I read a reader's manic tirade on Facebook last night. She was frustrated especially with Depression and ADHD and how it affects her quality of life. I offered words of comfort, but sometimes these things need to be worked out by the individual. I don't know her life so I really can't offer good advice.
In the absence of good advice and the support of friends & family, you have only yourself and the God that made you in the end. It can feel very lonely. That's where I've been at lately. I've said a lot of prayers, searched myself, and applied every tool I can think of to stay above Depression. I've never felt so fragile.
And, like my reader experienced, it's really starting to tick me off.
Since I'm busy writing my ADHD book today, I wanted to quickly touch base with you folks and share two things I did to recently overcome a recent bout of Depression. My goal was to lift my spirits and move my life forward. If you follow my blog, you know that I had Depression in control until last year when my marriage crumbled. I've had a tough time of it since then. Some days are worse than others, and I haven't experienced suicidal thoughts in a few weeks, or suicidal ideation in months. So, yay me. But when a funk threatened to derail my plans and plant me on my couch in a permanent cloud of despair, I hatched a new plan that took days to complete, but yielded great results:
One Small Step After Another
What I hope you take away from this short article is that you can push yourself forward despite Depression. It isn't easy, I assure you. I feel as if my entire life has been spent in preparation for dealing with my divorce. Nine months later and I'm still traumatized. Being laid off twice really hasn't helped. I have never been so lonely and miserable in my life. Even High School wasn't this bad.
That may be the reality, but I do have plans that pull me forward. I have faith in Jesus that I can overcome diversity and I have a smidgen of gumption that flares bright when I most need it. The non-depressives NEVER understand how hard it is to function with such crushing sadness, but function we can. You may place your faith in a different god than I do. You may not even believe in deity. But you should believe in yourself. Worry only about how you compare to your own progress. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. As long as you are moving forward, then you are overcoming this malady, even if it is only one small step at a time. Good luck!
Now back to writing.
I won't pretend I am a busy person who deigns to come down from my personal Olympus and commune with the plebes. I write because I like to; I write to connect and help. If anything I write is of use to you, please show your appreciation with a comment or a donation. Thank you for all your support.
In the absence of good advice and the support of friends & family, you have only yourself and the God that made you in the end. It can feel very lonely. That's where I've been at lately. I've said a lot of prayers, searched myself, and applied every tool I can think of to stay above Depression. I've never felt so fragile.
And, like my reader experienced, it's really starting to tick me off.
Since I'm busy writing my ADHD book today, I wanted to quickly touch base with you folks and share two things I did to recently overcome a recent bout of Depression. My goal was to lift my spirits and move my life forward. If you follow my blog, you know that I had Depression in control until last year when my marriage crumbled. I've had a tough time of it since then. Some days are worse than others, and I haven't experienced suicidal thoughts in a few weeks, or suicidal ideation in months. So, yay me. But when a funk threatened to derail my plans and plant me on my couch in a permanent cloud of despair, I hatched a new plan that took days to complete, but yielded great results:
One Small Step After Another
- I rewrote my résumé and created a new cover letter to include with it. This was difficult because one needs faith in oneself to sell oneself. So I did a little bit everyday. That was the only way to finish the task. It seems pitiful, I know, but the alternative was to give up. So plodding along one step at a time was the answer. Then I wouldn't allow myself to have any fun two Saturdays until I had finished the résumé and submitted it. I sent it to two different jobs. I will tweak it again and submit it to several other similar jobs. Then I will start writing a new résumé to target the next batch of jobs. I even applied for another job yesterday. Step by step I move forward despite Depression.
- I went dancing. It was a crazy, impulsive thing, but I was determined to do it. After family drama put me behind schedule by two hours, I finally finished submitting my résumé at 10:53pm on that Saturday night. Then I got ready and drove to the dance. I was determined and arrived 17 minutes before they closed. I managed to get one dance in, my first dance in 25 years with a woman who wasn't my ex-wife. Then I spent Sunday feeling guilty about it. It was so weird! But I got over that by the end of the day. Now I'm glad I went, and I plan on going again. Maybe tonight? No. No job; no money. But I won't spend my night slumped on the couch alone. Boring… I'll figure something out.
What I hope you take away from this short article is that you can push yourself forward despite Depression. It isn't easy, I assure you. I feel as if my entire life has been spent in preparation for dealing with my divorce. Nine months later and I'm still traumatized. Being laid off twice really hasn't helped. I have never been so lonely and miserable in my life. Even High School wasn't this bad.
That may be the reality, but I do have plans that pull me forward. I have faith in Jesus that I can overcome diversity and I have a smidgen of gumption that flares bright when I most need it. The non-depressives NEVER understand how hard it is to function with such crushing sadness, but function we can. You may place your faith in a different god than I do. You may not even believe in deity. But you should believe in yourself. Worry only about how you compare to your own progress. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. As long as you are moving forward, then you are overcoming this malady, even if it is only one small step at a time. Good luck!
Now back to writing.
I won't pretend I am a busy person who deigns to come down from my personal Olympus and commune with the plebes. I write because I like to; I write to connect and help. If anything I write is of use to you, please show your appreciation with a comment or a donation. Thank you for all your support.
