Self Improvement Information

Today, I would like to present a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  It is the topic of depression.  I am sure right now you are asking yourself, “Nan, why should I listen to you about this subject?  Are you a doctor?”  My answer to you would be, “no, I am not a doctor.  I am not going to give you medical advice and you should not view this as such.  You should always seek out a professional for treatment if you are prone to depression.  My only qualification for this is the fact that I have survived depression and I learned what worked for me.  I would like to share the things that helped me.  Then you can make up your own mind.

So, now the choice is yours.  You can click out of this site, or get comfortable and read what I have to say.  From there you can decide for yourself.

I believe there are clinical reasons for being depressed.  I believe that depression can be caused by chemical imbalances.  I also believe in miracle healings from our mind.  Have I lost you yet?  If you are still reading, you must be open for a change.

Which brings me to my first tip.

1.  To get rid of depression, one must take responsibility for their life and be open for a change.  I know you are probably thinking, “who wouldn’t be open for not feeling depressed anymore?”  Believe it or not, some times people feel more comfortable with the feelings of depression than without those feelings.  Deciding to overcome the feelings of depression can leave some people outside their comfort zone.  Often times, people will use the excuse of “I am depressed” to not take responsibility for their problems, choosing to stay in the victim mode.  I mean no offense to anyone, I have been there myself.  The first step to recovering from depression is to take responsibility for your life and desire a change.

2.  Changing our perception.  I have heard people talk about depression as their mind looking for the “click spot”.  What I mean by that is our minds get used to certain feelings almost like a habit.  It is like clicking through the gears until you find that familiar spot.  That could relate back to the chemical imbalance that have been feeding our brains.  If we are used to the feelings of depression, it can feel strange to entertain thoughts of hope and wellness.  In a way, we have to retrain our brains.  We can start by looking for the blessings in our lives.  Set a goal of thinking of 10 things every day that you are thankful for.  The first few days it might seem difficult to find those 10 things.  As time goes on, those 10 things will flow to you.  Get a journal and label it “my blessings”.  Write in it every day.  Instead of dwelling on the feelings of depression, or the negative effects of complaining.  You will start training yourself to look for the blessings and bright spots in your day. Acknowledging the blessings can lift our mood and change the body’s chemicals that are feeding our brains.

3. Learn forgiveness.  I have heard and I believe that depression is anger that is turned inward.  If depression is an issue in your life then chances are there are people in your life that you have not forgiven.  Often times, the one we have not forgiven is ourselves.  I am not trying to down play any one’s pain.  I know many people have terrible things that happen in their lives; rape, murder of a loved one, disloyalty, job loss, financial troubles, etc.  I have experienced a few myself.  Many years ago, my grandmother was murdered in her home.  It sent our family into a tailspin.  She was our family’s matriarch, and to all of us, our trusted adviser.  I can’t express to you the sorrow and anger I felt.  I knew that I would not be free until I could forgive her killer.  When I embraced forgiveness for that person that was responsible for this horrendous deed to her, and to our family, I began to feel free.  I will always miss her, but I don’t dwell on how she passed.

4.  Read self improvement daily.  You will stumble on things that will help you in your quest for a depression free life.  There is so much information available in books and on the Internet.  Learn about happiness.  Happiness, after all, is a daily decision.

5.  Try using some EFT techniques.  EFT stands for “Emotional Freedom Technique”.  Our bodies have fields of energy surrounding them.  Sometimes, that energy gets messed up and EFT realigns our energies.  Don’t pooh-pooh it until your try it.  It really helped me.  A wonderful site for this is the World Center for EFT founded by Gary Craig.  They have a free training manual and a very user friendly site.  Carol Look, an EFT practitioner, sends out a great online newsletter every month.  You can sign up for her newsletter and she has a link to her past newsletters.

Depression can handicap your life, if you allow it.  It is like living in a black and white world with a cotton fog surrounding our minds.  Leaving depression is like stepping out into the sunshine into a world that is vivid with color.  It can be the rainbow after the storm.

I would like it if you left me comments and share with all of us how you have handled depression.  Sharing helps others. 

I would like to thank  Eric Rolph for his beautiful picture Double Alaskan Rainbow!

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Setting goals is another way to train our brains for happiness and success.  The 7 day goal setting course is still available.  A fast and easy way to learn.  It is delivered right to your email account every day for a week.  What could be better?  Click here for more info!

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Today, when I was checking my email, I came across a great article that really got me to thinking about life, happiness and getting older.  The article was from Nicholas P. Kidd and Henk J.M. Schram who write a delightful ezine with a different slant called Evolution Ezine.  The article is called “The Greatest Advice of All Time.”

When we are children, life is grand.  We have time to play and learn.  Everything seems so brand new and hopeful.  When I was a child, my friends and I put on a lot of plays, rode bikes, and we were truly free to enjoy life. 

This weekend, we had a birthday party for my parents.  My father had his 88 birthday in August and my mother had her 83 birthday in September.  At the birthday party, my grand niece, who is 7 was there.  Have you ever just sat and watched a child play?  They lose themselves in their play.  Their imaginations come alive!  It brought back many memories of my tea parties with my imaginary friend named Laura.  I can see why Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”  Being a child might be the closest we will get to heaven on this earth.

