True, my form of depression is mild compared to other peoples, still it sometimes leaves me not able to function quite like I used to. But I can accept it and deal with it.

I feel the methods I use, explained on this blog, works for me, even though I turn sometimes within myself. I can handle that because I am not a people person anyway and most of the withdrawal/escape happens when I know that I will be in a large group of people. STRANGE HOW THAT DOESN’T BOTHER ME WHEN I SIT IN A MOVIE THEATER FULL OF PEOPLE AND GET LOST IN A FILM !!!

Some of the places/activities where there will be large groups of people, is generally places/activities that appear to no longer interest me like it use to, due to the fact that I am getting older and my interests have changed anyway. So, I choose to just work through my depression episodes by myself, without the aid of meds. By the way, I am also an introvert by nature.

Depression...such an elusive illness

I wish I could completely and fully understand the complexities of depression. Without medication, I deal with mine…and I know my depression is very mild compared to other peoples.

One of my friends, who also has chosen NOT to take meds for depression, is right now suffering terribly. For now, he has shut himself off from others, saying that his depression and mental pain are more than he wants to deal with.

It is so puzzling to me. Why does it have to be such a varied problem? Why does almost everyone suffer with depression in different ways and degrees? Why does one person that I know, who is ON depression meds…still does not feel and act right and has trouble functioning in his life? Why does another person I know, who is also ON meds…lives a fairly normal life, contributes to society and can enjoy doing the things she likes?

The human mind is so complex.