The Beginning, Where to start?

Hi Guys Thank you for visiting my page. Someone once said to me that knowledge is power and I never really understood what that meant until I gained the knowledge of finding out what triggers depression. I ask you now to find out what triggers your depression, weather it be childhood, current life style, a break up, a form of loss I.e. job loss. The point is it is important to find out what triggers or where your depression comes from. This is an important step to start with in reaching a cure. Your friend.

feel better despite the wrather

Start the day with meditation

If you look out of the window every morning, and let the weather set the tone of the day, you're destined for depression (living in the wet west of Britain, anyway!) Instead, lift your mood with some meditation. Keep a candle near your bed, and when you wake, sit up in bed and light the candle. Spend five minutes looking at the flame, breathing gently through your nose, and feel sensations of calmness and joy filling your body and mind. Then get on with your day, in a better mood!

There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes...

Working at a Yoga centre in Snowdonia, I never go anywhere without my waterproof jacket and trousers. That way, I definitely walk each day, no matter whether it's pouring or sunny. So often we can be put off by a little precipitation, but why not see rain as refreshing, snow as soothing and wind as wonderful? Our Australian visitors at the Snowdonia centre always marvel about how revitalizing the wet weather is and how beautiful the green valley is. It's all a matter of attitude!

Get into nature

The great outdoors has a fantastic mood -lifting effect. Green spaces have been shown to reduce incidence of depression, and even just looking at a tree can make people heal faster after surgery. So ensure that you have at least a 10 minute walk in a green space every day, preferably in daylight, for optimum mood-lifting. Why not take your lunch outside and eat it in the park or garden? Eating al fresco doesn't have to be limited to summer - just wrap up warm and out you go!

Have a strong daily yoga practice

Yoga is one of the best forms of feel-good exercise around, but it's sometimes easy to forget to practise when life gets a bit challenging. Dru Yoga is particularly effective lifting mood and reducing stress. In a recent study of Bangor university employees, researchers reported an improvement in mood after practising yoga every week for 6 weeks. They found it easier to cope under stress and felt greater confidence after the flowing yoga, compared to a control group. I recommend the flowing Sun sequence or Energy Block Release 1 for an instant mood lift.

I'm singing in the rain

You may look silly, but singing is one of the fastest ways to banish the blues. Many yogis enjoy chanting mantras along with kirtan masters like Krishna Das or Snatam Kaur. Choirs are gaining in popularity - so no matter what your style is - singing in the shower or with an orchestra - sing for at least five minutes every day.

In Europe, we can't change the weather but we can certainly change our reactions to it, and stay happy come rain or shine.

Jane Clapham is a Dru Yoga and Meditation teacher, and trains people to become meditation teachers in the glorious surroundings of Snowdonia, in North Wales, UK. She also leads meditation retreats and holidays in the celtic mountains of Wales and worldwide. Contact her at hello@druworldwide.com to be included in the newsletter from Dru worldwide, which includes yoga and stress-busting tips. For more information about Dru Yoga and meditation, visit http://www.druworldwide.com/ You'll find yoga classes, yoga holidays and yoga training courses which are taught in the UK, North America, Netherlands and Australia. Have a stress-free day!

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5 tips to avoid becoming depressed

These days, men and women are facing many challenges. Depression is one challenge that many face on a daily basis. Some are successful and achieve great results with their efforts. Others try but don't ever appear to make any real progress. Many get disappointing results. Why is that? And How might you then become the type that succeeds?

The key to success is in the planning, in identifying crucial tasks beforehand. After you have a plan, once you know how, it is easy! And so, are you serious about beating depression? Then you definitely should study and discover what is important first. In a nutshell, it's essential to acquire understanding of what exactly is involved and why it is important.

Below are 5 tips to help you succeed at avoiding depression:

1. Offer GoodWill To Others. Why might this be important? There is a principle that what we give out, we get back. All right, you follow this advice and what results should be expected? If we offer goodwill to other people this creates a powerful positive energy..

2. Keep Busy. The reason this is very important is that activity forces us to do something constructive, and does not allow us to dwell on our depressed state of mind.. Additionally it may well be important since when we get involved in other activities that we enjoy it takes us out of ourselves..