There is an old black and white episode of the Twilight Zone that takes place in a elder care facility.  All the elderly residents are crippled with their infirmities of age.  Life is not fun for them.  They sit and watch the world go by and just seem to be waiting for the grim reaper to make his visit.  Some of the residents decide to sneak out at night and play “kick the can”, like they did when they were children.  In the morning there are less residents.  The remaining old people start hearing the rumor that the reason there are fewer folks is because those that indulged in “Kick the Can”  are growing younger at night by playing their youthful game.

Children know that life is only a game.  When we grow older is when we forget and start taking ourselves and our lives entirely too seriously.  As adults get so caught up in our careers and our relationships that we forget to play.  We become less animated, less trusting,  and listen less to the divine.  Do we grow old because we forget how to play, or do we forget how to play because we grow old?

I am going to keep this short today because I would really like for you to link over and read their article.  It is very good and very thought provoking.  Click here for their article.

Let’s set ourselves a goal to rediscover the child in us, before it becomes too late.  Goals are important as they are the things that can help keep us on task.  Don’t forget to check out the 7 day Goals Setting course. 

**A special thank you to Amanda Borders from Amanda Borders Photography for her picture “Kick the Can”.  You should take some time to look at her photo blog site.  She takes the most exceptional pictures of children I have seen.  She seems to capture their very essence in her photos!   She also has great commentary with her pictures  You can visit her site at http://amandabordersphotography.com/blog/page/3/ **

The life we live is dictated by the thoughts we habitually think.  Do you buy into that?  Many people, when they finally accept the fact that their thoughts determine what happens in their life, become overwhelmed by the idea of controlling their every thought.  That is when some people will throw up their hands and say, “This is too hard, I can’t do this!”

I think, a lot of people have had those same thoughts.  How can we go about thinking better thoughts?  As human beings, we were blessed with an emotional guidance system.  We differ from other animals on the planet because we can be proactive and not reactive using this system.  What is an emotional guidance system?

When we habitual think the same thoughts, we, humans, attach an emotion to those thoughts.  For an example, if we are always thinking the thought that we are not worthy of love, that thought is not in alignment with who we are.  When that thought is present, we feel bad, sad, hopeless, etc.  You get the picture.  The feelings that we attach to that thought is our emotional guidance system.  When we are thinking that thought about not being worthy of love the negative emotion is telling us that we are thinking a thought that is not who we really are.  I could give you the spiritual concept for saying that last statement, but let’s approach it from another angle.  If we humans were not worthy of love where would the human race be?  We would not crave social situations and loving interactions with other people. We would not form families, communities and Monday night football parties!  We would be content with the life of a sea sponge.  We would just sit and soak stuff up and not feel anything.

You are probably saying right now, “OK, Nan, I accept that.  How do I change my thoughts?”  Forcing change never gets where you want to go.  Have you ever noticed that when you try to force something it automatically grows stronger?  If I told you not to think of a yellow lemon and how sour that lemon is, what are you thinking about….a lemon?  The more I talked to you about the the bump peel and when you peel it you can smell the citrus aroma of the lemon.  I can tell you to stop thinking about the lemon.  I could shake you and yell into your face “stop thinking about the lemon!”  Are you still thinking of the lemon?  What you focus on grows.  Forcing causes resistance.

Here’s a few tips on how to use our emotional guidance system to change our thoughts.

1.  When you start to notice that you are feeling sad, depressed, or any other negative emotion, stop right away, and think about what thoughts you were having.  When you have figured out what the thought was that caused the negative emotion, ask yourself, “do I really believe that thought or am I letting my mind run a “crash and burn program”.  Are you, for some reason, punishing yourself or do you actually believe what you are thinking.  When we get into a negative loop of thought, our mind will bring up anything to continue that loop until we become completely frustrated or change our train of thought.

2.  Once you have isolated the thought that is causing you to feel bad, can you change it up so you feel just a little bit better?  If we can start moving our mind to better feeling thoughts we can climb out of the self defeating cycle of thoughts.  Compare the two thoughts;  “I hate not having any money.” versus “I am looking forward to when I have more money.”  Can you feel the difference? 

3.  Change the thought by changing your perception.  When feeling a negative thought, is there a way to change the way you view that subject that might produce a better feeling thought? For instances, “My father always criticizes my actions.” versus “I am glad my father loves me enough to tell me when I am behaving poorly.”

4.  Be careful of “I am”, “I have”, and “I always” statements to yourself.  Unless, you want that statement to be true.  Statements such as “I am broke.”, “I have heart problems.”, or “I always pick the wrong type of men to date.”  These are just a few examples.  Using these types of statements speak directly to your subconscious mind and your emotional guidance system.  When you combine that with emotion it is a powerful manifesting combination.

Once you have taken ownership of your thoughts, their responsibility in your life, and combined with understanding your emotional guidance system you are well on your way to manifesting the life you truly want.

For those of you that have been watching the countdown to Gary Ryan Blair, aka the Goals Guy, 100 Day Challenge, today is the day!  Gary has sent out some additional videos.  His video “The Real Price of Success” is amazing and thought provoking.  Did you know that you will pay a price?  Failure or success, the choice is yours.  Get signed up today.  You won’t want to miss it!  Click here to find out more!

There are still some open spots for the 7 day Goal Setting Course.  Easy deliver, right to your email box!  Check it out here!