Depression isn’t just feeling sad, it is a profound sadness that lasts for a long period of time and affects aspects of our daily lives and relationships. Mental disorders such as depression are seen as a weakness by some, and many people going through depression are told to just get over it or that their problems aren’t that serious. According to the World Health Organization a suicide occurs every 40 seconds and an attempt at suicide is made every 3 seconds. Finding a way to deal with and overcome depression can be really difficult because the cause of depression is different for lots of people as are the types of depression they experience.
The first signs of depression are very subtle. It begins with your mind not to reacting to things in the way you usually do. You don’t relate to the things your friends are talking about, and everything you’re doing feels like a chore. It’s a gradual change and often those closest to us might not even pick it up because we pretend that we’re still thinking and feeling the same way we always have. We try to deal with it on our own but these irrational thoughts get to us at all parts of the day and night until we’re not just thinking a thought but feeling the emotion that comes with that thought – and it’s not a good emotion to be feeling all the time.
I am someone that has experienced depression and pinpointing one specific thing that triggered it is close to impossible. At first I was just sad about my past, my present and where I felt my future was headed – or wasn’t headed rather. Then I just felt myself gliding mechanically through each day, no new ideas or creations, just me trying to survive. Technology and brain scans now show us that when a person is depressed, the frontal lobe of the brain, which is responsible for managing high level executive functions, decreases in size. I then moved to the next stage which is different for many people but for me included feeling like human existence is a lie and that nothing in the world really matters. I was extremely lucky to have had the right kind of support and guidance during my depression, although I wasn’t so receptive to it at first. This is why I believe that getting through depression is not only possible, but also achievable without medication.
Step 1: Shock your mind out of sadness (even momentarily)
What I found was that when I exposed myself to a new situation, my mind and body couldn’t react on autopilot. It was forced into a position of trying to figure out how to navigate this new situation and thereby feeling an emotion other than sadness. You’ll find that your mind will react this way automatically; all you have to do is place yourself in that unknown situation.
Step 2: Meditate
As you keep shocking yourself by exploring the unknown outside of you, take some time to explore the unknown inside of you. Meditating is a great practice to find peace within yourself and your life, however it can be difficult at first – I know it was for me. So instead of immediately trying to clear you mind just pay attention to your breathing. Even if you only manage to spend 2 minutes doing this, it still is a big accomplishment.
Step 3: Energy clearing
When we feel a certain emotion for a long period of time, the energy in our bodies becomes stagnant. A simple exercise that you could do to release this energy is lift your hands up to the sky and breathe in and out deeply two times. Then reach down and touch your toes and breathe in and out deeply again two times. You will feel an immediate release.
Step 4: Sharing
This is the most important step, sharing your feelings and thoughts with others. As you may have noticed the previous steps were about changing your focus away from your depression and in doing so you will have received certain revelations. When we stop thinking, we leave room for answers to just flow to us from a place of clarity. At this point it is really helpful to either write down the thoughts or to confide in someone you trust. If you feel like you don’t have someone like that in your life then I recommend contacting any of the following numbers or websites.
0861 322 322 – life line SA
0800 456 789 – South African Depression and Anxiety group. 24/HR
Or you can visit the Cipla website where they have online chats available
https://www.cipla.co.za/mental-health/
It is important to remember that depression is an illness like any other and we need to treat it as such. Seeking out help and taking the necessary care for yourself will not only alleviate your depression but also help you lead a more fulfilling life. I hope that this article provides some guidance for you and you are always welcome to contact us via our support room.
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Purple Empaths 