3. Share Problems. The true reason for this is good friendships can offer tremendous help.. This could also be a wise idea because having someone to talk to and share difficulties is a tremendous help in being able to work through our own problems..

4. Don't Dwell On the Negative. And this would be important because...? if we focus always on negative things this will eventually filter through into our state of mind.. Could there be some other reason? if we want to cultivate happiness, we should seek to avoid depressing situations and depressing people..

5. Avoid Feelings Of Guilt. Just what exactly could be said in favor of this? often we have done nothing wrong, but, others seek to make us feel guilty for their bad fortune.. What other reasons would there be in support of this? instead of feeling guilty we should seek to concentrate on doing the right thing..

For optimum results in beating depression, simply comply with the above 5 simple steps. Then succeed and revel in all of the benefits, enjoyment and fruits that go with that success. Not heeding the above points will bring about lower than acceptable results. Quite a lot worse results compared to those you would normally be expecting.

Discover easy methods to Beating Depression at our web site at http://www.beatingdepressionhq.com.

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A little bit of Entertainment is good

Director: Neil Burger
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Rating: PG- 13
Release Date: 2011 March 18
Screenwriter: Leslie Dixon
Starring: Abbie Cornish, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro

What Worked?

Users say that the first hit of heroin is like being kissed by God. In Limitless, the fictional drug called NZT makes one become a god. Neil Burger directs a tightly constructed, aesthetically pleasing story about a drug that transcends the mind to work at its full potential. The film is vastly entertaining, with a unique and always-interesting story that's led by a charismatic, engaging performance from Bradley Cooper.

Director Neil Burger visually molds this film to be a psychedelic trip that is a wonderment for the eyes. The reason for the warping visuals is because Burger places the audience in the mind of Eddie Mora, the main character who takes the NZT miracle drug. Burger applies such visual contortions as fish-eye views, a tunnelling vision one gets from being sandwiched by mirrors, and clever insertions of text or numbers running through Eddie's mind; such as raining letters or numbers flipping on the ceiling. All the flash and flare work and make this film more optically pleasing than any film selling the 3-D gimmick.

Bradley Cooper, mainly known for his role in the Hangover, shines in this role as Eddie Mora. Cooper plays the grungy, broken-down writer well enough that you can smell his shower less stench through the screen; however, when he his upgraded by NZT, he plays the smooth, intelligent hot shot with ease. There's always a sense of urgency and hunger in his eyes for more power, whether he's fending for another pop or controlling his world through his biting knowledge with NZT. Cooper displays a tight balance of vulnerability and charisma throughout the film.

At the center of it all, the story is about greed and power; a chase to be something we can't even fathom for a millisecond: perfect. As a film, Limitless is an over-the-counter drug that works for what it is: a clever, smarter-than-average flick, boasting an engaging lead performance. Maybe one day someone will combine all the drugs of reality, take away all the negative side-effects, and get something close to NZT; for right now, we can always pretend in the Limitless world.

Potential Drawbacks:

There are always nit-picky moments and plot-holes that pop-up in stories with complex concepts, and Limitless isn't good enough to escape all of them. Some may have the "he could've done this" syndrome while watching the film. Why didn't Eddie do away with Gennady, the loan shark, earlier? Where did the drug come from? If the drug makes you a genius, why did Eddie have dumb moments while on it? And so on.

At times the narration works, and at times it's atrocious. Narration is a difficult thing to perfect, but more often than not it becomes tedious reviewing of what can already be seen on the screen, and that's what happens on occasion in this film.

Robert De Niro finally lands a role in another solid film; however, he has very limited screen-time and not much to do. De Niro's talents are wasted once again.

For more movie reviews, visit Reelworth.

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Things someone with depression doesnt want to hear

I've read an interest post recently talking about hurtful phrases you would hear from people who are totally ignorant of what your depression disorder is.

Ignorance maybe bliss, but not when you are constantly hurt by heartless and thoughtless remarks.

So what are the top five of the most hurtful comments you might get about your depression?

