10 Ways To Fight Depression
Written by Kit Summers
First off, what you tell yourself, then how it really is.
1. In your mind your main thoughts are that life is hard.
Most Joyful people know that life can be difficult, yet they tend to get through hard times with an attitude of curiosity and interest versus feeling like a victim. Joyful people take responsibility for how they got “themselves” into the mess, and they focus on getting themselves out of it as soon as they can.
Determination towards results instead of complaining over what happens is in the mind of a joyful person. Sad people see themselves as victims of this life and they stay stuck in the old, “look what happened to me (again)” attitude, versus finding a way through and back to a good life.
Find and bring on joy in your life, we have that choice.
2. You believe most other people can’t be trusted.
A healthy insight is important, and most joyful people are trusting of others. They believe in the good in most people, versus assuming many others are out to get them. Generally open and friendly towards people, untroubled people have a sense of joy in life and are excited to meet new people with an open mind and heart.
Sad people are skeptical of new people they meet and assume that others can’t be trusted. Sorry to say, this attitude starts to close the door on any possible connections outside of an inner-web and impedes chances of meeting new possible friends.
Keep a certain trust in most people, try and make them a friend.
3. You focus on what’s wrong in the world as opposed to what’s right.
We have a choice, to see what is good in the world, or mainly see the bad. There are many problems that can come up, sad people look away from what works and just see what’s wrong. These people are the ones who constantly say, in their mind, “yeah but”.
Contented people know of worldwide issues, but they balance their concern, using an open mind, with seeing what works. Sad people tend to close their mind towards anything positive in fear they might not see what’s wrong; they look for the bad. Joyful people see both the good, and the bad. They know that the world has problems and they also keep an eye on what works.
Hold on to the bright future that you will be living.
4. You compare yourself to others, hold jealousy, and often put them above you.
Sad people believe someone else’s good fortune steals from their own. They believe there’s not enough goodness to go around and selfishly compare yours against theirs. This leads to jealousy, pain and resentment.
Joyful people know that we are in charge and good luck and circumstance are just signs of what they, too, can aspire to achieve. Untroubled people believe they carry a unique way that can’t be copied or stolen from. They believe in the unlimited possibilities and don’t get slowed down by thinking someone else’s good fortune limits their possible future in life.
A positive mindset will bring you far; you are the best.
5. You Live for Yourself Rather than Help others
The gloomy person thinks things should be done for them and toward them. As you know, this can’t be part of a happy life. Each of us mainly is out for ourselves, but, you see, the more you help others the better your life will become.
Sad people believe that, when things go wrong or bad, it is someone else’s fault and they get down and think it was “done to them”. Joyful people see the changes, work toward using the change to their advantage, and know that the more they get out and help others the better their life will become.
The more you help other people, the better your life will be.
6. Exercise is the Last Thing You Want to Do.
Sad people tend to sit around and mope. Happy people are out doing things, often exercising. I’m sure you’ve felt it, the clearing of mind that exercise brings on. Depressed? Workout and you will fix you. The relief may not come right away, but give it time, and you will find your depression fading away. Push yourself to exercise more and to stay on track in your mind AND your body.
Many studies have shown that exercise promotes mental health and reduces the symptoms of depression. Thirty minutes of intense exercise each day and you will see amazing results. The antidepressant result of regular exercise is comparable to potent antidepressant drugs like Prozac.
Start today and you will see changes happen in your mind and body in a short time.
7. You aim to “manage” your life.
There’s a big difference between being in control and striving to work toward goals. Joyful people take steps often to get results, even through difficult times. Eventually they see that they have very little control over what life throws at them.
Sad people make an effort to control all aspects of things and fall apart when life throws a wrench in their procedure. Happy people can be just as directed, yet, still have the ability to go with the flow and not fall apart when life brings on change. The key is to stay focused, but still allow room for letting change happen (without you falling apart.) Going with the flow is what happy people have as a way out and around things that come up.
Be ready for change and your life will run smoother.
8. You look to your future with worry and fear.
Your mind can only take so much. Unhappy people fill their thoughts with what “could” go wrong versus what “might” go right. It’s a choice each of us has, to hold good thoughts in our mind or the negative or positive. Happy people take on a healthy dose of fantasy and allow themselves to daydream about what their future “could” be and become. Sad people fill that same space in their mind with constant frustration, worry and fear.
Happy people experience fear and worry, of course, but see the difference between feeling things that occur and dealing with them. When fear or worry cross a happy person’s mind, they will ask themselves if there’s anything “they” can do to prevent their fear or worry from happening. Then, they settle in with this change.
Take control of your mind, think the right thoughts, live the life that you have dreamed of.
9. You fill your conversations with gossip and complaints.
Sad people often live in the past and bring these thoughts into conversations. They think about what has happened to them and the hardships they have or are going through as their conversation of choice. When they run out of things to say, they turn to other people’s hardships. Happy people live in the now and dream about the future. These positive people are excited about their future and can’t wait to tell others. They say of something they’re working on, grateful for what they have and dreaming about the possibilities of life.
Obviously none of us are perfect. We’re all going to swim in negative waters at times, but what matters is how long we stay there and how quickly we work to get ourselves out. Positive conversations is what sets happy people apart from unhappy people.
See the good in life, talk mainly of good, your life will be good.
10. When You are Down You Stay Down.
We all get down at times, and, of course, we have been very happy and up. The problem is that sad people tend to get down, see no way out, and stay there. Happy people see that in the future things can change, they will find a way through and come back to better times. Depression feeds itself and some people see no way out. We have to always keep in mind that we can live a better life if we can envision such in our mind.
Balance is the key. When you are down, know that you will find a way back up and this down won’t last forever. When you are up know that you “might” be back down. If you can get a firm grip on this in your mind, you will never suffer from depression again.
Use your mind right, stay up, and live a better life.
