Depression is invisible, painful and challenging to overcome. It is easy to get overwhelmed by depression, and difficult to find the motivation to escape it.
This article serves as a simple guide on how to overcome depression. If you put these keys into practice, you will be able to overcome depression and gather the necessary tools to defeat it if it rises again.
What is depression? An energetic understanding.
Depression is an energetic disturbance that permeates throughout your entire being. It is not an illness, or a disease, it is a symptom of something within yourself that needs to be acknowledged and listened to. Depression is a messenger that says, “hey, you haven’t been listening to me, I have a message for you!”
In the same sense that shoulder pain might be a symptom of an inflamed joint, depression is a symptom of an “inflamed intuition,” that is telling you that something in your life is not going right. Whether this be karmic, physical and/or survival/abundance based- your depression is pointing you towards something better. It must not be masked or sedated.
Depression is like a woman in black. If she turns up, don’t shoo her away. Invite her in, offer her a seat, treat her like a guest and listen to what she wants to say.
Carl G. Jung
If you are able to listen to your depression, and uncover what it is telling you, you will be able to move on from your depression. However, it is not easy to hear the message, it must be worked at.
Here is a 7 day guide on how to overcome depression, and arise with deeper wisdom and sounder guidance for your life’s path.
Depression is a messenger, not your enemy.
Meditation & Returning to Breath
The first step in overcoming depression is to remember your breath, and consciously return to it. This can be done through the practice of meditation.
- Key #1: Set aside 15 minutes to meditate, for 7 days straight. Ideally you can incorporate meditation into your morning routine and do it as soon as you wake up. You can also meditate in the evening hours. If you would a like to see a detailed guide on how to meditate, tap here. This link will open in a new tab, and you can visit it when you’re finished reading this article in its entirety.
Meditation is an ancient and simple practice. In its most simple form, meditation is a practice of sitting and keeping your attention on your breathing. As thoughts arise, you can acknowledge them, but do not lose focus of your breath, always bring your focus back to your breathing. With practice, you will find that you are more easily able to sit with a completely stilled mind. There has been a ton of research that this state of remaining in a calm, empty mind can provide miraculous benefits to both your mind and physical health.
You will begin seeing results immediately, even as soon as after your first session of meditation- the benefits will continue to intensify with each day of practice.
Journaling
As you begin to meditate, you will find that things will begin surfacing in your mind in the forms of feelings, memories, energy and intuitions. This is an excellent sign, as you are working towards releasing the repressed energy that has been hiding in your subconscious mind.
It is important to pay close attention when these dams begin to crumble. As you pay attention, you might notice common trends or clues as to where your depression is rooted. Which leads to the second key in how to overcome depression.
Key #2: As you begin paying more attention to your inner world through meditation, it is advisable to document your new discoveries via journaling. Journaling does not need to be complicated or fancy. For beginners, you can keep a journal next to your meditation area and simply jot down any important feelings or memories that surface. And as you continue your meditation practice for 7 days (and beyond), you will become far more proficient at paying attention to your inner-world and articulating the journey.
Journaling will help you uncover hidden wisdom that will point you solidly in the direction of healing. Even if you are not able to pick out hidden messages, just the practice of journaling will help release the energy of depression and provide you with a profoundly healing effect.
If you are desiring a more advanced style of journaling, you can even delve into dream journaling. Dream journaling is a phenomenal practice for uncovering the activity in your subconscious mind. The fruits of doing this are profound, and will lead you to a much better relationship with yourself.
Though for now, simply begin writing your realizations down after your meditation session, for 7 days. Do this, and you will find that you can overcome depression at a profound rate.
Reading
Reading is a practice which also has many neurological benefits apart from helping you overcome depression. The practice of reading will not only increase your attention span, it will also take your mind’s focus away from dwelling in depression. You will also be able to learn more about yourself, and your particular interests. Reading is also an extremely rewarding endeavor, as you will feel a sense of accomplishment after finishing a book.
