People have often looked at me like I am ‘mental as anything’. They are not far wrong.
After my third serious stoush with depression (of the clinical, ‘can’t get off the horizontal plane’ type) this year my 15 year career as an executive and corporate coach no longer held the same appeal that it had for so long.
That mythical ‘mission and purpose’ voice started calling. While I didn’t recognise it initially, I realised it was shouting the chant: ‘Play Create Elevate’, which became a renewed focus of mine for dealing with the silence and stigma around depression.
So I wanted to share my five steps to surviving and then thriving through and beyond the big black dog kind of depression I’ve experienced.
- Understand awareness and acceptance
Depression is an illness, not a weakness. Know that having a mood disorder is the equivalent of having diabetes or heart disease.
With the awareness of depression as an illness it is often easier for people to move to acceptance of their mood disorder. A great thing about acceptance is that you don’t have to like something to be able to accept it. The best thing about acceptance is that it allows for forward movement and action.
- Seek medical advice and guidance
Given depression’s illness status, it does more often than not require medical intervention. General Practitioners (GPs) are a great first point of call in relation to accessing and developing personalised ‘mental health plans’. Then there is the medication option, where appropriate.
Psychiatrists may have much greater expertise with medication recommendations, so forget the ‘head shrinking’ stories, find one that suits you and get moving down the road to a speedier recovery.
- Have a therapeutic conversation
Developing an understanding of the triggers and factors associated with the arrival of depression is more easily done in conversation with a psychologist, counsellor, therapist, social or mental health worker. The most important element of therapeutic conversation is finding someone that ‘fits’, ‘gets you’ and understands that depression is an illness that is best supported through wise questioning, exploration and acceptance.
- Get the support of family and friends
‘The more the merrier’ is an apt cliché here. However, if there is one person who can be counted on to provide unconditional love and support through depression it makes all the difference to a speedier recovery. One of the big, hairy challenges of depression is that when life from the outside looks pretty good it can be extraordinarily difficult for a loved one to make sense of, or understand, that a person experiencing depression would prefer to be dead. It is truly something that has to be experienced to be understood (without wishing depression on anyone).
- Access play and creativity with purpose
On a weekly basis more research is being offered on the importance of play and creativity. Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington offers getting ‘reacquainted with sleep’ as an important career move. I agree, but would also add to that ‘play and creativity’. Purposeful play and creativity at work or at home adds laughter and joy to your day. It acts as a wonderful release to the build-up of living in the ever-greater expectations of our world today.
Play and creativity take many forms from needlepoint to riding down the banks of the local creek just to see if you can make it up the other side. Watch out for the false impression that riding your bike for exercise or playing golf is what is being talked about here. Adults, to really release the valve, should get acquainted with playing in child-like ways: grab a hula hoop, learn how to make a chatterbox or play a game of pin the tail on the donkey and see how you feel.
Are you happier and more productive at work and home when you are having fun, being creative and playing in child-like ways? If the answer is ‘no’ do it differently!
For help with depression and anxiety contact Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.