The woman had been struggling emotionally for a long time.
She had one emotional crisis after another, one event following another was a gut wrenching experience.
As difficult as it had been, she was making steady progress.
One day she walked into the office and admired the framed print on the wall.
She talked about the colors and how vivid they were.
She was incredulous when I told her the print had been hanging on my wall for years.
When you are struggling with depression you are unable to see anything but the dark and dreary in the world.
You don't notice beautiful paintings or when the flowers begin to bloom.
You might attend an event everyone enjoys and you notice what went wrong.
Your own actions and thoughts tear apart and cause you to be filled with shame and guilt.
If you haven't been depressed you have no idea what it's like.
Although many depressed people are sad, sadness is not depression.
Yes, there are many actions you can take to pull yourself out of the depths of despair.
The problem is that action takes something you have little of, and that is energy.
It takes an act of will to move yourself from the feelings that have you believing you are stuck in sludge.
Strategies to Raise Yourself Up Force yourself to look at the positive.
This can involve noticing when you've done something right rather than always focusing on what you do wrong.
This applies to others, also.
Notice the positives about someone.
Search hard until you find at least one thing.
Move! Exercise results in a reaction in your body releasing "feel good" chemicals.
You may not be able to go jogging, but you can move your arms and legs sitting in the chair.
I was watching a CNN video about a man so obese he couldn't get out of his chair.
He began to move his arms up and down, in and out.
He started moving and shaking his body in his chair.
It got him going.
Discover possibilities you now have.
Many people are stuck in grief and regret about what they no longer have or they never accomplished.
There are infinite opportunities available.
Force yourself to choose one thing you can do differently, and then do it.
Accept yourself as you are, then move on from there.
If you say you can't change, prove yourself wrong by changing your routine in the morning.
Any little change can have a change reaction.
The key is to make a decision to do something positive for yourself, no matter how small.