As a ritual, reading can turn into a sacred time where you can easily set some time aside, unplug the electronics, and have some quiet time with a book.
Reading will not only help your brain move into new thought patterns, it will assist you in building new mental habits that will optimize your attention span and neural connections. There is no question why most of the most successful people throughout human history have been big readers! Even in today’s modern time, with easy access to free entertainment, reading still holds great power. And as an obvious byproduct of reading, you will increase your knowledge and vocabulary.
Key #3: Read a book! Simply dust off an old book from your shelf that you may have been vaguely interested in a few years ago. Schedule a time in the morning to dedicate 30 minutes to reading, and do this for 7 days consistently. It does not matter as much what the book is, as it does reading it. This book can be spiritual, fiction, self-help, poetry or anything that will help you strengthen your habit of reading.
Get Moving
You may feel like you are wearing a led vest at all times, and this is a normal symptom of depression. At some points, it may feel impossible to get out of bed. This is why it is absolutely crucial to get your body moving! The more your depression freezes you, the deeper it will set in.
There are many methods to get moving, but in the beginning of your transcendence from depression, it is best to keep things as simple as possible. No need to over complicate! Even just getting out of bed and doing some pushups will set you on the right track.
With recognition that depression may be caused by many things, some of which that are deeply crushing, perhaps as your case is, this does not matter, you must get moving! There is an abundance of research on the benefits of light and consistent workouts, though in this case, even the slightest release of endorphins will help lift the heavy weight of depression.
Key#4: Incorporate a light workout into your day, ideally in the morning after your meditation session. This workout does not need to be intense at all, it is just important that some form of workout is done, for at least 10 minutes. Examples of light workouts could be as simple as 100 jumping-jacks, a walk around your neighborhood, or performing a 15-minute session of Qi-Gong from YouTube.
Be sure to perform this workout at around the same time during your 7 days, this will make it easier to keep consistent. There are countless benefits to building a light workout into your routine, and it will definitely reveal to you some life-altering benefits.
List out Your Life Goals
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, depression is an energetic disturbance that is representative of an “inflamed intuition.” This inflamed intuition is asking you to get back on the path that is most optimal and rewarding for you. With this understanding, depression becomes your friend, and not your enemy. It is simply pushing you towards a more fulfilling and aligned life. Whether this be finding more abundance, improving the health of your spirit, mind and body, or achieving goals that you know will fulfill you.
In the evening time, before you go to bed, simply imagine what your most ideal life would look like. Give a lot of thought to this, and accept it as a potential reality. Do not place any limits on your ideas. As you refine your vision, you will see that there are many things that you can work towards and so much more to live for.
Key #5: Make a List of your Goals. A simple practice for mapping out your goals is to write a list of exactly where you want to be in a certain time frame (1 year, 5 years, 10 years), whichever time span you are most comfortable with. This book provides an excellent and very short framework for achieving your dreams. In summary, the practice goes like this: Create a 1 page list of things you wish to have, where you want to be, who you want to be with, and what impact you want to have with your life. Review this list 3x a day until you achieve these goals. Every time you review the list, you can edit it to make it more and more concise .
As you review your goals and dreams, you will “decrease the inflammation of your intuition” and find a direct path towards your most optimal life. This will make your intuition happy, and further release the weight of your depression. As your depression begins lifting, you can replace the negative feelings with gratitude for the reminders that depression was giving you.
Faith
Faith is a critical component of both success and overcoming your depression. Without faith, there wouldn’t be any hope for something brighter. Faith is super important for allowing your mind to venture beyond your current circumstances. You must know that it is possible to find a healthier and more optimal state of mind.
This faith doesn’t need to be in a religious sense, or of something transcendent. This faith simply needs to be in a brighter future, whether that be in life, or in heaven. Your depression can be overcome, and it can be replaced with a healthier, happier, more peaceful, and more optimal mind-state.
