*Continued from Part 1 of “12 Ways to Fight Depression”
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…