Investing for the Future When in Depression

Investing is a concept for depression.  When we think of treatment for depression, it helps to invest.  What I mean by invest is "do something today for tomorrow."  If you're doing positive thinking or doing affirmations in order to fight depression, bear in mind that success is not always instantaneous.  So don't think that your method is not working.  If you work all day questioning your thoughts and searching for the truth, you might not get the good effect until the following day.  You will notice that when you wake up the next day, you feel better than yesterday.  The bad feelings are no longer there, but you had to wait a whole day to get that result.

So think long-term.  If you make it a habit to think good thoughts all day long, you are actually training your mind to think differently.  You are programming your mind to look for the good things in life.  Rather than focusing your thoughts on what is wrong about life, you are learning to focus your thoughts on what is right about life.  If you do this training everyday, you will feel differently after one day, and moreso after one month.  This method will inspire you and teach you how you can love life.

Investing time and effort for your mental health will surely bear fruits for you in the future.  It's like building a house or a sand castle.  You work at it one step at a time, and patiently, and carefully, and thoughtfully, so that in the end your foundation and structure is strong and enduring.  Whatever your method is in fighting depression, it will work if you are viewing your efforts as investment and that you know to wait for the investment to grow and multiply.  This makes suffering for a day or two worthwhile, because you know that your method is working even if it's not instantaneous.  You have plenty of time to enjoy your new mind and well being in the near future.  Slow but sure is a good thing after all.

Investing also involves risk and a lot of thought, reasearch and analysis.  At the beginning, the search for a cure is through trial-and-error.  Always be honest with yourself.  If one way is not working for you and you've given it enough time, ask yourself why it's not working, and then look for a new way.  Listen to your heart, and be rational at the same time.

Talking About Depression

When my Mom told me that David Letterman was going to be on Oprah's network, I was somewhat interested.  But when he said that David Letterman admitted to Oprah that he was depressed, I got really very interested.  I told my Mom that I was glad Letterman will say he is depressed on television, because I knew people would listen to him and believe him.  I always had a problem talking about depression to others, even to my family and my therapist, because they always made me feel that it was something I can "will" to go away, just by forcing on a smile, or going to the gym.  The truth is that when your at the throes of a very bad depression, you cannot just will it away.  You feel like you're all tied up with a rope around your body and you are gagged.  If that's how you feel, it's really hard to depend on just your will. 

So I patiently went to my psychiatrist once a month, and waited until we found the right medication that would work for me, that did not have any serious side effects.  The process to find the right medication may take a long time, up to 6-8 months (for me) because you have to try different brands in different dosages.  Each time you try on a new drug or a new dosage of the drug, you have to wait 1-2 months for the drug to kick in; and if the drug or dosage didn't work, you have to try again and wait another 1-2 months.

I tried lexapro at different dosages, and then remeron.  Finally, the combination of remeron and celexa worked, with no side effects.  The medication helped me to get up from bed, take walks, exercise, write on my journal, do housework, watch TV, talk to people. 

Finding the right medication that works for you is a great opportunity to do self-help.  Once I felt better because of the medication, I explored different types of self-help.  I read books by Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer.  But then I discovered The Work of Byron Katie, which is a tool to inquire and question our thinking that causes us to suffer.  I try to do it everyday.  The Work is so freeing that you can really feel a great sense of well being and peace, once you've done the questioning.  Google "Byron Katie" and go to her website to learn more about the basic 4 questions she uses to do self-inquiry.  Because of all the self-help that I did, I was able to really grow to appreciate my therapist.  I began to understand her approach to therapy.  I got it, and I realize now how right she is.  Basically, she keeps me grounded in reality, because I often argue with reality and expect life to be something that it's not.