Email This Message to a Friend!
Message URL: http://www.curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2097232
Worsening Depression
(Path of my Life)
Positive thinking is enlightening - Negative thinking is depressing
Date: 8/22/2013 10:00:24 AM ( 11 y ago)
With that title, "worsening depression", I am referring to the idea of "making depression worse" - it is not good English perhaps, but it got you reading.
I have learned some things from a person I know who suffers from depression. She shows very clearly how depressed people have a tough battle in keeping things from either getting worse, or simply "being as bad as they can be".
From the moment she wakes up until she cannot go to sleep at night, she passes a negative judgement on everything she sees and hears:
- "that damn bird chirping woke me up"
- "the stupid Sunshine is way too bright"
- "it is way to dark at night to do anything outside"
- "my cat wants to go out, and then he wants to come in - it is SO frustrating".
Okay - you get the picture? NEGATIVITY.
By the time depression takes over us, we have already begun to see the world in a negative light. It is very difficult to break out of that cycle where depression is made worse by seeing everything as negative, which of course is depressing.
This may all sound very simple-minded to you,and it is. In fact, it is simple enough that I think there is a potential solution for people with depression that comes from life events and not from a chronic chemical imbalance unrelated to live events.
It seems very clear to me that if only my friend could start seeing the good side of things she would be less depressed. To do so might require a great deal of effort, which is difficult for depressed people because they often suffer from fatigue.
At the very least, I feel sure that if she would just stop making the effort to complain about everything, her depression would lighten up a bit. From the moment I first saw her, before I even talked to her, it was obvious she was a "Joe Bltzfk" - the cartoon charachter who has a dark cloud over his head at all times. Her body language was a dead giveaway.
People NEED to express things, and she has a NEED to express something negative that has happened to her in the past - perhaps she was abused and therefore she wants to - NEEDS to - shout it out to the world... but the world won't listen so she has adopted a "chronic dialogue" with body language and a negative attitude.
"Hey you kids, get off my lawn!!" - could become: "isn't that nice that the children feel good enough about me and my yard that they will play here".
"Damn birds" could be "listen to THAT, wow, those little birdies can really sing, it is precious to hear them".
"People make noise, I hate people" could be "these are the sounds of LIFE - imagine a totally silent world where nothing moves and nobody exists except me, that would be terrible... I am glad to be in this world".
The POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING really does work - the trick is to get started so that one positive thing will help us feel better, and then we get the snowball effect working to your advantage.
Popularity: message viewed 11065 times
URL: http://www.curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2097232