Some Simple
Steps To Conquering Depression
By Cynthia
Bailey-Rug
Isaiah 61:1
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed
me to preach the Good News to the poor. He
has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and
release from darkness the prisoners.”
(emphasis added)
This
is just one of many Scriptures I have found to give hope to those of us who
battle depression. In my personal
fight, God has shown me some steps to winning the battle once and for all.
I would like to share this information with you, and I pray it blesses
you as it has blessed me!
Step
1: acknowledge that depression is from Satan, and is NOT God’s will for you
(see Psalm 94:19; John 10:10; Romans 15:13)
Step
2: dwell on the positive, not the negative in life.
Proverbs 23:7 says “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
Focusing on how miserable you feel only makes you more miserable.
Although it is difficult to do at first, try to shift your focus on the
more positive things. For example,
I love pretty flowers and plants. I
started noticing just how many pretty flowers grow wild along the side of roads.
It was a simple start, but it has quickly snowballed.
I now can find the positive in most situations, and even in my own
self-image has become more positive than it’s ever been before.
For the first time, I honestly can say I am a positive person, and as a
result, I am much happier than I was before I decided to think positively.
Step
3: When you feel down, bless someone else!
Doing the opposite of what Satan expects loosens his grip.
In fact, it seems to confuse him! Also,
taking your mind off yourself takes your focus off how bad you feel, which seems
to open the door through which better feelings enter.
The old adage, it is better to give than receive, is certainly true!
If you are unsure where to start, just try smiling at a stranger on the
street or complementing someone! That
may turn someone’s whole day around.
Step
4: Don't be too busy. Keep your
schedule under control. People seem
to have a bad habit of being too
busy, which is so stressful. Keeping
your obligations level reasonable offers you time to do things at a more
leisurely pace, and time for relaxing. I
try to be sure my evenings are as free as possible, so I may enjoy my favorite
hobbies of crafts and reading. When
I am too busy and don't get that time for a few days in a row, I become very
tense, irritable, and feel my mood sinking by the moment.
There are countless other things you can do, such as visiting lonely patients at nursing homes, participating in a big sister or big brother program, donating to worthwhile charities your time or money, inviting those new neighbors over for dinner to welcome them into your neighborhood, and more. Try to create new ideas to add to this list and do them. You will see depression's grip on you loosen more every day.