Fight your sadness
Last days have been hard for me. As anybody, when threats, bad news, and difficulties add up, my inner joy and energy tends to vanish. When this state of mind, lasts it can even lead to depression. And even if I didn’t reach that point, I must honestly admit that I was no more the optimistic, energetic man I like to be. I spent too much time in this mood, that’s why I’d like to share what I did to recover, hoping that it will speed up your recovery.
Observation
Before any action you need awareness. So if you feel sad, pessimistic and morose, like I did. It should ring the bell: You have to do something, because the more you stay in this state of mind the more depressed you’ll get. And you have to do it promptly.
Vicious circle
You have to act quickly, because you’re in a vicious circle. When you’re sad, it’s hard to enjoy all the pleasant things of your life, that makes you even more sad. When you’re tired, it’s hard to take the required action, that makes the things worse, and make you more tired. When you’re morose, everything seems worse than it is and guess what? That will make you more morose. That’s the vicious circle that will make you more and more sad and will ultimately lead you to depression.
Breaking the circle
If you can’t expect no help from someone else, let me give you a way to break the circle. It’s not an easy one and but you can do it without any doubt. All you have to do, is to take action. It doesn’t require you to believe, understand or whatever. Decide to do something to get better.
As I’m someone rather radical, I choose to do fight my physical fatigue the most extreme way I could find: I did 100 burpees. The idea was that If I could manage to do it whatever the cost, I could go through anything needed to get better. So I did it (in fact I choose to do 105, just do more than I did when I was in good shape) and the result was immediate. My problems were still there, but my fatigue disappeared, I felt more energetic and everything became manageable. (heck if I could do 100 burpees while so tired, what could stop me now I felt better) More important, I had a proof that my fatigue/sadness was all in my head, and that I could improve it almost instantly. I could do one step toward the recovery goal.
That’s as simple as that, take one tangible step!
Consistency
Ok now, that you know that you can do this simple step. Make another one, and another one, and another one…
Forget about your sadness, fatigue or the causes. Focus on the action, that make your better, more joyful, more rested, optimistic. Anything that will make you realize that you can improve your state, one step at a time. Focus on the action and all the benefits that come with it (even if it’s only the fact that you manage to do it)
Understand
I won’t say that you’re the only cause of your sufferings. (That might sound too harsh for some of you) But let me tell you something: if we can’t choose what the life throw at us, we can choose the way/degree it affects us. Every little step, proves it: we can change our feeling. And even if it’s seem futile to you, it’s not. If a little action make you feel only 1% slightly better, that only means that you’ll need 100. It’s up to you to choose the number steps you’re accepting to take. So it’s up to your to choose the level of improvement you’re willing to reach.
So yes, ultimately you can choose the way/degree things affect you.
Adapt
Of course putting your body to extreme stress is probably not the best way for you.
Depending on your energy do whatever you can:
- Make your bed
- Have a walk
- Enjoy a good meal
- Meet a Friend
Do whatever works for you. Even if it’s quitting your bed to enjoy a bath. As long as it’s an effort to you and you manage to do it, you’ve made a step that you can enjoy.
Conclusion
I hope you’ll find some hints in this article to recover more quickly. Don’t hesitate to ask for help to the people you love. Don’t hesitate to ask me for any clarification that could help. And remember that whatever the trouble you’re going through, you can use it to improve.