Do you want to understand the power of your words? Do you want to realize how powerful positive thoughts can be? Well, just test whether you have the ability to cause physical harm by simply uttering harsh words. Try this with younger brother or sister. You can even choose your pet dog. Shout at the top of your voice and chances are high that your sibling or pet dog will to run away from you as early as possible.
For most people the festive period is all about having fun; attending parties, buying gifts and visiting friends and family. OK, we all get a little stressed at times, worrying if Granny is going to like her gift or if the train service is going to grind to a halt just as we need to get back to the office, but spending Christmas Day with our loved ones usually makes it all worthwhile. However, if you suffer from depression or are prone to anxiety and panic attacks, these minor worries can easily escalate beyond your control.
For some odd reason, people think of depression as something that leaves all its sufferers sitting in a room, slowly rocking backwards and forth. Yet statistics show that some form of depression affects as many as 1 in 4 people throughout the course of a single year. Terrifying numbers which surely mark the tip of an iceberg that is far greater than most of would have ever predicted.
Let’s take the following as an example:
Pam works at Best hr software – a company known for it’s winning attitude to customer service, and a firm which she is pretty much the backbone of.
The problem is…Pam is feeling depressed. She recently lost her father quite suddenly, and she isn’t sure how to carry on. This is unusual for Pam, for never has she been knocked as badly as this. One of the worst things is that everyone thinks that she is fine. Pam has always been quite the expert on looking fine when in fact she is anything but, and now is no exception.
See a counsellor: this scares many people, when, in fact, it may just be the best thing you ever do…
In this case, here are a few things Pam can do:
Talk to one of her hr colleagues. Vent some of her frustrations and see if it helps.
Go and see her GP. GP’s aren’t known for their knowledge of mental health issues, but actually many of them are interested and will be only too pleased to see if they can assist you.
See a counsellor: this scares many people, when, in fact, it may just be the best thing you ever do. Seeing a counsellor gets easier after a while. Yes you will have to pay good money to see one quickly, but surely your happiness is worth it, right?
Try and get some time out from work: not everyone likes to do this, but it may be the only option. Go and do something fun, and most importantly…
LAUGH! Laughter is the best medicine, we all know so, so don’t be down in the dumps, try and put a smile on that face of yours. This can work wonders, and there are even laughter workshops which can be a really good time if you are still finding laughter elusive.
Bake a cake: baking is therapeutic, so why not have a go? Listening to some of your favourite music is also a fine idea, and this should get you feeling better quickly, if only for a short time.
Sadly, even today some people view depression as something which is not serious. It’ll never happen to me, they think, that’s something that happens to people who have a weak state of mind.
While it’s certainly true that some people are more prone to being depressed than others, let’s be clear on one thing: it really can happen to anyone. No social group is exclusively safe from what can be a potentially devastating illness for many.
Escaping depression, then, is equally difficult. Many try and fail and end up in the same vicious circle they were always in before.
So how does one escape this debilitating illness to live and prosper and have a better than average life? Well, we believe it all starts with the basics:
Avoid things like alcohol and caffeine as these are only fuelling the fire!
1) You need help: you might think that you can beat depression on your own, but we have to be realistic here – and nobody should ever be ashamed of asking for help. Call a helpline if you need to, and try and confide in a close friend or someone who understands what you are going through.
2) Now you are on the right track, you need to stay on the right track. That means breaking out of the pattern you were in. Avoid things like alcohol and caffeine as these are only fuelling the fire!
3) Is your social group contributing to your depression? Many people don’t realise that the people they spend their time with are often people who are making their illness worse by making them feel bad about themselves.
4) What about your job? If, say, you have a highly stressful job at an it support company then maybe it’s time for you to re-assess the way you think about employment. Likewise, if you are in a job where there is more responsibility than you can handle, it’s definitely time to start looking after number 1. That means YOU.
5) Is your diet nice and healthy? You’d be surprised just how much difference a great diet can make. Consider stopping smoking and definitely consider seeing the doctor if you don’t feel you’re getting all the nutrients and vitamins that you need to live a full and healthy lifestyle.
6) Exercise is the key: it’s been proven that exercise can really help depression. At the same time you will get a better body-image, which means more confidence all round. Another great thing about joining a gym is the meeting new people bit. This can be literally a life-saver for some. In other words: it’s something you can’t afford not to do.
When a good friend of mine told me about laughter classes, I was sure they were messing me about. Having me on. And why not? It was a great joke!
The idea she was telling me about was sort of ludicrous: you enter a room with a load of strangers and you all do exercises together which are designed to make you laugh. This evokes a kind of instantaneous well-being in you. Soon, the fake laughter you started off with turns to real laughter. The kind which is infectious and cannot be stopped!
he shocking nature of it literally left me rolling about on the floor with amusement…
…So, sign me up, I said, and she did. The next week I was at the laughter class…and it was real.
I was stunned. Quite literally. I had no idea what the hell to make of it. Like she had told me – and she had done it, so she obviously knew how it went – we all went into a big empty gym kind of a room, and shook out arms about. Then, the group leader – Malcolm, which was a strange name for someone who laughed a lot, I thought – started laughing outrageously.
Sure enough the laugher started to pass itself around. To begin with I couldn’t laugh…actually I wanted to cry…but soon enough I started to feel the strange pull of it. That was it, I was away. No longer could I think of my wife and how on earth she enjoyed her emergency fuel delivery job. I was taken away with the laughter and very quickly there was no stopping me.
It felt like madness but you know what? It was excellent! I mean…it was really ASTONISHING. I was powerless to resist it. The shocking nature of it literally left me rolling about on the floor with amusement…and here’s the really strange thing: I couldn’t even remember what I was laughing at. In fact, I got the strong impression that I didn’t know and nobody else knew either.
Which was really good.
I haven’t looked back since. I intend to keep going to laughter class for as long as I can walk.
Which won’t be very long, if that riotous kind of laughter continues.
Here is why you should go, in brief:
A) It really does work.
B) It doesn’t cost much.
C) It’ll improve your confidence no end. I mean it.
D) It’ll make you always want to laugh and that alone has to be a good reason. Right?
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"The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being."
