Thursday, October 11, 2012

Depression

What do you do when you or a friend are depressed?

4 comments:

Rose said...

I rarely get depressed. If I feel low, I kick myself in the rear and remind myself that others have it worse. But when it comes to others, the one thing I know we need to do is to recognize the symptoms. I have known others who committed suicide and wondered what might I have been able to do. If you don't see folks every day, you may miss some of the signs. I guess that part of the answer is seeing friends and acquaintances frequently and spending time talking to them.

Anonymous said...

Listen to them. Gently listen and ask God to help you understand this persons pain. For it is real pain. I have been there most of my life. However, finding faith in God recently has helped me so much. I would not witness right away. It's hard to believe when your own world is so down.

Larry Rix said...

Recipe for Ending Depression NOW!

Rule: What you think produces what you feel.

Whatever thoughts are occupying your mind, these thoughts produce what you feel. Stated another way -- without your thoughts, there is no emotion. Thoughts produce emotion.

Test: The next time you feel depressed, stop. Check what thoughts were going on in your mind just before and during. You will find that thoughts lead to and produce your emotions.

Rule: Negative emotions come from thoughts either about a past you cannot change or a future you cannot predict.

In the midst of the emotions and feelings you call depression, notice the time-frame of your thoughts you were thinking just before and during your depressed emotional state. Those thoughts will be fantasies about the past or the future, where you are trying to explain, change, manipulate or predict -- but -- they are ONLY fantasies: mental pictures, stories and scenes that play out in your head over and over again.

Rule: The larger the depression problem, the more time is spent in fantasies about past or future.

Rule: There are only three time-frames for your thinking: Past, Future ... and NOW! (present)

Rule: When you are depressed, notice the time-frame of your thinking -- NOT the content of it.

Rule: To end depression in less than a minute, choose to change what you are thinking about from the past or future to RIGHT NOW!

Thoughts about right now follow these rules (and more):

Rule #1: NOW-Thoughts are always about CHOOSING what to DO!

Rule #2: DOing always produces a RESULTs!

Rule #3: The RESULTs of DOing are always good or bad for BOTH you and others, equally at the same time!

Plan: When you "feel" the EMOTIONs of depression, STOP-AND-SWITCH!

Rule #1: STOP fantasizing about the past or the future.

Rule #2: SWITCH to thoughts about right NOW choices of what good actions can you DO!

Rule #3: DO them NOW!

Larry Rix said...

Part II

Things to notice as a result:

#1 God has provided an endless banquet of good choices for you in the right NOW!

#2 The choice to end living in the fantasies of past and future in your thoughts and come to the choices of the present moment has ALWAYS been yours!

#3 This is where appropriate personal boundaries are born. If you see your good choices in each moment, then you start to realize that EVERYONE has the same thing.

#4 The good choices of right now set the stage for more good choices in the future. You build the future by what you choose now. Fantasies about the future change NOTHING -- only choices acted upon and accomplished NOW can effect change on the future.

The question you will ultimately come to is: If continual fantasies about the past and future are not good choices to make, but lead to things like frustration and depression, what would motivate my brain to do this?

ANSWER: You have a subconscious mind that is driven by opiate chemicals. Your brain literally produces its own opiates and is addicted to them. Fantasies about the past and future are the quickest way to produce strong jolts (releases) of this inward, self-produced chemistry.

The art of YOU rising up to CHOOSE to think about NOW and what you can DO and the RESULTs of your DOing does NOT produce the quick "high" your opiate-addicted brain is looking for. Moreover, you MUST ultimately realize this not so simple rule:

Rule: Not every thought in your conscious awareness is coming by way of your CHOICE!

You have a subconscious mind that can trigger thoughts (fantasies, memories, etc) from your stored memories. It triggers the thoughts that lead to the quickest and strongest release of the opiates in your core brain. It does so without consulting you, without asking you and with NO intent on maintaining your well-being and with NO goal of goodness for YOU!

YOU must choose to stand up against this subconscious opiate addict living in yourself (and each one of us). Your brain will NOT just "shut-off" after you start choosing to live in the present moment and DO the CHOICEs and get the RESULTs. This will be a life-long matter for you.

There is your brain and then there is YOU. Your opiate addicted subconscious brain will trigger whatever thoughts it thinks will lead to the longest, strongest and quickest release of the opiate chemistry in your mind in order to get high!

YOU must CHOOSE to STOP-and-SWITCH -- change from paying attention to, dwelling in and spending your right NOW time in the fantasies offered to you by your subconscious brain.

YOU must CHOOSE to FOCUS on the present moment, the CHOICEs you have to DO and the RESULTs you will get from making GOOD ones!

Rule: WHATEVER YOU FOCUS ON -- EXPANDS!

If you focus on the fantasies of your opiate addicted subconscious, then you will reap depression, frustration and all the ugliness coming from it.

If YOU focus on the present moment, the CHOICEs you can DO that have GOOD RESULTs, then you will expand that and reap the benefit. The choice is yours. You are NOT a victim! God has given you choices in each moment.

Choose wisely!