Lonely And Depressed

Thinking about depression is depressing, isn’t it?

If I wanted to think about love, I’d be happier. If I thought about the weather, I’d be more neutral.

If I thought about love, my eyes would get dreamy, I’d be smiling, I’d definitely be happy. Then, of course, if I thought about depression, whap! Bang! My mouth would go lax, my shoulders would lower, my I would be trying to keep a firm upper lip.

Hm. Can you think of a purple elephant? Your body language might still be the same, huh? OK, how about if you thought about an ice cream sundae? That would depend on if you were
on a diet, wouldn’t it? How about if you thought about a Yankee’s game? Hm. That definitely got somebody’s attention. If I said *water* to a drowning man and *water* to a thirsty man, I’d get two different responses, wouldn’t I? It’s the same way with a lot of words.

Well, the trick is, what turns you on? Whatever it is, will it keep your attention for a while? If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t qualify for this little experiment.

OK. Here’s what you do. “Pretend” you can put whatever is depressing you in your right hand. There it is in your hand. Depressing you. Go through the whole scenario and get depressed.

Now, put whatever it is that turns you on in your left hand. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Now, think about what depresses you. Quick, think about what turns you on.

Now, think about what depresses you. Quick, think about what turns you on.

Now, think about what depresses you. Quick, think about what turns you on.

You get the idea. Do it 10 times in a row.

Now, clap your hands, hold them together, and count to fifteen.

Now, think about what USED to depress you instantly. It takes a while for it to come up, doesn’t it?

Stop trying to bring it up, and just go about your business. If you find yourself depressed again, redo the process. Some people make a history out of depression — not the clinical kind, just the give-me-some-attention kind. Maybe because they haven’t figured out how to get out of it, once they got so deeply into it.

What a concept. Some people are depressed because they don’t know how NOT to be. You can help them.

Thanks for reading. Maybe you would like some help with depression. If so, check this out. It would help you.

If you do, why don’t you ask yourself, not *why* are you depressed, but *how* are you depressed.

Now, don’t look at me like I’m crazy. I just happen to think it’s interesting to know *how* a person gets depressed.

I would just like to know, if I were in your body, *how* would I get depressed.

What would I be seeing in my mind? Everything going wrong, no doubt?

What would I be saying to myself? That everything IS going wrong?

Would my shoulders be slumped, and would I speak in a low and dejected tone of voice?

Now, pretend you can see me. I’m seeing everything in my mind that’s going wrong in my life right now. I’m backing that up by what I’m saying to myself. Yep, everything IS wrong. I look very depressed, my posture is slumped, my eyes are down, my expression is terrible.

Yep. That’s depressing all right.

Then, I realize I am *very* depressed! What the heck am I doing? Watch as I stand up and shake it off. I put one foot a little ahead of the other, stand on the balls of my feet and bounce, I shake my arms and body to get rid of the depressing situation I had found myself in, I clench my fist and feel the power. Yes!!!

Hey, what happened here? Am I depressed? Not anymore. I am solution oriented!

Now, it’s time for you to do that, too. Realize what you are doing to yourself by sitting that way and thinking those thoughts. It’s time for you to make an intelligent decision. Time for you to do something — anything that isn’t sitting in that same posture and thinking those thoughts. Try the power stance mentioned above.

Depression is caused by many things, but you *enable* that depression by staying in a depressed posture, by seeing depressing things in your mind, and by saying depressing things to yourself in a way that KEEPS you depressed. Once you know that, you can change.

Once you change one thing, the rest tends to change too. Just for the heck of it, start by speeding up your tone of voice and raising the pitch. Already you’re not as *depressed* as you were, are you? Straighten up your posture, raise your head and look around, and put a smile on your face. Feel the difference? It may not change the situation, but it sure as heck changes your outlook. Sometimes, that’s all you need. Remember this and use it.

Save this article and show it to your friends. Be a friend, tell them to call you whenever they feel depressed and that the very act of calling will change their physiology — body language, which starts off other changes. Set some rules if you must. Tell them to just call up and say “Hi!” And to only tell you something good that has happened to them in the last week. This will get them to focus on good things.

This isn’t meant to be a cure all for depression that runs deep. That type of depression would probably need one on one professional help. But for most people, this is all they need. A friend and a direction to go. Continue to direct them to the good, and soon they’ll be able to find their own way.

Thanks for reading. Maybe you would like some help with depression. If so, check this out.