Depression is a liar.

I recently read something that said "Depression is a big, fat liar."  It got me thinking on the subject.  This advice is not meant to take the place of professional help, but rather to supplement it and for short term fixes:



Depression lies to you.  It tells you that you are worthless.  It tells you things are hopeless.  It tells you no one can help you, so it advises you to withdraw from others and even yourself.  All of these are untrue, and the advice is the worst possible approach you could take.

So, what can you do?

Some of the simplest strategies involve connecting and exercising.  Better yet, combine the two.  Go for a vigorous walk with a friend or loved one.  It breaks down the walls of isolation that squeeze you into an even tighter depression while producing endorphins to improve your outlook on the moment.

Call up a friend and talk.

Compliment someone you don't know.  Smiles are infectious.  Seeing a smile come across their face will nourish that feeling of worthwhile that's been dying of malnutrition deep inside your core.

Stop focusing on the negatives.  Try to find a positive in every situation for an entire day.  If someone says something to you that you'd normally take as a negative, examine it to see if you might have just pre-disposed yourself for it to be a negative and perhaps they meant it as a positive.  If they clearly did not, think of how much worse off their life must be that they feel like they need to try to drag everyone down to their level of misery.  Do this for a whole day, and you'll find a decrease in your stress levels.  Then do it again the next day.

Don't listen to "downer" or "angry" music unless it usually puts you into a happy mood.  Find happier music to listen to when you are in your most down moods.

Change your routine for a short period of time.  Don't let the same thing every day get you into a rut.  Try something different.  If you can't think of anything, try some basic stuff.  Try learning to use your non-dominant hand to do a basic task you do every day like brush your teeth.  Try pulling out a board game you haven't played in forever and playing it with a friend.  Sign up for a class to learn something you've always wanted to learn.  It doesn't really matter about getting a good grade as long as you achieve the objectives of a) changing your routine and b) learning something new.

Host a get-together for friends and ask them to invite someone they think you might like.  During the gathering, don't let yourself be a wallflower.

If you have any other ideas of quick, short-term fixes, PLEASE post your ideas in the comments, and thanks for reading.

Death Takes A Vacation

What's been happening since the last blog?  Well, not much in the writing realm, though there has been one significant happening on the writing front that I'll talk about in a minute.  First, I've only managed to write one day since the last blog post update, mostly because of lack of inspiration and desire.  I've just been kind of blah on creativity the past few weeks.  I suppose there are lots of reason, not the least of which is me not making myself write even through the non-motivational period (like I tell Candice she needs to do with her art when she gets into similar creativity droughts  - I am apparently a hypocrite - at least recently.

A little over a week ago, Candice's grandma suffered a heart attack and had to be carried away by ambulance.  She's fine now, but it was scary for a couple of days.  She made it home just in time for her birthday party (which was also Gabe's and Jeanette's party).  She's been tired a lot more since coming home, but seems to be getting stronger with each passing day.

Gabe has become a greedy little jerk.  Everything is all about "me, me, me" and "gimme, gimme."  I know we're not knowingly promoting such an attitude, and it makes us want to go without giving presents to him for a while if he doesn't grow out of it soon.

Now for the "big" writing news - yesterday I sat down and wrote for the first time in weeks, and not only did I start a new story, I finished a new story.  It's only 3 pages and about 1200 words, but it's a pretty decent story.  It revolves around who death is, and his decision to finally take a vacation, which turns into him taking off a whole year and covers how the world changes in that time.

It was a concept that occurred to me while listening to The Book Thief (which we're almost finished listening to).  It is narrated by death and he describes taking the souls away, so naturally, the though occurred to me "What if he didn't do it?"

Anyway, that's what has been happening with me and my writing lately, thanks for reading.