Good morning…
Well, anyone who follows college football will forgive me for posting late this morning. Congratulations texts after The University of Georgia won the National Championship came flying in around midnight. This morning I was given the unusual gift of sleeping in.
When I was a kid we used to watch “The Wide World of Sports” on Sunday nights. “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” was the slogan brought to life for an hour each week on our family’s small single television set. Growing up with the explosion of an electronic age, I have learned that the thrills and the agonies of life are not limited to the wide world of sports. Satisfying victories and depressing defeats litter each one of our lives. On and off the football field, how do we celebrate life’s highest highs and endure life’s deepest lows?
My friend sent me a Facebook post shared by her brother-in-law. Having struggled significantly with depression over the years, I love the way he identifies helpful steps we all can personalize when we face a season of defeating depression.
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DEPRESSION – Tips that really do help… shared by Dave Deisley
Shower. Not a bath, a shower. Use water as hot or cold as you like. You don’t even need to wash. Just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. Sit on the floor if you’d like.
Moisturize everything. Use whatever lotion you like. Unscented? Poundland lotion? Fancy 48 hour lotion that makes you smell like a field of wildflowers? Use whatever you want, and use it all over your entire dermis.
Put on clean, comfortable clothes.
Put on your favorite underwear. Cute black lacy panties? Those ridiculous boxers you bought last Christmas with pink love hearts on the butt? Put them on.
Drink cold water. Use ice. If you want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost.
Clean something. Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do a load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink.
Blast music. Listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. Sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.
Make food. Don’t just grab a Kit Kat bar to munch. Take the time and make food. Even if it’s beans on toast. Add something special to it, like a soft boiled egg or some veggies. Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.
Make something. Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it. Create.
Go outside. Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.
Call someone. Call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. Talk to a stranger on the street. Have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. If you can’t bring yourself to call, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. Even if you don’t say much, listen to them. It helps.
Cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them. Take pictures of them. Talk to them. Tell them how you feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out, anything.
May seem small or silly to some, but this list keeps people alive.
*** At your absolute best you won’t be good enough for the wrong people. But at your worst, you’ll still be worth it to the right ones. Remember that. Keep holding on.
*** In case nobody has told you today I love you and you are worth your weight and then some in gold, so be kind to yourself and most of all keep pushing on!!!!
Find something to be grateful for!
May I please get 2 friends or family members to copy and re-post? I am trying to demonstrate that someone is always listening.
#SuicideAwareness
In memory of those that have sadly lost their lives recently over the last year. We each know of people who have taken their lives in the last year. It’s so important that we reach out and look after each other.
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The thrilling victory for the Dawgs does not negate the real agony many people wake up to this morning.
As you read again through Dave’s tips for dealing with depression, what might you adapt for yourself? What would you add or subtract? What steps might you take the next time the agony of depression tackles you for a big loss?
For people of faith, interacting with Scripture may also bring relief. As I open Biblegateway.com right now, I feel the synchronicity of the Spirit as I read our “verse of the day” for January 11, 2022.
When I was really hurting, I prayed to the Lord.
He answered my prayer, and took my worries away.
The Lord is on my side,
and I am not afraid of what others can do to me (Psalm 118:5-6, CEV).
Any thrill of victory we begin to feel trickling through the agony of our defeats gradually becomes a gift from the Lord, who is always on our side.
…Sue…
