The Best Step To Fight Depression

The latest article from the Overcome Depression + Thrive Blog.

Do you want to discover the number one thing you can do RIGHT NOW to help lift yourself up and out of depression, even if, you have absolutely no energy to do anything about it? 

Well, be sure to stay tuned because that’s exactly what we’re going to be discussing in today’s episode of Overcome Depression + Thrive!

Press play now to listen to the Podcast Episode.

READ TRANSCRIPT BELOW:

Hi, and welcome back! As always it’s great to have you here. I’m your host Marie O’Neil, creator of The Complete Self-help System For Overcoming Depression (to learn more, be sure to register for the FREE Masterclass) and the Author of How To Create A Depression-Free Life.

Now, today’s episode has been inspired by an excellent question which has been sent in by Alasdair, so let me read it out to you:

Hi Marie,  
I recently bought your book – which I’ve found really useful – and have also subscribed to your youtube channel and podcasts. 
I have a question for you which I think would not only be useful for me, but to your other listeners.
Your book and your other work is full of ideas to stop and prevent depression. When you’re feeling depressed, however, it’s really hard to find the energy to do a lot about it and when you do try to tackle depression, it’s hard to keep up if you don’t see results quickly.  
So, my question is: If you had to prioritise measures or lessons in your book or podcast – which ones would you put first? Which ones should you do first and which ones are most important?
(I had a bad bout of depression in February/March/April after a few years of being depression-free – it came about after I had a really, really bad cold and I think that might have something to do with it. I tried lots of the things in your book and lots of other things too – mindfulness, turmeric, exercise, vitamin supplements, drinking more water, avoiding alcohol, screen free Sabbath, keeping a diary of positive experiences etc and I feel a lot better – but because I did all of them at the same time, I’m not sure which one(s) actually made the difference  
Thanks,
Alasdair

Well, firstly thanks for your question Alasdair, it’s a great question and I know exactly what you’re experiencing, because I’ve done the exact same thing myself!

I’ve tried a tonne of stuff all at once, my situation improved and then, I thought; Which one worked? Which one was the key? Which one, really did the trick?

It makes sense, right? 

I mean, we wanna work smarter, not harder in depression! 

After all, in the midst of depression we don’t have any energy to waste in working harder! So, we want to make sure we’re smart and we’re using what little energy we do have, on the right stuff!

So, which things should you do first and which are most important when it comes to freeing yourself from depression, especially when you have no energy to actually DO anything?

Well, Alasdair without knowing you personally or being aware of your specific life situation, I couldn’t say what’s the most important step for you to take first, but I will say this….

The most vital step for anyone wanting to lift themselves up and out of depression, is this: 

Accept the moment and just be depressed. 

Now, I know this may seem unnatural, it may even seem that you’re working against yourself because I’m basically asking you to do nothing about it. 

It seems really stupid, right?  

I mean, how can you beat depression if you don’t fight against it or do anything about it? 

But, sometimes in life certain situations call for us to go against our natural instincts to survive.  

For example, if we’re thrown into a river and we cannot swim, what’s the best course of action?  

Is it to struggle and thrash about in the water, to try and take action and do whatever we can to stay afloat?  

No, that fighting against the water, only helps to drag us under, it wastes our energy and we end up drowning ourselves even faster.   

Whereas, if we were to simply stop resisting the situation, if we stopped fighting with the water and we simply let go of control, relax, and float, we’ll see that the natural flow of the water will bring us to safety. 

Well, depression is no different!  The more you fight against it, resist it or try and push it away, the more you’ll be dragged under.  

So, from today…

Just accept the moment, if you feel depressed – be depressed and let go of all control and judgement and I promise you, you’ll start to see your energy naturally change.

But, if we do what we normally do – as in – first – we get depressed and then we get depressed because of the depression. 

Now, we have two depressions to deal with: The first – natural one. And, the second – self-inflicted one.

Because, here’s the deal… 

When our mind takes over and we begin to feel bad about being depressed, the usual thoughts start circulating like…..

“Why do I get depressed?” – “I should not get depressed!” – “It shouldn’t be this way!” – “Why does this always happen to me?” – “What’s wrong with me?” – “Why am I depressed?” – “This isn’t right?!”  

In other words, we start fighting, tussling with the depression. 

And, that’s the cycle you need to break if you want to not only free yourself from depression today but truly, depression-proof your life.  

Always remember, the first authentic depression is fine, it’s natural, but the second depression is unreal and this unreal depression will screw up your mind.

