One of the things that people told me to do to combat depression was to keep myself busy, and I guess that is one of the things that most people with depression hear at least one time in their lives, the typical “if you keep yourself busy you won’t be sad”. Well, I have some things to say to those people that say that:
First of all, I’m not “sad”, I’m depressed, which is a medical condition. And second, please be more specific.
Expanding on the second reason I must say that just keeping yourself busy doesn’t work, at least not in my case it didn’t. I used to have a tiring job and I took to many classes in college just so my schedule would be full of things to do, but it didn’t help me a bit.
My job was not only tiring but tasteless and I hated it, my classes had nothing to do with what I like to do, I went every day hating what my daily schedule had become, but I thought that without so many things to do then I would feel worse.
How did I come to think that what was best for me was having a lot of stress? No idea, I guess I just trusted the people around me. Now I come to realize that what I did was very dumb. The secret was not to fill your day with stressing things to do, but with things you like to do.
I didn’t realize this on my own, my psychiatrist told me to take less classes at college so I could go to the gym, and starting with that decision my humor turned around, suddenly I was way happier and with so much more energy.
The second decision that changed my life was changing my job for one less stressing. I owe this decision to my mother, who told me to take the life easy, and who suggested that I shouldn’t be taking everything at the defensive. Remembering those words made me realize that having a job didn’t meant having a stressing job. Even though I don’t make nearly as much money as before, I’d rather have my mental health.
The third thing I did was giving myself time to relax, enough time to sleep, time for me. Not time to feel lonely, but time to feel good and recovered, to do things like meditation and Yoga. And, of course, I also left time for my friends .
That’s how I learned that “keeping myself busy” really means to do things I like.
I change classes and a stressing job for a job that I like, time to go to the gym and to relax, a social life, and fewer classes.
Making those changes turned my life around and maybe saved my life, everybody, that has depression, or not, should do what I did, because it feels awesome.
Just take a look on your life, see what would you like to change in order to be happier, and start taking steps in that direction.
