I hope everyone is having a good Monday,
I have battled with depression and anxiety disorders since 2012, and have worked out a fairly structured management plan for myself to cope. I can proudly say that I am now weeks and even months between anxious or depressed episodes. It occurred to me that these online forums are a great way to relate to peers. I'm also putting my experience to use as I'm studying Psychology at uni and believe that I have quite a holistic view on mental health.
1. Find purpose
It doesn't matter how you get there, but finding your purpose will be the turning point in your journey. My life completely changed when I dropped out of my chemical engineering degree and started psychology, I finally understood that in doing this I'd have knowledge and lived experience in the science, which I could then use to help anyone who needed it! It fills me with child like excitement and joy to know that if this helps even a single person I'm doing something positive.
2. Live for today
Depression is hard, anxiety is exhausting, and I understand that day can take forever to complete sometimes. But learn to live in the moment, the eternal present, the 'now' that we physically cannot escape from. I learned through meditation practise, but there are many ways and I encourage you to find yours. Living one day at a time breaks down your life into one waking period. Just think about one thing you can that improves your situation, it may be not letting yourself enter a negative state. If you have a bad day, you have another opportunity tomorrow to start again. And if you have a good day, keep building your management, remembering what you learned previous.
3. Write it down.
Please write it down. Whenever you're feeling alone, empty, nothing, everything, doesn't matter. Writing stuff down takes it all out of your head and puts it onto paper, and when you read it back to yourself you can objectively view your state of mind at that time. Even if you don't read it, writing it down is a creative process that you could someday use in a positive way, as I am doing now.
I have the fire of a phoenix driving me to help people suffering depression and anxiety.
the phoenix prophet.