Even In pursuits of success, many of the most succesful people in our history have had an almost superhuman sense of faith. They knew that their visions would come true, even that of creation in the physical realm. You too can harness this power, especially to overcome depression.
Key #6: Faith. Develop a practice of assuring yourself that your goals are attainable. In this sense, that your depression will be overcome. This is just a simple thought exercise. Simply take a few minutes either before or after your meditation session to fully embrace the fact that your depression will be overcome, and you will find a brighter and healthier future very soon. Your depression will be something of the past, and something you can always draw upon in the future as a source of motivation in which you can overcome anything you set your mind to.
Gratitude
As your depression begins dissipating over these 7 days of consistent practice, it is important to seal the deal, and ensure that the depression becomes something of the past, and not a current burden. In order to do this, you will need to begin a practice of constant gratitude.
Key #7: Establish a practice of Gratitude. Gratitude is a way of accepting your present circumstances and establishing a solid foundation to move forward into a more optimal future. In the same journal you’ve been using to capture your realizations after your meditation session, you can add a section for expressions of gratitude. This can be a short, daily, scribbling of some things you are grateful for. Make this a daily practice, perhaps in the evening after you review your goals. Simply jot down everything you are grateful for, this may be difficult at first, but as you build this muscle, it will become easier and easier.
Increasing your consciousness in gratitude will provide you with a solid and clear foundation for moving forward, and building your life into a more optimal state. As you begin practicing gratitude, you will find that there is plenty in your life to be grateful for. A simple beginning is expressing gratitude for you current health, and ability to write! From there, the possibilities are endless.
Conclusion
Overcoming your depression is possible. And with this simple 7 day guide, you will be able to overcome depression. If you put this formula into practice with dedication for 7 days straight, you will find that the weight of depression will begin lifting rapidly. Here is a breakdown of this helpful routine:
Key #1: Commit to meditating for 15 minutes everyday, for 7 days. Select a time in the early morning after you wake up to meditate. Prepare this spot the night before, so you can wake up and go right into your meditation.
Key#2: Directly after your meditation session, write any thoughts or profound insights you gain from your meditation session. This can be just a few sentences, or even just one profound insight. Write it down! Do this everyday for 7 days, right after your meditation session. This will help release the dams within your subconscious, and allow you to regain your optimal mental state.
Key #3: Select a book, any book! Set it aside and read for 20mins as soon as you complete your journaling. This will allow your mind to develop focus, new thought patterns and different knowledge and insights. It will also feel great to stay consistent with this, and even better once you finish a book.
Key #4: Incorporate a light workout into your daily routine. Commit to a very light workout everyday for 7 days straight. This can be as simple as doing 50 pushups, or going for a walk around the block. This will help you break the concrete of depression, and release super beneficial endorphins.
Key #5: List out your life goals. Go wild with this! Draw out your most ideal life, and condense it to about 1 page of bullet points. This will allow you to uncover what you truly desire, and give you motivation to work towards something greater. A purpose, to overcome your depression! Read this list everyday before bed, do this for 7 days straight.
Key #6: Increase your faith muscle. The most successful individuals in history have had tremendous strength in faith. This faith is simply that of achieving a brighter future, or goals. You can incorporate this power to overcome your depression. Take 5mins everyday, for 7 days straight, to confirm to yourself that you will overcome your depression and enter a more optimal mind state. This is a reality, not just a possibility.
Key #7: Gratitude. Seal the deal with gratitude! In the evening, simply jot down a few things you are grateful for. You can begin with something simple, such as being grateful for your current health, or ability to read. From there, you can focus on gratitude for others.
Depression is a messenger, a messenger that is telling you that it’s time to make some changes. You are capable of unlocking a more optimal, happy and fulfilled life. This simple guide is a good first step in finding more alignment in life, and increasing your frequency.
Please share your results below. Or, if you have further ideas in things that have helped you overcome your depression, please share below. You never know who you may inspire!
