I want to be transparent. Most of the blogs I write come from a personal place. The things I usually write about are things I've felt myself or been through myself. There are times of course that I lean on my training and knowledge in order to write, but more often than not, my words come from my own experiences.
So on that note, can we just get real and talk about depressive episodes? I'm not talking about full blown depressive disorders. I'm just talking about the episodes we all go through when life has really dealt us a crappy hand lately. The episodes that come and go like the ocean tide, ebbing and flowing. These episodes bring up all sorts of thoughts and questions: "Will it ever get better?", "Will I ever feel normal again?", "Does no one see how much I'm struggling?", "No one understands me!". I could go on and on.
How does one pull themselves out of such episodes? Here's the bullet point easy answer:
-Recognize you're in an episode
-Talk to someone you trust and let them know you're struggling
-Seek professional counsel (even if it's only for the short term)
-Brush your teeth, take your showers, be sure to eat
-Go to work/class/whatever your daily responsibility is
-Feel your emotions and respect them. You have them for a reason and ignoring them won't make them go away
Did I say this was the EASY answer? Who am I kidding? !
So I stand behind my bullet points and I do think they're important. However, there's absolutely nothing EASY about any of it. Unfortunately, it's during episodes such as this that all the things that are normally easy become very, very difficult. And many times, we feel crippled under the weight of our emotions and hopelessness.
It is during these episodes that we begin to bombard our brain with sad, depressing, hopeless thoughts. And then our brain begins to notice the things that PROVE how sad, depressing and hopeless things are. In essence, an event happens, our brain's dopamine and serotonin levels decrease some, we feel sad and depressed, so then we THINK all these negative thoughts, our brain starts looking for evidence to support these thoughts, our brain finds the evidence to support these thoughts, and down, down, down our chemicals go. Until finally, we find ourselves in the midst of a full on depressive episode. Take time to watch the video I posted below. It's 4 minutes long. It explains how the brain's Reticular Activating System works and why it contributes to our episodes.
The truth is, there's no easy way out of an episode. Sometimes it takes a little while for our chemicals to increase, but I can guarantee they won't increase if we are bombarding our brain with negative thinking and negative beliefs. "I'll never feel better" creates a totally different reaction in the brain than the thought, "I'm struggling today, but it won't last".
My friends, I know it is hard and sometimes it feels extremely lonely in our sadness. However, there is hope in a better tomorrow. Tell your brain tomorrow will be better and begin looking for the evidence that tomorrow is better! (Watch the video for reference!)
And I will always recommend seeking professional help. You truly don't have to do it alone, but it does require taking a leap of faith and putting yourself out there to another person. I hope you'll take that leap if you're in need of a listening ear and understanding.
Until Next Time!
Be Happy!
Be Healthy!
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