Depression is real.

It comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. And it oftentimes comes back. Even if you felt like it was as squashed as possible, certain things act as triggers. You want to know what the worst part is?

IT DOES NOT NEED TO MAKE SENSE TO STILL HAPPEN.

Rational sense, that is. Of course, all feelings and emotions are completely and utterly valid to that individual. For this, I am talking about myself and from my own experiences.

Depression is real, and depression is hard.

When I experienced bouts with depression, my mind was my main partner in combat… or so I thought. The rational side of my brain would try to ‘figure it out’. I would place labels on my emotions, tossing them into a bucket of ‘I’m just having a bad day’. Convincing yourself that you are ‘okay’ when you really aren’t can seem helpful in the moment. However, you must be honest with yourself about how you really feel.

Don’t bury the emotions. Acknowledge them.

Easier said than done, right? I totally agree. I wanted to share what helped me with heavy bouts of depression and anxiety. I didn’t invent any of these. But for whatever reason that the universe decided to place them in my path, whether it was through a friend or podcast or random meme seen scrolling through the internet, I am grateful.

WHICH leads us to…

GRA – TI – TUDE

Journaling your gratitude is huge! Well, depending on the size of your handwriting.

I like to call gratitude the ultimate ‘loop buster’.

When you experience gratitude, it’s hard to experience other emotions at that same moment. Not to mention, it feels good. If your mind going on terrorizing loops in your head about different things that you feel anxious or sad about, it can seem endless. Gratitude helps bust through those loops.

I still struggle to find the ‘perfect’ mode of writing gratitude, but here is what works best for me:

• I write 3 things that I am grateful for first thing in the morning in the same small notebook that I keep on my desk. I do this while I sip on coffee.
• Each of the 3 gratitude items must be in a somewhat different category. What do I mean? If you want to give this a shot, try to write about 1.) a person 2.) a thing 3.) something about yourself.
• Next, I make sure that they are as specific as possible. For the 1.) a person example, you can write about a specific person in your life (past or present), something specific about them or something they did/do, and how it makes you feel.
• The more specific the gratitude, the more deeply it will run emotionally through you. This will help bust any mind loop that comes your way!!

The past is the past, unless it really sucked

Forgive and forget can get you through life, right? Maybe for some.

All situations are not made equal, of course. And things affect people differently.

I experienced some emotional trauma growing up regarding my family. As a ‘functioning adult’ in the world, I thought I was good. I make it to work on time. I pay my bills. I don’t spill coffee on my blouse, sometimes.

There were two things that helped me (truly) confront my past. Breathing exercises. And network spinal.

There is SO MUCH power in breath. It can ground you and center you during the roughest of times. Since it’s so powerful, imagine tapping into it when you already feel good? Momentum can build, and it can become an incredible tool for you.

For me to even get to that level, I needed to start from the ground up. Getting control over my breathing was a powerful step in getting control over my life – including the retched past. I recommend anyone who is curious, try a few deep breaths in and out for about 5 minutes while listening to soft music you enjoy. It can do wonders!

Breathwork, tailored with network spinal analysis, helped me kick depression right in the teeth. I knew nothing about it until seeing it on the Goop Lab on Netflix.

It is wild.

If you haven’t seen the episode, check it out. It’s got a woo-woo feel to it. Lots of body wiggling and energy healing. I didn’t fully grasp it until I experienced it for myself. This demo does a good job at showing what it can be like.

What a change.

I’ve cried. I’ve laughed. I’ve moaned. And I’ve squirmed on the chiropractic table getting entrained. There’s an emotional component to it that taps into parts of your physical body where you have stored tension that is from past emotional trauma. You work with those areas to release the tension. And girl, did I release it.

Crying never felt so good after I was done.

Wrapping Things Up

I’m still learning. Still growing. Still working on myself.

But these things above helped ME and I really hope that they can help you. Don’t be afraid to try things. Life is too short not to experiment. You never know what can jive well with you. It may unexpectedly lead and guide you on your journey to healing, and becoming the best version of yourself.