1. Just snap out of it! How many people think that your depression is a mere whim and not a serious illness? That you are being pessimistic and simply need to talk yourself out of it? This phrase is on par with pull yourself together! Just makes me want to kick something every time I hear it. You do not snap out of it, people. It's like saying to snap out of your cancer or brain tumour... You find causes of your depression and treat it like any other illness.

2. Get a life or(my favourite) get a job! Excuse me. Depression has nothing to do with boredom or idleness. More often it's caused by constant stress, anxieties and exhaustion, which means your life is so full of it, you can't cope anymore.

3. Stop feeling sorry for yourself! Another misconception which is difficult to fight with. We don't just sit and feel sorry for ourselves, chaps. We simply struggle to find energy to be happy. We feel repulsed and ashamed by this condition, we lose self-respect, and we don't want to be a burden to our friends, family and loved ones. There are many complicated reasons to be depressed: chemical or hormonal imbalance, emotional or physical trauma, it might be hereditary, etc. Whatever the reason, the treatment for depression is a delicate process built of several components. Stop feeling sorry for yourself just doesn't cover it.

4. Stop being depressed, cheer up! It doesn't really help you, when people treat your depression lightly. I've heard variation of this phrase so many times, I lost count. Although the essence of advice is true, depending on severity of your depression, there are ways for you to make yourself feel happier, the way the message is delivered just tells you that the person saying it doesn't understand or doesn't want to understand what's happening to you.

5. You have no excuse to be depressed! This is my old-time favourite. People think that if you've got it all (by all I mean something that they don't have) you automatically should be happy. Besides there are some kinds of depression and anxiety that always puzzle people like SAD (seasonal affective disorder) or postnatal depression.

They way I look at it, if you explain that your depression have chemical or hormonal basis, make it look as scientific as possible, people's attitude changes and they start treating your condition as illness.

I would like to hear the remarks you had to listen to and how you've dealt with them, so please share!

http://freeofworry.org/illness/things-you-dont-want-to-hear-in-depression/
Karina Knight used to work with mental health patients and dealt with the latest antidepressants and anti-psychotics. Now she researches the topic of depression and writes on all the connected with this illness issues.
More information about depression and how to overcome it on the blog http://freeofworry.org

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Diet causing Depression?

Is it possible that your diet is causing you to be in depression? Or is that just one more thing to be depressed about?

Did you know that recent research has revealed a strong link between depression and yeast overgrowth, especially amongst people who have had long courses of antibiotics, experience persistent, unresolved digestive problems, and often experience yeast infections such as Thrush.

How could this be? Are they related in any way, and if so, which comes first, the depression or the yeast overgrowth symptoms.

First it is important to say that current science is not in agreement that there is a direct causal link between the two conditions. But, let's follow the possible pathway to see if it feels familiar for you or someone you know.

The symptoms of yeast overgrowth, or Candidiasis, are not always obvious to begin with, and you may simply be feeling not quite well, suffering some mild form of the conditions we've come to learn indicate a yeast problem. Simple discomforts as bloating after eating, minor aches and pains that don't go away, perhaps, mild diarrhea, all of which are a good indicator of Candida overgrowth. Not recognised for what they are, they only get worse, and the resultant craving for more sugar and more carbohydrates is the worst thing for your body.

Because you don't realize what is going on your diet is most likely to get worse as you feed your cravings, and before long you are developing nutritional deficiencies leading to changes to your hormonal system. These changes further weaken your immune system, as well as producing a flood of brain chemicals, which eventually disturb the normal balance of your mood-regulating chemicals in your brain.

So, on top of not feeling your best physically, your brain is operating in an increased state of anxiety and depression. Does this mean if you have Candidiasis you will also suffer depression? Not necessarily. Latest genome research has identified a specific gene related to depression. If you have the gene, then under the right conditions, you are likely to be depressed. If you don't have the gene, you may have less of a depressed reaction. The important issue is that an overgrowth of candida yeast can very quickly create the right conditions for significant changes in the functioning of your brain.

This may not be exactly how your traditional doctor views depression and yeast. You would most likely be told that there's no scientific connection. But the evidence of individuals who suffer from both yeast overgrowth and depression is overwhelming, and in most cases the experience of these people is that there depression is relieved once they begin an anti-yeast regimen.

