Well, as you may have noticed I have been missing for a while. Not a good thing when you are trying to build up your followers, but I fell in an emotional hole for almost a month. Sometimes that happens to me. I just get depressed. There I have admitted it once again.
If you have read some of my previous blogs, you have noticed that sometimes I just go missing. There are times it is hard for me to put on a happy face and make it through the day, let alone share my thoughts. Perhaps you have had similar experiences. Perhaps you too have fallen into a hole.
Usually, for me there is not a real cause. I just get into these funks. A curtain of sadness descends, and I feel sad. My energy level plummets, and I do not want to do a dam thing.
Sometimes life is just too much. I feel old. I have aches and pains. I want to retire but cannot. My children do not pay enough attention to me, and my books are lost in the great beyond.
I have read all about starting out as a new author. I have tried all the suggestions, but nothing is happening. And when nothing happens the self-doubt slams into me. I start to believe that maybe my messages are not important. That maybe my books are crap. You know the drill when you start that pity party. The chatter outweighs your common sense. And your ability to see the great things going on around you has vanished.
Sound familiar? It is normal to feel this way! Yep, sometimes we just want life to be easy. We just do not want to have to work for it. Sometimes it would be nice if someone else took care of everything. If we could just watch television all day. Read a book for days without interruption. Have someone else cooking meals, cleaning the house.
But reality must set in eventually, and we need to move forward. The first step is realizing that you and I are in a funk. Acknowledge it. Say it out loud, “I FEEL SHITTY.” You can even let the tears flow. Tears can be such a relief mechanism. There is no reason to hold back your emotions. Let it rip. (Safely of course). Do not deny your feelings of depression. And then let go when you are able.
I’ve done this enough times that I know I will come out of it and the sun will shine again. I know this. So, I give it a few days. And then sure enough my mood starts to lift, and I am glad to be alive.
I start by counting my blessings and thank the Lord for giving me another day. You may not know this, but I am a breast cancer survivor. Seventeen years now so I feel guilty when I’m feeling down. After all I could just be a bag of bones right now.
Being a survivor does not mean that I don’t get down in the dumps once in a while, it doesn’t. It does not stop me from being selfish on occasion, and it does not stop me from wanting my life to be a breeze. I think we call that being human.
But we must not let the depression take control and keep it. We must come out of that dark place at some point. Sooner rather than later. If you find you can’t pull yourself out of the hole go see someone. Talk to a professional. Call a helpline. Talk with a friend and share your feelings with family. And if none of this has helped it might be time for the big guns. You might need medication for a time.
Life can be tough, but there is much in life to amaze us. There is much in life that can bring us joy. We have to let those things shine through even if we do not want too.
If you are in a funk you can certainly write to me, I will be glad to have a chat through my email although I am in no way a therapist. I am just an old person with a lot of life experience.
Talk to someone if the curtain of depression does not lift after a day or two. Go outside and let the sun shine on your skin. Studies have shown that a lack in vitamin D can affect our moods.
Breathe in the fresh air. Let the curtain of sadness rise. And for today have a great day. You and I deserve it.
