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It may come as a bit of a surprise to know that we are not innocent victims of our moods. In fact we can actively do a heck of a lot to change them. The popular myth that depression is a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain is another of those back-to-front notions that tend to perpetuate the problem. What if the chemical imbalance is actually triggered by the kind of thoughts we allow to go on in our heads and the way we choose to behave?
Now that's an empowering idea!
If you want to change your life, change your mind. We may all have our ups and downs but, to a point, anyone can change their mood for better or for worse. For example you can see how the following procedure is almost guaranteed to do the latter: 1. Close the curtains to shut out any danger of exposure to natural light.
2. Go to bed and stay there for as long as possible.
3. Avoid any contact with people. Lock the door, take the phone off the hook and don't open any mail other than bills.
4. Avoid any kind of exercise.
5. Eat only chips, chocolate and ice cream.
6. Avoid any kind of work or meaningful activity.
7. If you must read, read only sad stories about people who are depressed. If you must listen to music, only listen to sad songs. If you must watch TV, watch the weepies.
8. Go over and over your problems in your mind, especially at night, and make sure you've fully explored all the worst possible things that could happen. And generalise as much as possible. After all, if it's bad here, it must be bad everywhere, right? And if its bad now, there must surely have been similar bad stuff in the past, therefore we can't expect the future to be much better, can we?
9. Blame as many people as possible, better still, blame yourself, and if that doesn't work,
there's always God....
10. Ignore (or better still be mortally offended by) any advice from family, friends or others. What do they know about your issues? Offers of help only trivialise what you know to be the seriousness of the situation. And of course, if anyone says anything of a remotely negative nature, be sure to take it personally. If you managed to smile at any of the above, then you're already on the road to recovery. Better still, you will probably be finding all sorts of creative ideas popping into your head that are the opposite of the ten tips given above and can soon have you feeling a whole lot better.
For example, if you are thinking of getting out of bed and moving about a bit, (or joining a martial arts class or going for a nice, relaxing swim) you might be inspired to hear that recent research has found that exercise is as good as anti-depressants for lifting your mood, and without the potentially harmful side-effects. (You have probably heard of endorphins, natural pain killers, similar to opium, which are released when we exercise, giving us a sense of well-being called "runner's high"). And you'll have heard of course that fruit, veg, vitamins, minerals and omega 3 oils (in fish, or seeds if you're a vegetarian) appear to be good for the brain.
And just taking that first step of opening the curtains could be one of the most powerful things you can do. The sun may be ninety-three million miles away (thankfully) but its rays can reach right down to the ground and warm the soil, allowing a seed to germinate and fight its way out into the open air and reach up towards the sky until it achieves its full potential as a tree. If the weather is crap, buy a light box!
The best solutions to your current set of challenges will undoubtedly be those you discover for yourself, since you know yourself better than anyone else, and when you can feel calmer and more able to access your own inner wisdom you'll be amazed at the creative solutions that you can come up with.
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