I did a little research this morning on overcoming depression and found a wonderful web site that has some great resource information.  It's www.healthyplace.com and is specifically a community for the depressed and those that love them.  I read through an article on overcoming depression by Chuck T. Falcon, a counseling psychologist and author that was rich in wise counsel.  The article can be found at http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/depression/treatment/therapy/article_overcoming_depression.asp

If you battle with heavy depression, please, please, please seek medical counsel.  Often times it is just too heavy a load for you to try to lift on your own.  Your vision is darkened so much, that even if there were a clear path in front of you, you wouldn't see it.  Remember, I am not a professional in this area, just a concerned friend who wants to see you whole and happy!

What I do want to share in the next few days are some tips on living a happier and emotionally healthier life.  Thank goodness, that not many of us will suffer with deep bouts of depression in our lives, but ALL of us battle the blues from time to time.  There are ways to help limit how "blue" we get and how long we stay there.  Bad physical and/or mental habits can make it much easier for us to become susceptible to those down times.  Healthy habits can help to build our emotional "immune system" so that we can more easily fight off the "bugs" that are going around!

The first key is physical exercise is a fabulous tool for warding off depression.  There is a direct correlation between depression and physical lethargy.  As little as 15-20 minutes a day of walking or light exercise including physical yard work can prevent many people from ever slipping into a depression.  The problem is that once you are depressed, you don't want to move… but you must force yourself.  When you want to do nothing but sleep, give yourself permission to take a nap after you've walked half a mile.  Chances are once you have, you won't want to sleep anymore! Though you won't feel better in a single day, it is amazing how quickly that exercise will begin to restore your natural balance and begin to help you feel better about the world and your life. 

Exercise actually changes the chemistry of the brain.  Perhaps one reason that today's children suffer greater depression than ever before is that they are leading sedentary lives in front of the television set, video games or the internet rather than climbing trees, skating and riding bicycles like earlier generations did.  We no longer lead as physically demanding lives as our grandparents did, and perhaps we suffer more emotionally because of it.

When you walk, if you can, walk with a friend.  You'll more than double the impact of your exercise.  Most depressed people also have the habit of isolating themselves and turning inward.  When you involve yourself in the lives of others, your life has a more balanced perspective.  When you share your problems with a friend, she often can see simple answers, simple ways out of your difficulties that you've been blind to!

If you must walk alone … pray!  You'll turn your thoughts outward and you'll be walking with a friend who will never leave you and loves you more than you can know.  You'll get a double dose of emotional health boosters!  If you walk with God in prayer, talk about your needs, the needs of your family, and about others with needs greater than yourself.  Prayer is simply talking to God like you would an intimate friend.  And, like your girlfriend, God often has simple answers to our difficulties if we will only take the time to ask and listen for His answers! 

I've noticed a pattern in my blues… the more consumed I am with my own troubles, the more likely I am to be consumed by them.  When I focus on actively loving and making a difference in the lives of those around me, the less intense my own internal struggle becomes.    Sometimes when I get down I tend to focus too heavily on everything that's "wrong" with my world.  The more I think on my problems the larger they seem to get.  When I get into that place, I've found it helpful to pray a prayer similar to this one:

"Lord, you are well aware of this crisis that I am facing.  You know my need and I know that you care deeply about where I am and what needs to happen in my life.  But if I keep focusing on myself, I begin to slip down into feeling overcome by the stress and the dark emotions.  So I'm going to leave my cares in your hands and as an act of trust and faith in you, I'm going to pray for others' needs instead of my own."  (Followed by praying for the needs I am aware of that surround me)

A healthy balance isn't too much in either direction, it's neither turned too inward, nor too other's focused (so that I try to escape by meeting other's needs).  If you struggle with your emotions, the book of Psalms in the old testament is a great place to read.  King David wrote many of them and he suffered huge bouts of the blues.  He was amazingly honest with his feelings as he shared them with the Lord, but he always finished with his focus not on himself but on how awesome GOD was and how capable GOD was to change things.  In the words of the child's song Jesus loves Me, "I am weak, but He is strong!"

Tomorrow I'm going to share on taking charge of your thoughts and a wonderful method of changing your thought pattern I've dubbed, "The Red Door Principle."

May God bless you and give you a great day!

Audrey Jeanne Roberts