Let's look at tip number 8.

8. BE ACCOUNTABLE TO YOUR FRIENDS

In our leadership training programs we stress the importance of having a mentor or the need to be mentoring someone. I am fortunate to be in the company of successful business people and we meet once every week, sharing ideas, praying for each other and as we find ourselves accountable to each other we are. Friendship is the greatest support system in the world. Make sure you have friends who are firm and honest enough to tell you not just the things you want to hear but the things you need to hear. My friends keep me on track. They share my burdens and they celebrate my victories. It's a great depression buster just to have people there for you when you need it most.

9. DON'T JUST STAND THERE DO SOMETHING

Sulking in a corner is the worst thing you want to do when you are down and depressed.

The fastest way to get out of your head is to put it in a new project. Get into your hobby. Get those shoes on and shoot some baskets. Make yourself useful. Help out with your civic organizations projects and help make this country a better place. Take a course or try a new sports. It's invigorating. Some people I know hit the crafts store or the hobby shops and as for me, I clean my cabinet and my drawers. A cluttered place only makes you a little bit more miserable. It's also a good time to get into my hard drive and arrange and rearrange my files.

10. JOURNALIZE THE EXPERIENCE

Trials and tribulations are times when great lessons are learned. One of the reasons why people make mistakes over and over is because of their short memory. They do not even keep record on the precious experiences they have gone through. When you read the records from the past you will be able to see your situation in a more enlightened way. Records are precious but most people take this for granted. I keep mine. It's all recorded together with my prayer items and requests and when I look back I can see how God answered my prayers and I can relearn the lessons learned from my past experiences.

11. DON'T JUST DO SOMETHING DO NOTHING.

God is still in control and I am not Him. This is why when a situation comes that is bigger than what we can handle, sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing.

Tomorrow is another day. The tides will turn the situation will change but you just need to be alert and observant. Which brings us to tip number 12 as we conclude this series.

12. EVER TRIED PRAYER?

Ever wondered why The Bible says we are to welcome trials and tribulations? Out of these challenges our character is formed our faith is strengthened. This simply means that difficulties will come and sometimes depression hits as hard like a rock. But these are the times when we need to stay strong not on our own strength but on God's promise that His plans for us is not for calamity but for our own benefit. There will be times when we cannot see God's Hand but we can still trust God's Heart. His love for us will never fail.

Depressed? Don't we all.

Somebody says, look around you and you will be depressed. Look behind you and you will be obsessed but look up to God and you will be blessed.

So where are you looking my friend?

If you claim to be a person who is never depressed then you may be fooling yourself.

I will never forget talking to a leader of an institution who claims he is never depressed. I asked him why and I asked him how he deals with it. He says, “I do not know what depression is because I always come to God in prayer.”

Wow! I said to myself. This loser is better than David, Elijah, Peter and Paul in the Bible. He thinks he's superman and now he has made me depressed!

No one is exempted from depression.

Feeling bouts of depression is normal unless you are abnormal. But staying depressed all the time is abnormal.

Today we will tackle the next one.

7. CONSULT THE EXPERTS

The Bible says in a multitude of counselors there is wisdom.

Try to ponder that for a while.

Take the reverse of the statement. It simply means that if you think by yourself and you do it by yourself then you may be dumb.

Most people are embarrassed in asking for advice. They are afraid that people may judge them as dumb. But the truth is that you are already dumb if you think that way.

Wise people understand that there are people who may have gone through the same situation, handled it well, discovered ways to deal with it and getting advice from them would indeed be very helpful.

People have come to me for advice. I try to counsel them to the best of my ability. But the one thing I have observed about this is that it is quite easy to offer advice to people who are in trouble because I am away from the situation. It is quite a different thing to be in the middle of the situation and the seriousness of it could have a debilitating effect on my own ability to see things. Having an outsider's view and perspective at this point would be very helpful.

Now here is another key.

When the advice is given, you pray about it and when you have peace, and it confirms to the teaching of The Word... then do it!

Somebody says: “Advice is free: The right answer will cost plenty.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. says: “It's a pleasure to give advice, humiliating to need it, and normal to ignore it.”

Often times it is not the lack of advice that pulls a person down. It is the lack of resolve for the person to work on the advice and follow it.

Ever wondered why The Bible is full of godly advices yet people ignore it?

How do you fight depression?

Here are some more depression busters.

5. KNOW YOUR STRENGTH ZONE AND KNOW YOUR WEAK SPOT

What motivates you? What brings a sparkle to your eyes? Ka-Cheng-Ka-cheng if it's the Peso sign that is not a sparkle. You will be at your best when you are working within your strength zone. You will be at your poorest or at best, average if you force yourself to work within your weak spot.

