Depression – An Endless Cycle
Before I get started with this article, keep in mind I am not a psychiatrist nor have any desire to spend years on top of years to obtain the degrees and certifications necessary to become a licensed therapist. This post is merely an observation of what I have personally experienced and what others around me are currently experiencing.
So with that said, does this scenario look familiar:
- You look around and observe your life and where it’s headed
- Notice that you don’t like (or even hate) certain aspects of your life
- Get depressed about your current state of affairs
- Think about ways to change your life
- Get more depressed because the likelihood of changing things appears to be slim to none
- Instead of buckling down and creating a long term plan to change things you do something to dull the pain (drugs, alcohol, sex, food, random addiction, etc.), waste time on entertainment activities that will never get you anywhere in life (video games, tv, going to the bar/club, surf internet, etc.)
- Feel good now that the depressing stuff is “out of your system”
- Repeat the process when reality hits you in the face time and time again
If we continue on this path, we will never see any progress. Before you know it, a decade has passed, the kids are growing up, and nothing has changed. When you notice you are comforting yourself to “get through the day” you are only guaranteeing things will never change.
How to Change the Pattern
“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…” -The little engine that could
Taking the approach of simply removing negative thoughts and “forcing” yourself to think positive like the little engine that could usually results in utter failure. When you are stuck in a specific pattern, it’s hard to break it. In my opinion, it’s best to wait until you are in a positive mood (shortly after the comforting stage), and think about the end result of taking action. You want to sit down and think about the best case scenario that you have for your life until you are so excited you feel like you are going to burst. Don’t think about this stuff happening in some distant (bleak) future. You have to think about it in the present. Excitement is one of the best motivators.
Once you master this technique, you will start a new pattern such as thinking about what you want, feeling excited and motivated about those goals, taking massive action and getting results. This pattern is self rewarding. Every minor step you make toward success gets you more excited, which pumps you up enough to take more action and get more results. The massive action required won’t feel like work. Twelve hours may pass and you didn’t even notice.
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