So, that’s the first, most vital step we need to take when we find ourselves stuck in depression.  We simply need to accept the moment and just be genuinely depressed, without any judgement, fear, shame or anxiety.  

Now, let’s explore your message some more Alasdair because, you’ve also written:

“You’ve tried lots of the things in my book – as well as – mindfulness, turmeric, exercise, vitamin supplements, drinking more water, avoiding alcohol, Screen-free Sabbath, keeping a diary of positive experiences etc and you feel a lot better – but since you did all of them at the same time, you’re not sure which ones actually made the difference”

Well, without knowing you personally or knowing your specific life situation my guess is all of them helped you. 

Because, they’re all highly beneficial for different reasons.  Everything you’ve listed either improves mental, emotional or physical well-being.  

So, you have a couple of options here:

• Since all these things made you feel better, you simply drop the need to discover “which one is best” or “which one made the difference” and just integrate them all into your life.  Because, you’ve already said they help you feel a lot better, so why would you not want to include them into your daily life?

• On the other hand, if you’re dead set on finding out what works best for you, then that’s where option 2 comes in, which is to simply take each of these things you’ve listed and either add or subtract them from your day and notice how you feel. 

For instance, you’ve been doing some mindfulness techniques and you’re feeling better but if you want to discover IF these techniques are actually doing anything, then simply stop doing them for a period of time and see how your mood, energy levels and mindset change.

Do you feel better or worse? 

This is only way we can know what’s truly working for us on a personal level. We either add it or subtract it from our life and see how we feel.  

Now, I don’t know whether you’ve heard of the term Elimination Diet before, but that’s a diagnostic procedure where you simply add or subtract foods from your diet to identify which foods cause adverse reactions within your unique body-mind system.   Well, that’s all you’re really doing here, but instead of foods, you’re simply testing which activities or lifestyle changes bring you the greatest benefits. 

The key is to not get caught up in worrying about going wrong anywhere.

Just give something a go. If it works for you – keep it, if it doesn’t – drop it and find something else. 

Now, I really want to emphasis that from what Alasdair has written I believe he’s taken the best approach, any of us can take towards depression and that is, to quite literally surround depression or tackle it from both sides – the body and the mind. 

For example, he’s incorporated some dietary changes with the turmeric, some lifestyle changes with the reduction of alcohol and the screen-free sabbaths and he’s included mindfulness into his life which is proven to calm both the body and the mind. 

So, he’s taken a well-rounded approach and as a result, he’s feeling a lot better.  And, that’s because he’s integrated things into his life which help to heal BOTH body and mind. 

Here’s why that’s important…

Just stop and ask yourself:

• Where’s the dividing line inside you which says mind on one side – body on the other? 
• Where do your emotions start and your beliefs end? 
• Where does your body split away from your mind?

You see, what we need to be aware of when it comes to overcoming depression is that the mind and body CANNOT be divided.

They’re not two separate things.

The mind is an inner part of the body and the body is an outer part of the mind, so anything can start in the body and enter the mind and vice versa.

We have a mind-body connection, which means, if you truly want to create a depression-free life for yourself and those you love, you need to start integrating things into your daily life, just as Alasdair has done which help to heal BOTH the body and mind.  

Now, to be honest I could delve deeper into this question from so many angles but due of time constraints I’m just going to leave it there today…

But, the biggest takeaway I really want everybody whose listening to grasp, is that authentic, genuine depression is fine, it’s natural, there’s nothing wrong in it and there’s nothing wrong with you!

It’s the second depression, the ‘being depressed about being in depression’ – which is unreal/unnatural and it’s that, which can really screw up our mind, screw up our life and our overall health and well-being.  

So, when you find yourself stuck in depression, don’t get caught up in your mind, just do your best to stay grounded in your body. Just relax, accept the moment and simply be genuinely depressed. Feel whatever you’re feeling without any judgement, fear, shame or anxiety. 

Now, if you would like help with implementing anything we’ve spoken about today, or you would like a supportive hand to guide you through the process of personally overcoming your depression, then be sure to visit overcomedepressionandthrive.com and secure your private consultation with me today.

Thanks for joining me in another episode of Overcome Depression + Thrive.  I hope you enjoyed it.  If you did, I would love to know in the comments section below, what really resonated with you, or helped you out the most.  

If you have any questions you’d like answered on this show or you would like access to additional free resources then be sure to visit overcomedepressionandthrive.com and you’ll discover everything you need there.

Until next week, remember…

It’s always the darkest just before the dawn. 

Take care, talk to you soon Your browser does not support the audio element.