You need to know what your weak spots are.

If you are a recovering alcoholic then bars, beers and Happy Hour are not exactly tplaces and things you would like to return to. If you have had relationship problems with your spouse then spending solitary moments in the presence of somebody from the opposite sex is not exactly a healthy idea.

If you find yourself in your weak spot then you get depressed. And if you stay in your weak spot you will stay depressed. What you need is to get away from your weak spot and enter into your strength zone. Do what you enjoy doing that takes away your focus on your current disturbing situation which leads us to the next point:

6. ENTER INTO HEALTHY DISTRACTIONS

People who suffer from addiction know this. Distractions take their minds off cigarettes, alcohol, pornography or even suicidal tendencies. Some people go into crossword puzzles as hobbies. Now this is not for me. Crossword puzzles are not within my strength zone. The more I do them the more depressed I get.

Playing with my dogs, taking care of them would be a good distraction for me. Walking the dog is therapy for me. When the writer's block is upon me, I switch to active rest. Pull out my Playstation and play my one and only favorite game and that's NBA Live and pretty soon after the game, I would be refreshed and ready to put some more words into my work.

Some people do card games The Ilocana my wife cleans the house. This is why when I come home and find my house neat, clean and topsy turvey then I would suspect that she probably went through some moments of challenges that prompted her to look for such healthy distractions. Sports is another option. Maybe gardening or doing crafts. You can be creative and you can find healthy distractions. But watching TV and viewing all those deep dramatic soap operas may plunge you into deeper depths of depression.

Get real. Depression is a killer. You will not be able to function at your best if you are constantly imprisoned in depression.

Robert Burton says: “If there be a hell upon earth, it is to be found in the melancholy man's heart.”

To some people, despair is a way of life. And what makes this thing bad is that it SUCKS! It is highly contagious and it wearies the soul.

Contrast this to what Paul is saying in the New Testament. He says: Rejoice and again I say Rejoice.” It's a command and it's not even a suggestion.

to be continued...

This is the usual line I get from people and clients who would invite me for keynote speeches or even whole day trainings. And guess what the most requested topic these days would be?

Hard Times. Difficult Times.

Now you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that we are headed for hard times or maybe for a lot of us are in it already.

I just got a call from an old time friend who used to be in the garments industry. The old familiar words were said once more: “Francis, I closed down my factory because we just were not making money anymore.”

And this causes depression to a lot of people I know.

Depression is a killer and if you don't have a personal toolbox that contains depression busters then you may just add one more problem to the many you already have.

Here are some anti-depression tools you may find useful.

A toolbox of ways to overcome everyday emotional struggles and find peace.

Remember this: If you do not want to hit bottom-stop digging the hole.

Let's look at some of the ways to beat depression.

1. REALIZE YOU ARE NO SUPERMAN. DUH!

There are things you can do and there are things you can't do. Success has a way of making people think they're invincible. And then comes the fuel price increase, the food shortage, global warming. If you can fix this then go ahead and do so if not then realize there are things you have to accept and feeling depressed and miserable over what you cannot control is not going to make your situation better. Ever tried prayer?

2. MIX WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE.

When you are feeling down make sure you find the right people you want to be with. Even the Bible says “Bad company ruins good morals.” There are doomsday prophets and naysayers out there whose job it is to make people share their own misery. These are the same people who brighten up the room by leaving it. Positive people offer encouragement and positive people are usually tough people who have outlasted tough times. Learn a thing or two from them. I am so fortunate I belong to a group of very dynamic business people who are not only successful and positive but they take time and seriously pray for one another especially those who are going through tough times.

3. SWEAT IT OUT.

Take out your running shoes or get into your basketball gear and channel your energy into worthwhile exercise. Every time I hit the treadmill I realize that I spend energy on being healthy and it gets my mind developing more creative ideas. Some may help me work on my existing situation while other ideas I store for future use. When you exercise your mind produces endorphins which is our body's natural opiate that enables us to face pain and unpleasant circumstances. When your body is weak your problems become larger than life so make sure you make yourself healthy and you keep yourself healthy all the time.

4. READ AND LEARN

My books are some of my best friends and they keep me good company. Not only that. Podcasts and audio books keep me learning too. I don't want to be passive when I see myself in the middle of a difficult situation but since I know I am no superman and is in no position to alter the situation, while waiting for new developments to happen I keep my mind occupied with reading and listening so I can learn and get more new ideas. And then the time is right, apply them and make use of good time.

Hey…I don't care what the religious fanatics say but depression hits even the best of us. It is not something to be ashamed of. Even the great men of the Bible went through it.

The key here is to understand you do not have to stay depressed.

12 Ways to Fight Depression Part 2