The best part about yeast as a possible cause, is that there are no downsides to tackling yeast overgrowth. You will feel physically and emotionally healthier within weeks. So what is there to lose?

Graham Forbes is an educator, writer, entrepreneur and innovator with a wide experience in health and education and is a passionate believer in empowering people through information and education.

To learn more about candida cure visit his site at http://endyeastintolerance.com

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Depression 63 Ideas to Get Rid of Depression - Take Charge of Your Brain

No matter what kind of depression you have, the pain is the same-caused by a chemical imbalance in your brain. No matter what you're depressed about, or even if you don't know why you're depressed, there are some simple things you can do to reduce your pain and anxiety, and get yourself feeling better.

Simple cognitive behavior techniques and exercises can lessen pain and stimulate more productive thinking. Low-key physical and mental activity can also speed recovery.

1. Relax your shoulders, take a deep breath and don't panic! Millions of perfectly normal people have struggled with all kinds of depression and learned how to get out of it. You are not alone. You have options.

2. First, why do you feel so bad? It's not because of your problems. It's because of your brain chemistry. There are two main parts of the brain, the thinking part (the neocortex) and the emotional part (the subcortex). When you're depressed, your subcortex is reacting to stress chemicals, and producing excruciating pain and panic.

3. To add to your misery, your subcortex sucks up additional neural energy from the neocortex until it is practically non-functioning. So you can't think straight, plus you're in agony.

4. You feel helpless, but there's a lot you can do. Your body is experiencing a perfectly normal reaction to the over-supply of stress chemicals in your brain.

5. You need to reduce the neural energy in the subcortex and re-power the neocortex. You can do this with cognitive behavioral mind techniques that will spark up neural activity in the neocortex. With a little practice you will be able to do this any time depression hits you. A few facts about how your brain works will also help you cope.

6. Your first task is to free yourself from the kinds of negative and downer thoughts that power the subcortex and support the pain of your depression. Get rid of thoughts like:

• 'I'm depressed'
• 'I feel terrible'
• 'What's the use'
• 'I can't stand this pain anymore'

7. Switch your Thoughts! To get rid of any depressive thoughts, simply switch out of thinking them. Since the brain is basically a 'yes brain,' it's hard to not think something. The way to not think a negative or depressive thought is to think another thought instead of it.

8. The best way to think another thought instead of a depressive thought is to use the simple cognitive behavioral technique called 'brainswitching.'

Choose any neutral or nonsense thought, in advance, to have 'at the ready' to substitute for any depressive thought that pops up. When you're depressed, you're in too much pain to think one up.

• Make it a thought that will not stimulate any negative emotional association. It could be
• a silly song or rhyme fragment like 'Row, row, row your boat'
• a mantra like 'Om Padme'
• a neutral or nonsense word like 'hippity-hop, 'green frog,' or 'yadda yadda'
• a prayer like the 23rd Psalm.

9. It may seem silly to suggest that saying 'green frog' over and over to yourself can get rid of depression, but there's a scientific reason for the exercise. Thinking a neutral or nonsense thought interrupts the depressive thought pattern and weakens it. How? See #10.

10. The brain always follows the direction of its most current dominant thought. When you make your neutral or nonsense thought dominant by thinking it over and over repetitively, it automatically kicks the depressive thought out of its dominant position and the brain ceases tracking it so actively. It turns toward the neutral thought.

11. Brainswitching will automatically increase neural activity in the neocortex, and reduce neural activity in the subcortex. It will continually interrupt the message that you are depressed from one part of the brain to the other.

12. Brainswitching distracts your attention from your emotional brain and directs it to the thinking part of the brain. Depression only happens in the subcortex. There's never any depression in the neocortex.

13. You can brainswitch for a few seconds the first time you try it. With practice you can do it longer. You may be surprised to know that, even in the worst depression, your neocortex always remains calm and immediately available to you. And you can always brainswitch to it.

14. Keep choosing your neutral thought again when you lose concentration. You must actually do this exercise to activate the neocortex. It's not just an idea. Ideas don't work for depression. Only behavior works. A thought is just a thought but thinking a thought over and over again is behavior!

