Mental Strategies for Battling Depression Part II
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.“Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts.” ~ Buddha.Â
“Whenever a negative thought concerning your personal power comes to mind, deliberately voice a positive thought to cancel it out.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale
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Being realistic is one of the biggest keys to successfully fighting depression. It applies to all your thoughts and not just the absolutes. But the absolutes are easiest to spot as we discussed in Mental Strategies for Fighting Depression Part I. You will be well aided in your fight against depression if you can become a more realistic thinker overall.
Challenge your thoughts
The trick to overcoming depression is to pay careful attention to what you tell yourself and question it as objectively as possible. The aim is to realistically have a more positive outlook on whatever situation is depressing you.
An example of depressive thinking
Let’s say you have a big interview tomorrow. Thoughts such as “They aren’t going to like me†or “ I just won’t have all the qualifications†are self defeating and very negative.
How do you know these things anyway? You don’t. Depressive thinking suggests a certain negative outcome. However, it’s quite possible they may like you very much. It also possible that you will have exactly the combination of qualifications and experience that they are looking for.
The Power of Realism
Contrary to the classic pessimistic thinking of the depressed, the truth usually lies somewhere in between the worst and best case scenarios. They will probably think quite well of you, and your qualifications will probably be adequate (otherwise they would not have called you for an interview) but not perfect. Which all means that you will have a reasonable shot at the job - neither great nor terrible.
Realism is what you must strive for to overcome depression.
Steps out of depressive thinking
Right now, if you are depressed or suffer depressive episodes, you probably have a negative thought process. The next time you experience a depressive episode try the following:
- Pay attention to what you are thinking
- Consider how realistic your thoughts are
- Consider if they are accurate in terms of the actual facts and your past experiences
- Consider the best and worst case scenarios
- Recognise that your actual experience will probably be somewhere between the two
- Think of how your outlook could be more positive and more realistic.
In the next article on this topic, we will go into detail on the exact nature of depressive thinking, how it results in inaccurate conclusions and how we can change it to experience less depression.
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” ~ Buddha.
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Related Articles:
- Mental Strategies for Battling Depression Part I
- How to Fight Depression Naturally
- Physical Strategies for Fighting Depression Part I: Exercise
- Physical Strategies for Fighting Depression Part II: Diet, Vocabulary and Positive Activity
- How to become an Optimist - Part I
- How to be Happy - Training yourself to enjoy life
- The Power of Realistic Positive Thinking
- Your Capacity for Change
- Affirmations and Your Subconscious
- Optimism vs. Pessimism
- The Different Explanatory Styles of Optimism and Pessimism
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December 13th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Does depression trigger a lack of self esteem or does self esteem lay the groundwork for depression?
Having for the most part recovered from depression, I can say that in my case the lack of self esteem and self confidence left me open for depression. As a teen I didn’t feel at all confident in myself in any capacity and by the time I was 18, I had become very depressed.
My eventual cure was to find ways of expressing the anger I felt at myself and what life was “doing to me”. Therapists explained the process of frustation, anger and finally depression. By attacking the initial triggers, I was ready to build my self esteem.
It took several years, but the depression finally lifted and my confidence and self-esteem soared.
Finding solutions like this seems to be the answer for many others suffering from persistent and recurring depression.
Sylvia
December 20th, 2006 at 5:24 am
Liesl,
I appreciated your article and especially your view that our reality contains many more positive elements than we realize. I think you’re hitting on the importance of our framing of reality.
I recommend positive thinking that focuses on defining reality rather than reacting to it.
Let’s imagine our goals coming to fruition and living in a world of our greatest hopes! What does that world look like? What do we do everyday in that world? The clearer we can make that picture become, the more capable we are to emphasize the parts of ourselves that contribute to making that vision into reality.
Once again, thank you, and I’m glad that you are writing.
Matt