As with everything in life, we take good things for granted – they’re hardly even on our radar. We live from day-to-day and week-to-week without actively being aware or grateful for the good things that we have. It’s only when something is lost or we’re faced with a difficult situation that we truly realise how good we’ve had it. Depression can be a bit like that. When we’re having a good day, it’s very easy to forget how bad things really can get. When our spirits are high it’s very easy to overlook the lows that we struggled through.
Caught in the throngs of depression it’s difficult to pinpoint problems and put steps in place to tackle them. We’re upset, confused, exhausted and emotional and in no fit state to find solutions. That’s what the good days are for. Rationality and objectivity follow good days around – they’re everywhere they go. The decisions you make are better, your mind is guarded with stronger armour and your choices are safer. The time to tackle the issues and push the problems off the page is on your good days. On a bad day you’ll be knocked to the floor, but on a good day you’ll be fighting to win.
Here are three positive steps to take on your good days to help the not-so-good days become less and less frequent:
1. Tackle it head on
Don’t beat around the bush – get to the heart of the problem. Be intentional. Attend counselling, go for a run, write creatively, make up songs, draw or paint – explore your gifts and talents. Acknowledge what you are facing and make a conscious effort to only engage in activities that build you up. Grab an attitude of gratitude and be thankful for what you do have. Being grateful takes the attention away from us and helps to develop humility. Make the most of not feeling low. Be honest. Be open. Laugh out loud. Jump in a lake. Do whatever it takes to find some joy.
2. Guard your mind
Depression doesn’t always hit us like a steam train – it can creep up slowly. An insecurity here, some self-doubt there and before we know it we’ve reached our destination without remembering the journey. To me, as a Christian, ‘guarding my heart’ means knowing who I am in Jesus and clinging to those things. It means putting what I know into practise and breaking down the wall between my head and my heart. It’s about holding to truth as tightly as I can and standing firm in the strong winds. It’s also about ‘checking’ yourself – being able to recognise and pinpoint where you are emotionally and then consciously put things in place to stop yourself being dragged down in to depression.
3. Prepare for the worst but aim for the best
We can’t always tell when depression is just around the corner. Sometimes we don’t realise it until it’s hit us in the face. And so we must prepare for the worst – putting distractions, coping mechanisms, activities and people in place so that if depression suddenly attacks us out of the blue, we’ve already got our weapons ready to fight. However, while we’re preparing for a possible battle, it’s important that we don’t lose hope or faith. We believe that we can and will beat it, we are thankful for the good days that will hopefully become more and more frequent until they out number the bad and we live each day without fear, knowing that we’ve got our weapons ready if we need them.
Yes, good days are fantastic. They are days for fun, laughter and joy, but they also have a purpose. They give us time to build our strength, gather our weapons and work out our fighting strategy. So when that good day comes along and takes you by surprise, don’t take it for granted. Push it to its limits, take everything that you can get from it and give it meaning. You’ve got nothing to lose and so much to gain.
Written By Jess Wilson
TweetMe @MsJessWilson