15. Always brainswitch to break the continuity of depression's grip on you. Depression, like any other anxious emotion or feeling, can't maintain itself unless you think it repetitively. Think something else instead-like 'green frog.'

16. Do not think a depressive thought twice. No depressive thought can, by itself, turn into depression if you continually refuse to think it. A depressive thought is over as quick as any other thought. Don't choose to think it again. Depression hits you with a first thought but you can refuse to think the second thought. For depression to 'take hold,' you must continuously think it.

17. Move into Action! Always brainswitch whenever a depressive or stressful thought threatens to ' take over.' An unhappy thought is just a thought. It can pop into your mind at any moment. It is an event that happens to you. Choosing to think an unhappy, anxious or depressive thought over and over is behavior. It is something that you do and you can learn not to do it.

18. Be aware of the 'early warning' sad or negative feelings that usually precede a full-blown depressive episode. Confront your depression right away. 'Okay I know what this is. This is depression coming. I have to side-step it with a neutral thought.'

19. Get out of depression at earlier stages by checking out the passive thinking that happens when you just let your mind wander. Passive thinking can often 'go negative' on you. When it does, switch to on-purpose thinking before negative thinking becomes dominant in your brain. The way you do 'on-purpose' thinking is to choose a specific thought to think, or by deciding to do some task which then directs your thinking in line with the task at hand.

20. Pry yourself loose from being fused with the pain of your depression before you disappear into it.
Find a small thinking space between you and your pain. Yes, you feel agonized and hopeless, but you can also focus slightly aside from your agony and hopelessness. You are not hopeless, you are the observer of your feeling of hopelessness. Accept some discomfort in a more detached way. Depression is a horrible feeling. It is not you! YOU are you! You are not a feeling. You are a person who is having a feeling.

21. Focus your mind on some low-key physical action:

• Brush your teeth.
• Clean your desk.
• Swing your arms in circles.
• Jog, or take a walk, and keep on walking until you feel tired.
• Smile! -not because you're happy, but to relax your tense face muscles.

22. Get yourself up and going with any kind of moving-around exercises. The more you move into physical action, the less depression has a chance to settle in on you. Put on some music, dance around the room. Not because you will feel like dancing, but because depression hates you to dance. Do something your depression hates.

23. Distract yourself from the pain of depression with small chores. Do them while thinking your neutral or nonsense thought. Do your chore. Think your thought. Ignore your depression by thinking objectively about what you are doing not subjectively about how you are feeling. Your stress and pain will begin to lessen.

24. Look around you if you can't think of any chores to do. There is always some 'next thing' that can distract you from your pain. Any outward-focused action can help you turn away from self-focus on the pain of your depression. Take out the trash.

25. Do the 'next thing' when paralyzed by fear or depression. Life never abandons us without giving us the 'next thing' to do. It is security for our sanity and for the healing power of positive behavior. The next thing may just be to take a shower.

26. After the first task, the second task will become even more obvious. Do what you decide to do, not what you feel like doing. Depression never deprives you of 'will,' only motivation. You won't want to do anything, but you can do it.

27. Focus on Behavior, Not Feelings! Since depression kills motivation, use your 'neutral thought' exercise as if it is a motivation pill. Quick! Slip a neutral thought in on your depressive thought.

28. Decide ahead of time to do your exercise anyway, even though you feel like it won't work. Anticipate the fact that depression always robs you of all hope, including hope that any exercise will work.

29. Behavior always trumps feelings. But for a trump to win, you have to play it. No fearful or depressive feeling is powerful enough to prevent you from engaging your body in some kind of mental or physical behavior. You just need to stand up to your fearful feelings and show them 'who's boss.' Behavior is boss.

• No fearful or depressive feeling can rise up and conquer you. It must frighten you into surrendering.
• Feelings are just your own neural patterns twanging for attention.
• Accept fearful feelings; move forward with positive behavior.
• When you accept fearful feelings, they finish and die. Fear feeds them and keeps them alive
• Feelings cannot be more powerful than you are--behavior rules!

