Managing Anxiety & Depression
"What you focus on - you make stronger!"
Below are some 'ideas' about managing difficult thoughts & feelings that my client's have found helpful - perhaps some of these points will resonate with you:
- Remind yourself that over 90% of the conversations we have are with ourselves - so, speak to yourself in positive ways.
- Anxiety makes worried & fearful thoughts come to mind about anything & everything - shift your focus to the things you enjoy and love to do!
- Depression plants thoughts in your mind, mostly about never feeling good, never finding happiness again, never being good enough, never being loved - these are depression's false predictions about your future - the future is full of possibility NOT certainty!
- Anxiety & depression use helplessness, hopelessness & isolation as their most powerful weapons – remind yourself that there is no problem so great that it cannot be solved!
- Resist the pull to isolate yourself - spend time with the people and things you love!
- No one can get through this struggle alone! We all need help – from those who are closest to us, love us & want to help and sometimes from others who are trained to help.
- Remind yourself how good it feels when you help someone else - let others do that for you!
- As soon as the negative thoughts strike – focus on your breath – a deep, cool breath in and a slow, slow, warm breath out and accept the thoughts as "just thoughts that will pass" - like the wind blowing through the trees.
- Anxiety & depression often try to smother your imagination, to stop you from imagining your future outside of their control – the future you have dreamed of before – use your deep breathing to trigger that imagination and set it free!
- Anxiety & depression respond to humour by becoming weaker – use this often.
- Listen to your heart!