You Do Not Suffer Depression Alone Recognizing this can help you turn to people when it strikes and find better ways to cope with and combat it. Call it what you will, depression is something far more people cope with than you might realize. This is a very real mental and emotional health problem that should neither be ignored, nor swept under the rug. Yet there are still many, many people who do not recognize or acknowledge the depth of the issue. Perspective differs for everyone These are my experiences with depression. Though they may be familiar to you if you also combat depression, they may also be utterly alien as well. Depression manifests differently for different people. This is one of the problems, I believe, with both recognizing and treating depression. It has so many different faces, masks, and means that it can be confusing at best, infuriating, and utterly illogical at worst. Depression can manifest as anger, sadness, mania, frustration, fear, rage, uncertainty, and a bizarre mix of all of these and more. There is no shame in depression This is probably the most important stigma to address. There is no shame in fighting depression. There is no shame whatsoever in working with any mental illness. We need to be more open about how pervasive mental, emotional, and even spiritual health issues are, and how they ultimately can impact our physical health. Ask for help Because of the stigma attached to depression, as well as all of the complexities involved in experiencing it, asking for help can be really hard. No, I am not necessarily talking about professional help here. The people who love and care about you should be able to offer a hand when you need it. And if they are incapable, there are many other options. There are helplines you can call, there are organizations you can reach out to. And you probably, as a reader of these types of articles, know many others who understand what this is like to one degree or another. You are not alone. I will be more than happy to give you any of the tools I have used with mindfulness, conscious reality creation, and meditation practices, that I can. Or at the very least, an ear (or eye if via text communication) of understanding. This week’s Applied Guidance for Mindfulness Tool: This is going to be a slightly more involved tool. Journaling is an amazing way to clear your mind. It lets you honestly and authentically take what is in your head and put it somewhere you can see. While you could type this, I highly recommend doing this in a dedicated notebook or blank journal. To begin, pick a time every day (start with weekdays, Monday-Friday) to sit with a pen and your journal. Write out stream-of-consciousness what you are thinking, what and how you are feeling, and anything else that comes to mind. Don’t hold back, and don’t be afraid of judgment. Nobody else will read this because you are keeping it for and to yourself. Try journaling for at least 2 weeks, 5 days a week. If you can’t get a whole page at a time, write as much as you can. This could be a lifetime activity. Though I have had periods where I was not actively journaling. I’ve been doing so semi-regularly since 1992. Author Website: https://mjblehart.com Email: author@mjblehart.com Instagram Twitter Facebook Blogs: titaniumdon.com and mjblehart.medium.com Cover artist Fe Mahoney: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TaliasInspirations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices