Depression Relief: Getting back the spark of joy
Whenever we feel overwhelmed with any emotion or task, remember to practice the first mind calming exercise. To review go to the video guide. It will help you to change your state of mind to one of calm. Once you have changed your state of mind we move to the next step.
Changing from self blame to self acceptance.
1. Recovering from depression is a process, keep taking one small step at at time. Because it is difficult to motivate yourself when depressed it is important to keep the steps really small.
2. Learn how to be kinder to yourself as you are. Sending compassion to yourself.
What is compassion and how to use it.
When I send compassion to another my thought is simply: I wish that your burdens are lighter. Another thought when sending compassion is: May you suffering be less and I wish you joy in your life. So when we send compassion to ourself it is also the thought seeing the struggle and the wish for it to be lessened.
Sending compassion exercise:
Idea 1. Learning how to send compassions:
Think of a young child who is feeling rejected, sad or hopeless and imagine that you are sending that child the wish for their suffering to be less. That is a way to send compassion.
Idea 2. Compassion has no judgement to it. It is a statement of a wish for another’s suffering to be less. It is as if you are looking at a child and understanding how hard it must be for him with the wish for the burden or stress to be lifted. Sending compassion works so well because you are accepting things as they are and wishing for the other to feel loved or lighter, or whatever the wish you have.
Idea 3: Think about what might wish for a child or another person who is suffering? You might be send the wish (or thought) that their life become easier. Or the wish that the burdens be lifted.
Idea 4: Sending compassion to your own suffering soul.
This is also the beautiful thought wishing that our own heavy heart to feel lifted. Or you might be sending the wish for life to be easier, and that you will know joy.
Idea 5. Depression drains the passion from your life. Therefore its important to find the tiny seeds of joy. Little tiny seconds of something to be thankful for. The sky on a beautiful day, the clean snow as it flutters down from the sky. Some very simply joy you begin to look for every day.
Push yourself to find something that is in some way a positive. The color of the leaves if that is pleasing to you, a thankfulness for the clean air you are breathing. Find things that you can be thankful for – tiny things. All that is needed is a second or two every day, as you begin to look for and notice something to appreciate. No matter how dark it seems.
Idea 6. Small steps makes big wins. Each tiny step in the process will help you to know you have done one thing, one tiny step in a direction toward the goal of feeling passion and joy again. And these small steps add up and create new pathways in your mind. So that in time the positive moments you notice seem natural. And each small step will help to motivate you so you take the next tiny next step.
And one day you will surprise yourself
at what you have accomplished.
The Next step: Identify underlying triggers.
1. It is possible to change even the most heavy feeling of depression and hopelessness. To get the deepest change we find out what is going on underneath causing the reaction. Think of depression as not one simple event but a whole string of emotional event, each adding to the suffering.
2. As a hypnotherapist of many years I know it is possible to get freedom from depression. The most life changing part of what I do with my clients is to help them to change the whole string of emotions that has been weighing them down. When we do this work it feels as if we are pulling the sting out of the emotions, so they drop away. Then when difficult life events happen you can deal with it instead of having all of the events weighing you down.
RECAP:
Use the first exercise for calming the mind because it works on many different levels. If you’ve been practicing the mind calming breath you’ve probably already noticed some changes. If you haven’t done the exercise yet, please go back after reading this and follow along with the video.
The Mind Calming Breath:
a. It changes your state of mind for a few moments.
b. It helps you to focus inward.
c. It sets up the mind for the next step where it is possible to find the roots of your reactions.
Finding the triggers that cause depression.
In this step we want to observe what is going on inside the body and mind. The best state to be in is the curious state of mind. To do this you ask the following question: I wonder what this is about. What is my body trying to tell me with this heavy feeling. Then close your eyes and let the unconscious part of the mind begin to give you deeper answers.
What to do if you find yourself judging how you feel.
1. Stop and take a breath or two. Then go back to being curious: Use these questions to prompt you:
2. Stop for just a moment and ask yourself:
a. I wonder what is going on underneath?
b. I’m curious about what this feeling about?
c. What needs of mine aren’t being satisfied?
d. Am I afraid of something?
3. Remember instead of blaming yourself when you are anxious, depressed, worried or feeling blue you instead become curious about the feelings what the body is trying to get you to pay attention to by giving you this feeling. This is different from judging the feelings. Many people get angry for even having unwanted emotions. Judgement just adds another burden to the string of heavy emotions. You’ll begin to get the answers. Be patient with yourself. If you want help finding the triggers or to get better understanding of what the body is trying to tell you I am happy to chat with you. Just sign up for a free consultation so I can be of help.
Review: Say to yourself, I’m curious about what the anxiety, stress, heavy feeling is about. This will help you to collect information that you might not be aware of on a conscious level. Remember being curious is a vital step to using your mind in a different way. It changes your attitude from self blame to self acceptance when you are curious.
In getting relief from depression and other emotions that get in the way of living a full life, it is important to learn how to be kinder to yourself, as you are, even when you are down and lack energy. Recovering from depression is a process so keep taking one small step at a time.
If you have you been suffering from depression and feeling hopeless there is hope for change. I have watched so many people use the system I developed to get out from under the dark spell of depression.