Hi there.
How's your day going?
I have something important to share with you. do you have 5 minutes?
yes?
Read on..
Depression is a word that almost every person is familiar with. There's even such a thing as 'childhood depression'.
oh. you didn't know? well, know you know.
Everyone has had at least one depressive state in his or her lifetime... some more than others...
and most people would tell you that being depressed is a very sorry place to be... it's extremely toxic and destroys all productivity.
I have had my own share of being depressed and it was one that I would never wish for an enemy...
Many times we start healing, the sun seems to be shining brightly, the grass seems to be green again, things seem to be looking up for us.
Then, all of a sudden we discover that we were back where we started.
I mean, you think things are getting better, there's light at the end of the tunnel, then all of a sudden, all you can see is darkness and gloominess..
hey.. it's not your fault.
the world in which we live in is programmed to make everyone depressed. I mean just think for a moment, 99% of the news on TV is bad news. that statistic may not be accurate but it is not so far from the truth.
whether the deplorable economic situation, or one natural disaster or one senseless politician making life's miserable or being served breakfast... everything is configured to depress a person.
being served breakfast is depressing? how😱?
Recently, in Nigeria, there's this figure of speech that has been making the waves. it has become so popular that it is now adopted as a regular speaking.
So imagine a guy starts dating a girl and they are having so much fun together... they sit down and map out plans together, they are so much in love with each other.
then one day, something happens, the guy or the girl decides that he/she is fed up with the relationship, maybe because of infidelity or some other faults that cannot be mentioned.
Boom 💥. the 2 of them break up... In this new Nigerian regular speaking, it is called "being served breakfast"
Whoever is the primary recipient of the break up has been served breakfast.
funny?
well, not to the people who experience it.
because of all these, getting to recognize signs of recovery in depression can help you leverage on them to progressively get better.
here are a few signs you are getting better.
They are not the thoughts of a professional, they are simply simple tools that may help you when you need them.
- you are aware of your triggers...
Usually, there are certain things, events or people that stirs up depressive episodes, the death of a loved one, being served breakfast, being around some certain people, hearing some kind of music, even a memory can suddenly get a person back into a depressive state.
anything that triggers your depression.
Being aware of what these triggers are makes it easy to avoid them or do something about it, to reduce the number of times you have to battle a depressive episode.
- you treat yourself with compassion...
Most people with depression are usually hard on themselves. they seem to loose all forms of self awareness and do not seem to care for themselves.
when you decide to be kind to yourself, maybe do something nice for yourself, it shows that you are healing and you must learn to capitalize on that to continue to make progress.
- you challenge your irrational thoughts...
Have you found yourself asking yourself why you are angry or sad about something? Have you been in that position where you seem to be in a dialogue with yourself... going back and forth as to why you are feeling this way, or why you shouldn't feel this way...
when you become rational about your feelings, it's a sign that you are making your way out of depression.
you are putting yourself first.... This is more like treating yourself with compassion but more.
When there's a fire outbreak in a mall, your first thoughts is how you would escape, saving yourself, because only someone who is alive can help save another person. Depressed people can be caught in the web of self deprecation to the extent that they care nothing about their own welfare and could go about helping others at their own detriment.you are letting go of perfectionism.
Because most depressed people loose their sense of rationality, they always look for reasons to scold or chastise themselves. When things don't go perfectly as planned, they are greatly affected and blame themselves heavily for the fault or error. When you begin to cut yourself some slack... it shows that you are gradually healing from depression.
these signs are not exhaustive, neither are they professional advice.
Tell me which of them you've experienced before.
In Love and light.
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