30. Depression is not something that you are, it is something you do and you can learn not to do it. Depression is a terrible feeling. Feelings are very powerful but they are not intelligent. They can be wrong. You don't have to do feelings. You can change the thinking that caused the feelings and then the feelings will change to reflect the new thoughts. On-purpose thought always trumps passive or automatic thought.

31. On-purpose thought is always more current than passive thought, so automatically it's more dominant than passive thought. Your brain always follows the direction of its most current dominant thought. If your depression patterns are well-imprinted from practicing them, don't worry. Practicing new thinking forms new brain patterns without depression. You can use the new get-out-of-depression patterns instead of the old get-into-depression ones.

32. During depression, the physical pain, the psychological fear, the feelings of worthlessness, helplessness, and despair, are all bound up and entangled in a neural pattern that takes on a life of its own, seemingly independent of our will. The key here is seemingly. We are not usually aware that we focus our attention away from our will when we're depressed. We focus only on the depressive pattern. We can focus on our behavior instead.

33. Decide to concentrate on something--a book or some work. Depression doesn't prevent you from concentrating. That's a myth. Depression makes you forget that you are already concentrating on something-on depression! Don't let depression interrupt work. Let work interrupt your depression.

34. Whenever depression interrupts your concentration, interrupt it back! You have one attention only. If you are thinking a neutral, nonsense, rational, or productive thought, you cannot, at the same instant, be thinking a depressive thought.

35. Pay attention to your self-talk. It will indicate what kind of thinking you're doing-passive or on-purpose, self-focused or outer-focused, subjective (about your feelings) or objective (about other things). Self-talk is that on-going conversation you have with yourself in your own mind that you usually don't pay any attention to.

36. Don't Forget-Your Mind is Tricking You! Your mind tricks you into anxious thinking via unnoticed self-talk. Trick it back! Replace negative self-talk. If you hit a red light, self-talk might be 'I'm going to be late!' Change to 'Relax, I'll be fine.'

37. You think you're depressed because of your problems. This is a mind trick. You're always depressed because of your depression. It's the chemistry! Anxious thoughts trigger the fight-or-flight response that produces stress chemicals, causing a chemical imbalance in your brain.

38. It seems your whole self is depressed. This is a mind trick. Depression only occurs in the subcortex. There's never any depression in the thinking part of the brain.

39. Depression seems like present reality. This is a mind trick. Depression is a feeling, already past, which you must then replay (rethink) in memory 'as if' it is present reality. This is due to the instantaneous process of 'pain perception.' To experience any feeling of physical pain or emotion (which is always produced in the subcortex) we must first think (acknowledge) the feeling in the neocortex-after we have it.

Cases are recorded of athletes who break a bone during a game and don't experience any pain until the game is over. Neocortical concentration on the game blocked pain signals sent to the neocortex that should have alerted them to the pain of their injury.

40. Depression is the opposite of living in the NOW. Thinking how you feel is past feeling re-played in thinking 'as if' it's present. The process of experiencing a past feeling as if it's a present happening is beneath our level of awareness but once we are aware of it, we can slip a quick neutral thought in on our depression and weaken it.

41. There's a huge difference between self-focus and self-awareness. Self-focus is thinking about how you feel, and it is never connected to present reality. Self-awareness is connecting with present reality by getting outer-focused. When you find yourself self-focused, get outer-focused as soon as possible with physical or objective mental activity that connects you to the neocortex. Self-focus is the opposite of living in the NOW because self-focus is thinking about your feelings which are always 'past.'

42. To get out of self-focus and connect to present reality, think objective thoughts about the people or the physical things around you. Think about or talk to another person. Objective thinking can immediately help detach you from the subjective thinking of the pain of your depression. It also helps when you feel self-conscious, socially stressed and alienated.

43. This is really tricky. If you feel bad, you have unwittingly instructed your brain to feel bad. The brain works by learned association (think 'salt,' the thought 'pepper' automatically fires up). A negative thought is instructions to your brain to fire up other similar negative thoughts in its memory bank. If you think 'sad' then similar 'downer' thoughts like 'depressed' will pop up, or 'worthless' or ' I feel terrible.'

