Depression sucks. During my senior year of University. I found myself in a blue hospital gown sitting in the lobby of a grey- grim mental hospital in Delaware. I knew I had depression, but I did not consistently use practical methods of coping that could have led me to save two weeks of mental agony after an impulsive suicide attempt.
The symptoms of depression were nothing new to me. My Grandmother had it. My father had it. Now, I have it. When I was younger, my therapist attempted to put me on antidepressants, but they weren't for me. Zoloft was prescribed to me by a psychiatrist, but they also did more harm than good, sleep became a rare luxury and every time I would stand up from my school chair or any chair at that, I would be overwhelmed with a stifling wave of nausea, and since then, I've been honing my coping skills to be a more confident, creative, and joyful young man with depression. Here are some scientifically useful methods that I have used over the years of living with what I would now consider being my superpower.
1. Practice Individualized Self Care
2. Journal. Journal. Journal
3. Read books you enjoy
1. Practicing Individualized Self Care
Self-care for everyone is different, therefore defining self-care for you means finding what self-care methods work for you. I'm not here to tell you what to think; I'm writing this to teach you how to think. If you have no clue as to how to define your version of self-care, here's a good start. According to psychology.com, self-care is any activity that we do deliberately to take care of your mental, emotional, and physical health. There is a straightforward fall into the belief that self-care is supposed to enjoyable all the time when in reality, its a full-time job that requires a copious amount of grit, time, effort, creativity, and relentlessness. Self-care is hard work.
"I'm not lazy. I'm just exhausted from fighting my way through every single day."
- Mimi Love
Creative Self Care ideas
. Get a lovely looking journal ( I prefer leatherback because I like the way it feels on my hand) & do a " brain dump" every morning. What exactly is a brain dump? Its a morning exercise aimed to revitalize your blocked creativity. Pointless and petty thoughts can clog up the mind & rob its expansive capacity for innovation. In other words, an empty mind increases your levels of creativity and reduce mind clutter. Choose one time in the morning, treat yourself to let your stream of consciousness transcend into the physical world unapologetically. Sometimes the entries will be vibrant; sometimes, they will be dark. Write on. All the content you write down in the morning is blocking your creativity, fueling depression. Brain dumps make our interior design beautiful and organized. Without them, our inner space may become consumed by chaos.
Look for patterns.
It's tough to write out a problem over and over again and not feel moved to take constructive action.
Say No to Stress and Yes to self-care; Practice the art of saying no
We can all agree that being creative in any field is time-consuming. There's an exponential amount of requests and tasks that can consume our valuable time if we let them. Some of the world's essential catalysts had the courage required to swim against the current and say "no." Rosa Parks recalled, " when the bus driver saw me sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up, and I said, "no, I'm not." When the bus driver ordered her from her seat, she said: " I felt a determination cover my body like a quilt in the winter night." We must channel our inner Rosa Parks and bring and say no to a mundane task to protect our peace in creativity.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is like a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
- Langston Hughes
Protecting our artistic vision is paramount for a healthy mind, spirit, and soul. Dare to say no to worry. We can't stand the thought of disappointing someone who holds our respect & like. But our joy comes first on our list of priorities, right?
Heres some tips from Greg McKeown's New York Times bestseller " Essentialism the disciplined pursuit of less" on effective ways of saying no:
. The awkward pause. Instead of being controlled by the threat of an awkward moment, own it, and use it as a tool to protect your peace.
. The soft "no" ( or the "no but"), last week, I was asked to join a school's team as a social worker. The underdeveloped school needed more work than I could practically provide, being that they were ranked second to last among other Charter schools in Delaware. I simply replied, " I am currently working on developing my private practice in Art Therapy. Once everything is finished, I would love to work together in the future."
. "Let me check my calendar and get back to you."
. Use email bounce backs. This arguably the most socially accepted "no" in the technology era. Anyhow, as artists, our concentration needs to be on our projects at the moment we are working on them. Emails, social media, and texting can be a critical distraction. I make it a point to place my phone on airplane mode & activate my email bounce back with the subject line " In Matisse mode."
" The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say, yes."
- Tony Blair
2. Journal. Journal. Journal.
When you read the word "journal," you may imagine a teenage girl ranting, writing about her school crush while rudimentary sprawled out across her bed with her legs crossed. Anyhow, there's a difference between a journal and a diary. A diary is a record one daily experience, whereas a journal has a more eclectic meaning. Journal could mean a more general record or look book in a scientific method.
" Whether you're keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it's the same thing. What's important is you're having a relationship with your mind. "
- Natalie Goldburg
It turns out that simple daily practice can do wonders for mental health. But how much can journaling do? After all, they're just books that contain words on a page. Journaling requires your brain to utilize our favorite side of the brain, the creative, touchy, feely left side of our brain. ( Gothais, 2015)
Journaling/ expressive writing has been found to:
- Boost your mood
- Exhaust your sense of well being
- Reduce symptoms of depression before on impact event ( art shows, test, auctions)
- Reduce intrusion & avoidance symptoms of post-trauma
- Improve your working memory
Can journaling help manage depression?
Yup! Journaling has been scientifically proven to be a useful tool when living with depression. There's even a field of therapy called "journaling therapy." Journaling is not a substitute for professional counseling and therapy, instead, its compliments counseling and other forms of treatment. I journal after each counseling session to reflect on what was discussed in order to gain insight from my perspective.
Heres some research-based evidence for journaling's effectiveness in managing depression
. Expressive writing can reduce symptoms of depression in women who are struggling with the aftermath of intimate partner violence ( Koopman, Ismailji, Holmes, Classen, Palesh, & Wales, 2005)
. Writing in a journal may also be as effective as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for reducing symptoms of depression in high-risk adolescents ( Stice, Burton, Bearman, & Rhode, 2006)
. Expressive journaling may not reduce the frequency of intrusive thoughts in depressed individuals, but it moderates their impact of depressive symptoms, leading to a reduction in symptoms. ( Garter, Rude, & Pennebacker, 2006)
. Journaling can help college students who are vulnerable to depression their brooding. Two contributing factors of depressive symptoms. ( Garter, Rude, & Pennebacker, 2006)
. In general, people diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder reported significantly lower depression scores after three days of expressive writing, 20 minutes per day ( Garter, Rude, & Pennebacker, 2006)
Art Journaling
Heres some art journaling activities that I find helpful.
. Write about why you feel sad.
. Write a letter you'll never send
. Describe how you feel affects different parts of your body.
. Personify your emotions. Talk to emotion as though it were a person. I usually do this when I'm feeling depressed.
. Make images that complement the language you are using. For example, I drew a plant because, in one of my entries, I wrote, " growing fucking hurts."
If you're looking for some guidance for self-reflection, here are some journal prompts.
. What's on my mind right now
.What do I need to get off my chest today
.What advice do I need to give myself today? How can I uplift myself?
.What feels like a struggle at the moment?
. What made you smile today?
. Something you are good at doing
. Modern inventions you are thankful for
. A favorite food
. What's the best thing to happen to you this week.
. What is a favorite quote of yours that makes you happy?
. How do I feel about life?
. What's not wrong?
3. Read books you enjoy
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