15 ideas to alleviate your depression this September

Aug 31 2010 Published by under Decision, Determination, Information, Inspiration

New month… New season… New suggestions to try to alleviate depression.

You might think: ‘What’s the point! How can these simple and ordinary actions possibly help me to escape the dark and thick cloud of depression?’

Each of these ideas individually is unlikely to cure your depression. However, they are capable to give you the momentum to try something else, reminding you each and every time that life should and can be vibrant, exciting, rewarding and very enjoyable.

Even if you don’t feel like doing anything right now, just by choosing to do what you can when you can, might eventually lead you to a tipping point out of this miserable existence.

So, here are my ideas for this September (apology to all my friends in the Southern Hemisphere if they don’t apply).

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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!

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My decluttering experiment: Unveiling the plans!

Mar 13 2010 Published by under Information

I am a living proof that depression and an accumulation of clutter go hand in hand. I was admired from my early childhood for my natural abilities to make any space organised and clutter-free in no time at all. I had no problems in brief evaluations and confident decisions in regards to what should stay and what should go. My personal space was always tidy, organised and clutter-free.

This has changed. Not overnight, but slowly and surely. My low mood turned into depression over the years, and at the beginning I did not even notice the total chaos in my home. I was falling apart and so did the order in my environment.

Creeping out of depression was not an easy journey. Discovering that I was no longer capable to manage my ‘stuff’ and my home amplified my stress and pain.

Before I knew it, I was on a battlefield. I tried to win the battle by ignoring my clutter and chaos. This strategy did not work and I found myself a casualty of this war.

I tried to convince myself that focusing on decluttering is not important or urgent. Increased stress followed, prompting me to begin addressing my problems…

Then came a shock! I knew my boyfriend was moving in, but somehow I managed to ignore the fact that he was turning up with a load of HIS ‘stuff’!

I still remember the delivery truck driver asking me ‘ Where shall we put the mattress?’ I wanted to scream: ‘I already have a king-size bed and a mattress! Take it away!’

For the next couple of years we were sleeping on a ‘Triple-Decker mattress’. Finally we had to dispose my bed, as getting in and out of it was bordering with competing for the Olympics, especially taking into account my heavily pregnant tummy.

Mike and I have been living together over five years now and the state of our home is causing me lots of stress each and every day. Even though I am no longer feeling depressed, I have this constant feeling of being stuck. Having clutter drains my energy!

So, I have decided to conduct this experiment to investigate whether decluttering can bring you the benefits it claims to bring.

What I am planning to do?

1. Let go of all my useless stuff.
2. Let go of all the stuff that has negative associations in my brain or drains my energy.
3. Let go of all the stuff that I no longer need and that does not resonate with my new life and my goals.
4. Let go or fix all the broken stuff.
5. Let go or finish all my unfinished projects.
6. Give away all the ‘good quality’ stuff, mentioned above, to good causes.
7. Discover what stuff lifts my spirits and improves my moods, and make it available for me to use often.
8. Develop new habits and routines to support me in winning this clutter game.
9. Complete all the above before the autumn equinox.

That’s it for now. You are more than welcome to come back and check my progress.

Any comments, advice and suggestions will be met with kind gratitude. I truly need it!

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