44. When you think any thought at all, that thought becomes a specific instruction to your brain because it works by learned association. Your brain will pick up the thought like a football, and connect it with the other similar thoughts stored in its memory banks. Think 'green frog' not 'sad.'

45. Use 'learned association' to get out of depression the same way you got in it. Neutral thoughts spark up other neutral thoughts and your brain moves from depressive thinking to neutral thinking.

46. Get the 'process of positivity' working for you in your brain. The inherent importance of any small victory is not relevant. The process of being positive is more important than the content.

47. Even if you over-ate there might be some small thing you passed up. 'Hey, I didn't eat that third brownie. I was victorious over the third brownie.' Our small triumphs don't need to make sense in the 'real world.' They just need to be positive so that they will stimulate positive thinking in our mind by learned association.

48. Re-engage! Your depression wants you to isolate yourself and keep yourself stressed. Fight back! Re-engage with other people or things-go to the movies, read biographies in the library, take a long walk downtown.

49. Question your thoughts. It is helpful to think this, or is it unhelpful? Is it helpful to believe this, or is it unhelpful? Unhelpful thoughts should never be an option. No thought can make you think it. You have the power to not think any thought. In order to not think a thought, simply think another thought instead of it-like 'hippity hop.'

50. Don't call yourself names like 'I'm Depressed' or 'I'm Bipolar.' Labels of illness like 'I'm bipolar' don't contribute to wellbeing. Cancer patients feel better who tell themselves that they are 'doing better,' rather than thinking, 'I have cancer.' Treat
these names like any negative thought.

51. See your problems in context of time, a week out of your lifespan; in terms of help that might be available from family or friends; in terms of developing character from the experience of your failure.

52. Carry a paperback joke book. When depression threatens, read the book for at least five minutes. Depression will not want you to do this. Do it anyway.

53. Laugh out loud for two minutes. The brain doesn't know the difference between being happy and pretending to be happy. Happy thoughts produce happy feelings. The feelings are genuine though the thoughts that generated them were fake.

54. Put off depression as long as you can. 'It's coming, but I'll do my exercises first before it's all the way here.' Or, 'I'll check my email first.' This way you interrupt the direct neural pathway to depression, and the brain can 'forget' it was heading for depression.

55. To produce calm thinking, force neutral thoughts on your brain as you would force exercise on your body. This imprints in your memory bank a usable neural pattern that you can access whenever depression attacks. If you want to be happy, you have to first get your brain to do happy.

56. Allow space for your panicky feelings. They are very scary, but they are just normal reactions to stress chemicals that are the same in every human body. It might be difficult to breathe or swallow, your heart might start racing, you might get the shakes or the sweats, feel like you're going to die! Let your feelings be where they are, while you temporarily focus your attention on some deep breathing. Just easy. Just easy. Breathing doesn't have to be perfect. Just easy. Watch your breath coming in, and watch it going out. In and out.

57. Depression is not real life. It's a panic room of the mind. Get back out of your panic room into real life again.

58. You're responsible for your mind, not to your mind (as if it were in charge of you.) You should be in charge of your mind, so it does what you want. You should direct your thinking, not collapse into it; manage moods cognitively, not obey them.

59. Do not re-think old horror stories. Say to yourself. 'I will not go there.' How you don't go there is head elsewhere in your mind. Your brain can't follow two chains of thought going in two directions at once. It will follow your current dominant thought.

60. It's possible to choose to live by the precept that you will accept no other option than going forward with your day in some productive manner, no matter how humble, no matter how desperate you feel.

61. There's the power of positive thinking. There's also the power of positive doing! When you get depressed, do something physically and mentally active. Re-engage your attention in any objective thinking or outer-focus, and get yourself out of dangerous subjective self-focus.

62. Thoughts are not reality. They are tools to help you through your day. Choose the right tools. If you think good thoughts you will have good feelings, you will see good in others, and in yourself, and you'll see good things in your path.

63. You can't always decide to be happy. You can always decide to be cheerful. Happiness is a feeling. Cheerfulness is on-purpose, rational behavior. Being cheerful ultimately makes you happy.

© A. B. Curtiss 2010

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