10 Ways to Stop Depression

The other day my wife mentioned to me that someone that we know is having a bit of a hard time at the moment with depression.

The next morning I sat down at my desk to do my morning routine. When I got to the 10 ideas daily practice, I turned to the next challenge 111 of Claudia Azula Altuchers book ‘Become and Idea Machine’ which read “Select a friend you know who is struggling right now. Then write ten actionable, easy ideas that can help them today.”

Talk about synchronicity or what… I took it as a ‘sign’ that I was meant to do this for that someone, and I did, and now I would like to share my 10 ways to beat depression:

“Dearest <un-named person>,

I hope you don’t mind my contribution here, but Margret told me that you are having a bit of a hard time at the moment and that you are going to see a <wholistic specialist>, which I think is great.

As you know, I went through some shit a couple of years back. And it was one of the hardest challenges to come back from, but I am so glad that I made the decision for change, as you now have.

I learnt a lot of new information and applied it the best that I could. Am I perfect now? Is everything perfect now? Heck no, but I am miles ahead of where I was, and I am so grateful for that every day. I have learned that life is a journey of constant and never-ending improvement.

Please allow me to share with you ten actionable ideas that have helped me with my depression, that may help you today and into the future:

1. Thoughts and beliefs – All emotions come from a thought, so be mindful of your emotions, and ask yourself ‘what must I be thinking to feel this way?’. Behind every thought, there is a belief that causes us stress.
   I have included a copy of my book (still a work in progress), please check out the section on ‘Thoughts and beliefs’ about page <XX> or so. Identify the shitty beliefs that cause you stress, then ‘upgrade’ those to shit-hot-better beliefs.
2. Highlight reel – Whenever you feel down or a bit blue, find a nice quiet spot where you are not likely to be interrupted and think about the ‘highlight reel’ of your life. What events in your life have brought you the most joy? It might have been your first kiss, an amazing love-making session, a place that you have been, experiences you have had, adventures that you have been on, times of laughing fits where you lost your shit, etc. Think about those moments and re-live them, experience all of the joy and positive emotion once again. Cherish the memories and be grateful for such great times. Any time that you feel a bit down quickly remember the top one or two of these highlights and focus intensely on the joy and memory of that moment
3. Focus – Where you focus is where you go. If you constantly find negatives, you will become more negative and feel worse. If you find yourself being negative, immediately look for a single positive, something you appreciate, however small it may be, then immediately find another. Shift your focus from the negative to the gratitude.
4. Move your body – have you ever noticed how it is hard to feel shit after a decent walk. 
5. Eat some good fresh food – fruit n veg, nothing processed. Your mind runs on what you feed it, in more ways than one
6. Life is choice bro. Seriously, you have the choice right now to change your focus, to change how you feel, and to make change in your life, right now… you can choose.
7. You are smarter than you think – if you can stop thinking. The chatter in your head, good or bad, can sometimes become overwhelming. Take a minute or two just to sit and intensely focus on the sensation of the air passing through your nostrils. If your mind wanders bring it back to focus on that sensation. 
8. Stop time travelling- dwelling on the past won’t change anything. Worrying about the future, will usually only make your worries come true – where you focus is where you go. Stay present in the moment and look for the sweet stuff right in front of you. 
9. Grip it and rip it – let yourself feel any emotion, but let yourself feel it fully with great intensity for only 90 seconds, then choose to shift your focus.
10. Learn something new – Life is growth, and if you are not growing then you are decaying. Learn something new that interests you, find some new joy.

I hope this helps <un-named>, please let me know how you go, and if you found any of this helpful.

Remember that there are LOTS of people who love you dearly. 

Love and light, always

Ian”

So what do you think? Try these 10 suggestions out for yourself and let me know how you go in the comments below, or let me know what you do differently that you find effective.

Have a great day!