Tuesday's Tips and Tricks: basic tips to beat the blues

We ALL have days when we are just.... meh.

We ALL have days when we honestly are just mad...at everything.

We ALL have days when we wish we could just stay in bed until the day passes.

We ALL have bad days.

I've learned some very effective ways to attack bad days these past 12 months. I want to share the ones that work best for me.

Please understand... I'm no expert on depression. I only know me. I know how I feel and how my depression works. I know that I need medicine to help keep my depression at bay. The suggestions I'm listing today are not to be taken as a substitute for medical treatment or recommendations. These are things that I have found to be helpful in ADDITION to medicine and regular visits with my counselor. Okay? We clear?

Good.

When I feel the dark cloud of depression slipping its razor sharp claws around me, I WANT to cower and hide. I WANT to disappear. It can be overwhelming, suffocating, and paralyzing, but  there are several things I've learned do in self defense. These things are active, not passive. This isn't "think yourself happy." Okay?

1. Talk about it. This is so important. Tell someone that you are struggling. Bringing those dark thoughts into the light takes away their power....but you HAVE to talk about it in order to benefit from this. 
2. Get Up and Get Dressed. This is one is so simple, but SO hard. When you feel "meh" you don't WANT to get out of bed or off the couch. You WANT to just let the day pass you by. Fight that desire to just disappear! Get UP! Get a shower! Get DRESSED!
3. Get Moving! Depression is paralyzing. Fight that paralysis with MOVEMENT! Get UP! Take a walk, do some jumping jacks, ride a bike, fold the laundry, sweep the carport, rake leaves...just MOVE. Get your blood flowing. Get your heart pumping. JUST MOVE!
4. Get outside. Sometimes we just need some sunshine and fresh air. This goes hand in hand with moving your body. Go outside and sit and listen to the birds, the rustling of the leaves, watch the clouds, soak up some sunshine. I know this is hard in the cold months of the year. I have a friend who moved north and bought a sun lamp to help her through the long winter months. Honestly, sometimes you just need some fresh air to clear your head and blow away those dark clouds.
5. Surround your self with things that reflect the mood you WANT, not the mood you HAVE. This was a real game changer for me. I realized that, by listening to music, watching movies and TV, and reading things that reflected my mood, I was reinforcing that mood. I was solidifying and strengthening the mood I didn't want to be in by surrounding myself with things that amplified the mood. I stopped doing that and started surrounding myself with things that reflect how I WANT to feel and who I WANT to be... it helps more than you can imagine.
6. STOP FEEDING DEPRESSION. To be honest, there are days when I just want to wallow in my depression. I want to wrap myself in it and just...wallow. I want to dredge up every bad and sad thing that has ever happened and rot in it. If you have ever been depressed, you know exactly what I'm describing. We tell ourselves that we deserve to be allowed to wallow, that others don't understand how hard it is to live with depression, and that it is just too hard to fight. Well I KNOW how hard it is to live with depression and I KNOW that thinking we deserve to be allowed to wallow in it is a lie from the pit of hell. Satan wants us in bondage to whatever he can find. Depression works well for him and he uses it liberally. STOP FEEDING IT! Take a deep breath and stop that downward spiral into nothingness. 
7. GET HELP! If you are depressed and cannot find your way out of the darkness, reach out for help. Do not sit in darkness alone. Do not be ashamed or embarrassed for reaching out for help. If you had cancer you would get help. If you were Diabetic, you would get help and take your insulin. Get help for your depression. Take meds to help you fight against the darkness. Treat it just as you would any other illness.
8. Take care of yourself. Get enough sleep (but not too much), eat food that fuels your body. Get some exercise. Set aside some time for mental, spiritual, and physical rest. 
9. Finally... get you some Jesus. I believe that this is the single most positive life changing thing a person can embrace. I know that not everyone believes that Jesus is the Messiah. Some people don't even believe in A Messiah at all. Some don't believe in the soul changing power of the Holy Spirit. My faith in Christ Jesus has been the one absolute thing that has set me apart from others I've met traveling this same road. My hope is found in Jesus. My strength comes from knowing who I am... and WHOSE I am. The most hopeless people I've met all have one thing in common... not one of them professes to be a Christian. In fact, they all, without exception, have told me plainly that they do not believe in God and do not follow Jesus.

Just so ya know.. this is an ongoing struggle. This weekend, I failed at all of these, even though I KNOW what will make me feel better! I think I really was just super tired (Iz and the preacher were out of town last week and I didn't sleep well). I slept... a LOT... this weekend, but didn't feel particularly out of sorts. Just really really sleepy.

But I slept. I didn't do any of the things that I listed here. I'm not sure that I didn't just need the rest. I feel great today!

Much love and big hugs!

K