Tired and depressed: True and loyal buddies of your depression

Aug 25 2010 Published by under Decision, Determination, Inspiration

You have been depressed for so long that you are sick and tired of being depressed. You want your life back! You desire to feel happy, confident, successful, valued, connected, interested and interesting. ‘If only I can break the cycle of this depression and set myself free to LIVE the rest of my life!’

The truth is: it’s hard to break free from depression. It’s almost impossible to talk yourself out of it (Would be nice to hear from people who succeeded this way!) It’s also unlikely that a person, who has been crippled by depression, would find strength, discipline and motivation to do and act differently from one particular moment forward.

Why is that?

Continue Reading »

7 responses so far

Why planning your day is important in lifting depression?

May 11 2010 Published by under Information, Inspiration

While it is common to blame inability to plan on depression,

I would like you to consider the possible costs of not planning your day in advance:

  1. You may believe there are no reasons to get out of bed and follow your morning routine.
  2. You may see no point and/or feel no urgency in doing anything during the day.
  3. You may engage yourself in negative self-talk and feeling sorry for yourself as soon as you are awake, as your mind is free of tasks, responsibilities and any excitement.
  4. You may feel pessimistic and lethargic during the day, as you follow no purpose and no passion. Nothing energises you!
  5. You may feel that your life does not belong to you and you are not in control of your decisions and lifestyle.
  6. You may feel drained and drowned by routine and boredom.
  7. You may feel stuck, trapped and powerless.
  8. You may feel overwhelmed by the amount of things to be done.
  9. You may feel unimportant and insignificant.
  10. You may deprive yourself of fun, hobbies and relaxation as you feel you don’t deserve them.
  11. You may feel stressed by things that should have been done yesterday or things that require your immediate attention.
  12. You may regret wasting another day away and go to bed disappointed and defeated.

As you can see failing to plan your day ahead of time is surely a plan to fail. This strategy will erode your self-esteem and will continue to drive you deeper into the darkness of feeling helpless, hopeless and inadequate.

When depressed, you cannot afford to enter another day without planning ahead of time!

Next time, I will illustrate this core message with some examples. Until then…

Stay strong, remain hopeful and seek inspiration!

Read the illustration here (Click on the title): To Plan or Not to Plan: A story of two approaches…

 

Photo by: 123RF Stock Photos

6 responses so far

5 valuable lessons from my decluttering experiment

Apr 24 2010 Published by under Inspiration

Six weeks ago, I started my decluttering experiment. Although I made some progress, the results that excite me most lay not in the renewed order of my personal environment but the knowledge I gained during these past weeks.

Allow me to share this knowledge with you, as some of my insights may be of value to your life too.

Lesson #1: Knowing what and how to do is not enough. Nothing gets done without taking action.

Confession time: I have countless books, e-books and info on decluttering and organising. I’ve read them all. I have a deep knowledge of the topic, as well as a natural ability to organise any space (I was trained as a Home stager). However, during the past few weeks, I procrastinated, postponed, re-scheduled, searched and found really valid excuses, etc.

Saying that, there were a few good days that made my overall progress very noticeable. So, here comes…

Lesson #2: Just a few actions taken in the right direction towards your goal lead to noticeable changes.

Imagine what a consistent plan of actions could deliver you? Which relates directly to…

Lesson #3: Consistency breeds new habits.

My inconsistency halted the development of new habits. As I did not plan and take steps daily, my old habits took over on most days. My lack of visible success led me to frustration, disappointment and struggle on a few occasions. I also fell a victim to introspection and self-blame a few times, which uncovered a new lesson for me.

Lesson #4: Letting go is essential to developing trust in yourself and others.

One of the reasons for my inaction was my fear of letting go. I underestimated my current ability to release things and trust that if and when I needed them again, I would find a way to reclaim them from our abundant universe.

Pondering further, I realised something very profound.

Lesson #5: You need vision, clarity and focus to make true progress.

It is hard to decide what to keep or what to let go if your mind is muddled with endless possibilities or appears to lack clarity, focus and vision.

I am so grateful for these lessons and I am going to take my new insights into account and act accordingly. I will keep you posted!

By the way, while I had no intention to report these lessons as a suggestion for a depression recovery plan, I noticed during my writing that they are indeed invaluable if you are searching for ways to get better.

I hope my insights can be of help to you and I can’t wait to receive your insights, ideas, opinions and feedback.

Stay strong, remain hopeful and seek inspiration!

No responses yet

5 Great Reasons to Smile a Lot and Often

Mar 23 2010 Published by under Decision, Information, Inspiration

How often do you smile? Do you naturally greet people with a smile or are you saving your smiles for better times?

In case you are wondering ‘What is there to smile about?’, ‘Why smile when I am feeling pain or numbness inside?’ or ‘Why deceive everyone with my false smile?’, I hope I can encourage you to review your attitude.

Smiling is good for you! Here is why:  Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Chicken soup for the depressed soul?

Feb 27 2010 Published by under Decision, Information, Inspiration

Did you know that in olden days soups were prescribed to you if you were unwell? In many cultures, it is still the first food served to a person recovering from an illness, especially a long one.

Soups are made all over the world, hence the endless types, varieties and flavours. Making soups is a very old tradition. It is said that restaurants were originally created to serve soups (restoratifs) in 18th century Paris.

What makes soup so special?
Continue Reading »

One response so far

« Newer posts

}