Staying Strong: A Look at Fighting Depression

Depression sucks, I’ll be totally honest. For those who are lucky enough to not suffer from it, they don’t quite understand how easy it is to get sucked back into this monster. I call my depression the “little monster inside of me” and most days, I feel like it’s accurate.

For those who don’t understand, the best way I can think to describe it as to think of depression as a shadow. Even on days when I don’t necessarily feel it, it’s still there, lurking, waiting to attack. I don’t know how many others suffer from depression, but I know depression comes along with anxiety a lot. And good lord knows I panic. And panicking makes me sad. Which makes me depressed.

This past summer, I spent every week at the therapist’s office. I’ve learned a lot of coping skills and honestly, after the semester I had last semester, I know the therapy worked. I busted through that semester and kept on rolling. Even before therapy, I found ways to cope. Now, I realize these won’t always work for everyone, but I’ve realized these at least help me.

1.) Fresh Manicure – This seems so silly, but I love having pretty nails. I’ve got some pretty purple colors and it just makes me happy to have my nails a pretty color.

2.) Sing – I love singing. There have been proven studies that singing can help boost your happiness. Thankfully, I was blessed with a decent set of pipes, so I’m constantly singing. I don’t remember a time where I wasn’t singing, and I don’t know what I’d be do if I couldn’t sing my blues away.

3.) Go Through Old Stuff – I’m an organized freak. I love the idea of being organized. Haven’t quite captured the concept in real life, but I’ve got binders for everything. It’s fun to find old things that bring back memories. I keep a lot of writing documents, so it’s always fun to read what I’ve written in the past.

4.) Enjoy a movie – Or read a book. Sometimes it’s just nice to escape reality for a while.

I know this is a small list, but I’m tired and I’m solely thinking of sleep as I write this. I promise this will not be the last time I talk about depression on this blog.