I'm happy to claim my depression has taken a holiday. Well I forced it to, it had no choice. Sometimes things in life need a heavy hand or out witting them. Coming up with strategies might need your own ideas as our depression is very individual. There can be some similarities however- let's explore some.
If you over think issues, possibilities then you might have too much free time on your hands. When I have a project (like building our caravan) that takes calculations and focus...I'm rarely dwelling on family issues or the local narcissist person in town.
Distraction does work, seriously work! I used to have a large jigsaw in a spare room. Each time I dwelled on a toxic family member I'd retreat and do a dozen pieces. It worked.
The saying "get a life" can be interpreted in a nasty way but as with all things in life I focus on the facts and benefits...get a life is sort of true...a sport, a hobby, a second job..its the best way to minimalise the effects some people have on us, so we can move forward from mayhem.
Another saying - "dont sweat the small stuff". CEO's or owners of large companies leave the small stuff to people down the line. Federal politicians dont involve themselves with planning permits for houses, that's done by local Govt. Hence work towards filtering issues in your life to find peace away from small issues.
Eg inlaws. My first marriage resulted in a few toxic inlaws that, for no clear motive, caused havic in the family. I decided, after several attempts to offer peace that "I married my wife, not her family". This new attitude resulted in my peace of mind. Those few inlaws no longer have the "feed" they needed to continue with undue criticism. As time went by they had no issues to satisfy their jealousy (which was the real issue).
There is a significant percentage of narcissistic people in our world. I'd guess around 10-20%. That's a lot. You have little choice but to withdraw and minimalise your head space of them.
These actions and distractions away from negative influences might result in some level of isolation. It will feel that you are building a wall of safety...well that's exactly what it is.
And only allow the qualified to enter. That's your right. There is no obligation to entertain the nasty, just love the caring...
TonyWK
