Depression

Thoughts on depression. Depression can be debilitating. It robs us of energy and enthusiasm for life. It takes away appetite, sleep, sex drive, decisiveness, and the will to get up in the morning. It can lead to thoughts of suicide, feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing, and a sense of hopelessness: “Things are always going to be bleak. It’s never going to get any better.” Infidelity does that to us, I felt isolated, almost a feeling of being cut off from the people around me, like being underwater, sort of emotionally underwater, I was not able, nor did I want to make direct physical contact with anyone. People often judge others who suffer from depression as weak. Even if they accept and support someone who's depressed, they will not afford themselves the same love and acceptance. But one important fact to realize about depression is that it can not be wished away. Recovery is your choice. You must first choose to acknowledge that there’s a problem and then you must choose to do something about it. One of the things I’ve started to learn, slowly and painfully over the last few years, is that we may not always have control over how we feel, but we can empower ourselves to create affirmations-new, more positive thoughts-that shed a happier, more optimistic light on what we’re doing. Because if there’s a choice-and I have to believe that in my mind, at least, there usually is-isn’t it better to start from a point of “It’s a beautiful day, and I have my life” rather than “It’s a shitty (or potentially shitty) day, and what good is my worthless existence”?
These are my affirmations:
I am doing the best I can with the understanding, awareness and knowledge I have. As I gain more of this, I will do things differently. If a thought or belief does not serve me, I will let it go. There is no written law that says because once I believed something I have to continue to believe it forever.
Many of the aches and pains I experience are symptoms of a deep process, a process of healing and cleansing my heart and soul.
I will not settle for peace based on outward circumstances or a particular arrangement in my life.
I give myself permission to begin again with whatever I am trying to learn.
I am not at a dead end. I am reaching a new beginning.
I’m sure there are others here that may have others to add, but the idea of “self talk” has helped me a lot. I have even wore a rubber band around my wrist and when I started to have those negative voices whispering in my ear, I’d just pop that rubber band to change my train of thought. I can’t always change my circumstances, but I can change my views. Sometimes it’s hard not to see the suffering, but more often it’s hard not to see the joy. I believe that we usually find what we’re looking for, I am looking for Hope. I am looking for Faith in Humanity, I am looking for Love.