Depression

by Jessica Winblad

Chapter 1 ~ Helping Yourself

Technique 1: open yourself up to help others.
Depressed Person: And what kind of crackpot advice is that?!?! I'm the one who needs help!
Jessica: Let me explain. Just hear me out. I think you'll agree with me.
Why?
It's simple; it will make you feel better. When you start feeling depressed it gets hard to focus on the good things in life. And if you said that to me when i was feeling depressed, chances are I would have responded "Good things??? But there isn't anything good in my life!" But the thing is, that's how it feels to be depressed. You get stuck in this cycle of misery and unhappiness, and often times a feeling of despair and hopelessness. What you need to do is break out of that cycle. Giving is receiving. If you want help, you really have to give first. Helping others is also a way to give your life more purpose and direction. So maybe your job does suck, or your cat isn't coming back from his 10th death ;-), but helping others is something you can look forward to regardless of other problems in your life.
How?
Practice random acts of kindness. Volunteer. Get involved in a club or organization committed to making a difference in some way. You may not think you have time to help others, but it doesn't have to take up lots of time. Simple things, like not flipping off the guy who cut you off on your way to work, but instead saying a blessing for that person, are easy to do. "But why would I say a blessing for them???" The purpose is two-fold. Think about it. They are probably as stressed out as you are. What they need is a hug, not the finger. The other purpose is to calm yourself down. Stopping the swear words running through your head to instead think up a blessing, which also forces you to think about compassion and caring rather than rudeness. My "blessing" usually consists roughly of "May the spirits help that person find more compassion and caring in their life." You can use whatever you are comfortable with. Even if you aren't sure where to start on helping people, just getting that mindset that you want to do that will often times make it a self-fulfilling prophecy, or at the very least more conscious of the way you can affect the lives of those around you in a positive way.

Technique 2: Meditation

"In time, I began to listen regularly to my thoughts and feelings; ESPECIALLY WHEN I was feeling suicidal. Eventually, I discovered that when I was depressed and suicidal, I was only tuning into one very limited aspect of my experience - my depressed and suicidal thoughts. However, through listening to myself, I was able to hear and identify other thoughts and feelings. Some of these thoughts and feelings were profound and self-loving and as such, highly useful." -Kenneth

Technique 3: Sleep

Make sure you are getting enough sleep each night. This may seem quite obvious, yes, but you would be amazed how many people, myself included, forget this step when they are feeling depressed. I tend to find myself saying "But I don't have time for sleep" and then I start stressing about all the things I need to get done, none of which are getting done becuase I'm too busy worrying about them. Well, do you have time to be depressed? Because I have noticed that being depressed takes up quite a lot of time, a lot more time than how much time you would need to sleep.

"But that's the only time I have to talk to my friends online." Well, that may be true, but it's certainly not helping things any to stay up half the night every night. It's only when you aren't feeling depressed that you can see clearly enough how much sleep affects your mood and why it's a good idea to sleep enough, even if it means giving up having a little bit of fun. You'll have a lot more fun not being depressed than you would not getting any sleep and being depressed, trust me.

I'm not suggesting sleeping 18 hours a day now, got that? I'm suggesting make sure you are sleeping a regular schedule with a reasonable amount of sleep. If you're having trouble getting out of bed, maybe you should try technique 1.