Ripple Effect

I wanted to take some time and create a safe space for those that may be struggling with depression.

Depression is a battle, it creeps into not just your mind but has impact on your body, and sometimes even feels like you are being held down and sinking into the emotions and feelings. Making it very difficult to quite the mind of a downward spiral of negative thoughts. Or makes it difficult to even maunueavuer your body to get it to move and take action.

It can creep in from the moment you awake in the morning, already in a dark comfortable room, swaying in the comfort of the bed and comforter or perhaps body pillow that you grab hold of tightly. Some may arise and their mind is running like multiple screens replaying memories they did not invite in, that then runs into thoughts and have you doing "what if's" or "why me's" or even running through every choice and decision you have made and putting them to trial. The mind racing begins. Then your body just feels heavy, lathergic, sinking deeper and deeper into the bed.

The fight is telling yourself to get up, often times thinking of the abundance of things you have set out for your day as a whole. What happens most times is when thinking of all these multiple things with everything going on the feelings, the body feeling weak, mind continuously racing, it may feel as if the mere thought of the tasks are just too overwhelming and too much to take on.

So there's a stuck feeling, what I for myself have found to have worked is to not take day by day but rather moment by moment. The biggest struggle to start is to get your body out of the bed. It may only be to get up to open the curtain to let in some light, it may be that I reach for the remote and put on a show that brings me comfort or put on a song that lifts my spirit. Even if just laying you may decide to do a breathing exercise, or a grounding technique to calm the mind enough to be present in the now. What do you hear, feel, see, taste? That's just to get your mind grounded in the present and try to quite the noise. Count every small action and goal as a win and be proud of yourself for every step. Then you may decide to get a coffee sit outside with your cup of coffee and feel the sun against your skin take in a deep breathe of the cool air. Then after that maybe challenge yourself to take a shower get dressed and so on. If you look at each small task it doesn't feel as overwhelming.

Too often we measure things outside of what we have considered routine or normal day to day. So we discredit the efforts we put in all the time on even what may be considered the simple tasks so to speak. There is a book named "Make your Bed" written by an admiral. That embraces the concept.

When faced with depression it has the ripple effect and gives an overwhelming feeling on all aspects. So minizing and grounding yourself in the present, calming the mind, utilizing coping skills and figuring out what those look like for you. Taking things moment by moment may help. Every step leads to achievement.

Count your wins, show yourself grace. Embrace the wins.

If you need a safe space to speak please feel free to reach out I am an active listener here on 7 cups 🙂