The 7th way out of depression.

“Today is all that I have. Don’t let dwelling on yesterday’s hurts and fears about tomorrow, rob  you of peace today. Contrary to what you might have thought  –you are responsible for how you think and feel.”

SOURCE: Believing is seeing: 15 ways to leave the prison of depression. DAP. Louisville. pgs 38-39.

“Now that  we have learnt how to take care of ourselves and our recovery, we now believe that we are responsible for finding a way out of depression. We can blame our sadness on our genes, hormones or a chemical imbalance.  All this takes full responsibility for finding and using that map which points the way out of the darkness of depression. Since we have been involved in the 12 step program of recovery we continue to learn the “how” of working our way out of our sadness in the context of the fellowship of the group.

The best way to live TODAY is to be fully conscious of the present moment and create that  strong desire to be part of it.  Let’s not live in yesterday – the rent can kill ya.

How often  do I spend time  in tomorrow and so miss the joy of today? I think one of the more serious occupations (aren’t they all serious?) of the depressed is to just sit and think, and think and think some more about how bad life is and what awful people they are. This self-bashing makes one’s ability to change ever more difficult, as continued depressive ruminations promote a great sense of unworthiness and confusion. We feel that we have no control over what happens in our daily life. Actually, we are not so sure that we should care. Everything seems hopeless. Living in yesterday is to pay some high priced rent –and when you’re done paying the rent, you still have nothing to show for it.”

NOTE:  The 2nd half of # 7 will be continued tomorrow.