Swimming Through Depression

It is easy to assume no one else feels what we feel (or has the ‘absence’ of feeling, if that is the form your depression comes in). The calm public exterior we see on others, the confident words we read on blogs (like mine), the ‘down-to-business’ or worse, the ‘smiley-happy-people’ world we interact with can lead us to believe that others don’t struggle like we struggle. When we are in leadership positions, or know that others are looking to us, or up to us, we can feel particularly isolated in our dark times. Feeling like we are letting people down can make the gloom even worse.

But there are things we can do to help ourselves, to keep better distance from the threat. Though there may be many factors contributing to depression outside of our control, there are many things we can do to reduce our vulnerability to it. We are not helpless.

Here are some things I pay particular attention to to reduce my vulnerability:

– I am careful to get more restful sleep.

– I am careful to get more solitary time to recharge emotionally and mentally (I am an introvert with ‘good social skills’). I have social limits that I must respect.

– I am careful about what forms of ‘entertainment’ I expose myself to, especially sensitive to the effects of certain kinds of music and movies.

– I am careful about what I put in my body, including medications, sugar, processed foods, articifial substances, and stimulants.

– I invest heavily in my spiritual life- I maintain a strong sense of connection with God through Jesus. I am connected to some thing good, loving and stable outside myself.

– I have developed skill for ‘framing’ my situations into a positive or constructive storyline- even my struggles and failures have purpose.

– I have cut down my exposure to people who reinforce a negative, or fearful view of life.

– And, I swim.

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