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*Please note that this is from my personal experience healing depression utilizing the Teachings of Union with the support of the Mind Alignment Process. I am not a medical professional.*
I only became aware that I was experiencing symptoms of depression during the summer of 2022, but I had been experiencing them my entire life. I wasn’t sure what they were and I thought it was just the way I was honestly. These were the symptoms I was experiencing:
1. Constant sense of hopelessness and powerlessness
2. Constant state of anxiety
3. Always fatigued and tired no matter how much I slept
4. Lack of motivation and drive
5. Sense of emptiness
6. Crying almost everyday
7. Digestive issues
8. Headaches
9. Numbed out and not feeling much of anything
My spiritual journey brought up my depression to the point where it had to be healed in order to move forward. The core of my depressive state was the choice to feel bad. That’s right, I was choosing it. You’re incredibly powerful, so powerful that you can command yourself into and out of mental states. It really is that simple.
Liberating myself started with making the choice to feel good and to cultivate and choose happiness. I know this feels like a slap in the face when you feel depressed, but truthfully without making the choice to change your attitude, nothing you do externally is going to help. Your reality is first created by your choice.
So, make the choice to feel good and to cultivate happiness. Next, take practical action steps to nurture and cultivate that happiness and joy that you’re choosing. Choose to do things that make you feel good and support your wellbeing. When you choose to do something that feels good to you, ask yourself if that thing is actually good for you. If you're reaching for alcohol, for a nap, for a cigarette, sugar and candy, or sex - it may be to seek a temporary high. When you choose to do something that makes you feel good, look at it from a long-term perspective. That glass of wine or beer might sound good now, but how about when you wake up in that morning? That's a bad choice, you're not going to actually feel good later on.
It's important to build a momentum of feeling good, instead of feeling bad. I started by going deeper into my daily schedule/routine and my self-care. It was really just the basics. These were the things that helped me build momentum in feeling good:
1. Eat 3 meals a day, no exceptions.
2. Get enough sleep.
3. Give yourself a morning routine before your day starts (stretch, have a bite to eat or breakfast, brush your teeth, hygiene, etc.) Fill up your cup first.
4. Bedtime routine (read, hygiene, watch a TFAS class, etc).
5. Exercise, get some movement in.
All these things were very basic, but they worked and did make me feel better. Once you build momentum by doing things that feel good, you start to feel better. And when you feel better, you can do better. You can do more for yourself, you can provide more value at work, and this builds confidence and pride and you start to feel even better.
You’re not alone, there is hope. And you can and will move through this. Just start with the choice to feel good.