For me, not all days are good days. I took this picture recently when I was feeling low. The tears came and I didn’t want to do anything. I used to live in this depressive darkness for days, weeks and even months. Heavily medicated, thinking things would never get better. I thought things would never change. The difference is, now, I know they will.
Things did change when I began to do the work and not just rely on hours of talk therapy and bottles of pills. I began to work on myself.
Now, I’m obviously not a doctor. I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, so I can’t tell anyone what to do. I can, however, share what helped me in hopes that it helps empower someone else.
The bottom line is it takes work, and I had to be ready to do the work. Up until that point, the traditional therapies were my answer and I’m grateful to have had them.
The real journey to healing began when I sought out healthy communities and started long distance running with Team in Training. I wasn’t really raised in the church but heard the call while training one day and started going to church. I joined the Seal Beach Lions Club and volunteered to focus my attention on something outside of myself. Nonfiction books began to outnumber fiction on my shelves. I listened to audible books like Return to Love, Mastering Your Mean Girl and The Universe Has Your Back while running instead of music. Personal development podcasts helped me pass the time on my daily commute.
The biggest shift happened when I connected with my spiritual teacher, Delphi Divine, and began using alternative forms of therapy like meditation, hypnotherapy, tapping and energy healing. Delphi is my angel. After years of talk therapy and medications to mask my anxiety and depression, I found Delphi. With her guidance, we got to the root of my past trauma and I began to heal from the inside out. She helped me move beyond my limiting beliefs and learn to step into my greatness. Now, because of Delphi, my heart is open and I feel ready to shine!
I still struggle. And if you’ve ever been in this state, you may also know the shame spiral of knowing HOW to move through the feelings but not being able to DO it. Learning that I didn’t need to go from 0 to 60 all at once is what helped me most. I just needed to go from 0 to 10 or maybe just 1. That was something I could do, and gradually with more practice, I moved through the feelings faster.
So now, I have a list of ways I can lift my mood just a little bit. Things like…
- Calling a friend (or my mom)
- Moving my body (often a walk was all I could handle)
- Meditating and deep breathing
- Journaling and practicing gratitude
- Listening to music
- Singing
- Laughing (watch baby goats)
- Reading
- Volunteering
- Coloring or doing a puzzle
I find comfort in knowing the darkness will pass. I give myself permission to feel my emotions without shame. I allow it to come and pass through me. If it lingers for too long, I reach for my list.
My challenge for you is to come up with a list of at least 10 things you can do when you’re feeling down. We all have bad days. What’s on your list?
