Overcoming Depression Permanently
October 11th, 2006Spiritual seekers or anyone interested in personal development or self improvement have often been lead onto this path due to a continuing trend of bad experiences in life, regular feelings of unhappiness or to help them in overcoming depression. Without attention these negative thoughts and feelings may lead to chronic depression and subsequently a feeling of helplessness. This often feels like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and no matter how hard you try, you feel like things are only getting worse and you have no way out. This is an awful place to be.
When depression sets in it feels like you are no longer in control and seemingly nothing ever makes you happy anymore or the happy periods are so briefly intertwined in your unhappy state you barely notice them, this is when overcoming depression can seem like an uphill battle. Overcoming depression on the surface can seem to be caused by so many different things, the breakup of a relationship, loss of job or very commonly a lack of money.
It is not the debt or the relationship that is making you feel depressed it is you and only you who is causing your depression. So overcoming depression is largely up to you. I know what you are thinking right now, why would I purposely make myself depressed. The problem lies not in the external circumstance like debt but in your thinking about the debt. Even though you may seem to be spending a whole lot of time trying to figure out how to get out of debt, these very thoughts are keeping you in debt. What ever you habitually think about is what will come to you. Unhappiness breeds unhappiness, likewise happy thoughts breed more happy thoughts. Successfully overcoming depression permanently is about dealing with your habitual thoughts, not external problems like debt, loneliness or no job.
You may or may not be aware of the Law of Attraction, but it is constantly in effect 100% of the time. No matter what the external circumstances are your repetitive negative thinking only brings more negative or unhappy experiences into your life. By substituting the negative thoughts with positive thoughts, you will, over time, begin to overcome depression. The answer to overcoming depression is fairly straightforward and only you can make things better however the solution may not seem so simple when you try to implement it into your life and into your train of thought. This will take some practice and some patience but as you begin to master the technique of self monitoring your thoughts you will be able to use this wonderful power to achieve success in all areas of your life.
There is no need in trying to identify the problem as your feelings alone will indicate when there is a problem. By this I mean, at anytime you are feeling depressed or miserable you need to take action by changing your thoughts immediately and this will begin the process of overcoming depression. Or even better, stop thinking altogether and try to simply stay in the moment but this can be difficult as our mind is almost constantly thinking. So one effective technique I use whenever negative thoughts arrive in my head is to replace them with a thought that makes me feel happy and this can be anything at all. If, for example you are feeling depressed about not being in a relationship don’t try and replace that thought with the feeling of being in a good relationship as this may eventually lead you back to the fact that you are unhappy about not having one and will not help in overcoming depression. Instead try refocusing on something completely different that makes you feel good like going on a holiday to a beach resort and think about this with as much good emotion and detail as possible. Let your imagination run free, you can do this as there is no limit to your imagination. See yourself walking along the beach in the sun, swimming in the crystal clear water, smiling and having fun. Couple these positive images in your mind with a simple positive affirmation like, I feel happy and relaxed, and repeat this effortlessly. This is a simple and easy routine that will help towards overcoming depression permanently.
Another example if you happen to be depressed about money is not to try and think about money directly but imagine yourself relaxing in your own house, once again don’t hold back your imagination. See yourself wandering around the house, inside and out, talking to friends as you give them a guided tour. Imagine the things they might say, like, your new house is beautiful, I really like the furniture, the carpet feels wonderful to walk on with bare feet, the tiles in the bathroom complement the house and the huge pool in the backyard surrounded by trees makes me want to go for a swim. You can build on your imagination the more times you go to your imaginary place, like seeing your new car all shiny in the garage and chatting with your friendly neighbors.
If you have trouble with trying to see what makes you happy in your minds eye, don’t worry about it, perhaps draw a picture of your new house or your new car or of yourself walking along the sandy beach. It doesn’t matter if you are not a good artist, your mind will fill in the blanks, the picture is simply a reminder of something that makes you happy. Remember this is just a technique to help you to overcome depression. You could draw a number of small pictures and keep them in your wallet or purse and look at them when you can if a negative thought about your current situation pops into your head. The more you do this the better you will get at it and in time you will be able to catch those negative thoughts as soon as they enter your mind and as you become proficient at avoiding the negative thought pattarns you will be well on your way to overcoming depression.
By knowing or believing in this process you are already half way to overcoming depression permanently. It may seem difficult at first to replace your negative thinking with positive thoughts especially if you have been depressed for some time but remember it took a certain amount of time for your depression to really set in. At first, you probably started feeling bad just occasionally but the more attention you gave to your negative situation the worse it got and finally it became full blown depression consuming most of your day. The same thing will occur in reverse as you start to overcome depression and as you begin the process of becoming happy again. It won’t happen overnight but the more you focus on the positive images in your mind and feelings of happiness the quicker this will become your new reality.
The ideal time to impregnate your subconscious mind with a new happy set of feelings is first thing in the morning and especially just before you fall asleep. Affirmations and visualization at these times can really make a difference towards overcoming depression and in adopting a new positive outlook. Remember, you don’t need to think about your problems to make them go away, you simply need to transmute your negative feelings with positive ones. As you notice yourself overcoming depression and begin to feel better, you will find the answers to your problems will just appear and at these times it is up to you to act on these opportunities as they arrive.
As much as possible stay away from people you know to be negative and never talk about your problems unnecessarily. There may be times when you need to talk to someone who is genuinely trying to help you with your situation but never get bogged down in negative or destructive conversations. For example, if someone asks you how you are feeling, automatically tell them how good you feel. Your own words have tremendous power over your reality so use this to your advantage any chance you get and this way you will make great progress towards overcoming depression permanently.
When you are not working and have time to yourself do the things that make you feel happy. Spend time with positive friends, exercising is great since when you do it your brain releases endorphins which will give you a natural high and a sense of well being, watch a funny movie, not a depressing or violent one, read easy to read books that are uplifting or any information related to personal development. At times in my life when I have felt depressed and felt like there was no way out, I started reading books about the power of the mind and in hindsight although I felt very low at the time, the depressing times were actually a blessing in disguise as they got me onto the right path and helped make me a more complete and balanced person. Even though I feel good most of the time these days I continue to read books of this nature and this led me to starting this website which makes me feel good about myself and hopefully will help others feel good to.
So stop dwelling on your unhappy circumstances and the problems in your life and change your thoughts to something positive when you catch yourself thinking negatively, this is of paramount importance while overcoming depression. Worrying about your problems or even thinking of ways to improve your situation is only going to make matters worse. Let go of any thought as soon as you recognize it is negative. It is easy to identify since your underlying feelings will always indicate if your thought is negative or positive. Never take a forceful approach to your problems when considering how to overcome depression, instead, stay calm and focus your attention on anything that makes you feel good and quicker than you think the answers to your problems will appear thanks to keeping your attention on the positive instead of the negative. Once you learn how to overcome depression I’m sure, just as I did, you will be thankful for the depressing times as now you have the power to control your feelings and live life on your terms, happily.
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