Thank you for those words.

Possibly the right time for me to hear them as well

Hello TAnetta, I like what you say about every second of the future being new and uncharted. The world can change in an instant, as we're constantly reminded on the news each day - unfortunately these examples are often not postiive ones, but the principle still holds.
When we're deperessed, it can be impossible for us to imagine a time when things will ever change. Time stretches out into an infinite plain with no edges, so we can't grasp hold of it.

But when you break it down into seconds, we all can get some control back. I am not so great today. But I can make a choice this second, this minute, this hour, that I am going to get through until this fog lifts. I can walk outside and feel the sunshine, take a breath of fresh air. I can savour the taste of my morning coffee instead of swilling it down. There are always options.

Yes Jess, Negative news seems to be all around us . That definitely takes some joy away from life.  You are sounding positive and I think getting sunshine really is good and not just for obtaining vitamin D. I do believe there are more severe cases of depression in the winter months. I'm not religious  even though I was brought up as a Christian. In my childhood days faith in a God  was like a neutraliser for sadness and also a guarantee for a happy future (as long as I was good according to the religious rules). We all have a safety valve out there waiting for us to discover but the trick is to find it.  I have strong faith in the universe as a balanced system and that is my neutraliser when things try to become unbalanced. I believe that when I'm in a negative state of mind the scales are falsely tipped away from the truth, which is neutral. I call that "living a lie". Negative conversations in one's head  need to be at least put on hold, if they can't be stopped altogether. A new conversation needs to be given fair time and hopefully, eventually override the negative one.  Some times the new conversation has to come from someone else.

Today was a bad day, but I made it through :)

I wish it was easy to put those words into practice, will keep going, and hopefully things will look up.

dear TAnnetta, your replies to Jess and Hairyca have been very profound.

A lack of interest from other people is always quite concerning, but unfortunately that's what happens, but if the boot was on the other foot then they would expect us to help them, but life should always be 'I'II scratch your back if you can scratch mine', and does this ever happen usually no.

Hairyca I have replied to your other post so I hope that you can get back to us.

It's interesting that even though I have overcome depression but when I have a session with my psychologist, he stops me in my tracks when I'm talking to him and he says 'look at all the negative thoughts that you have just said', I think it's second nature when you're had depression, and whether they affect you is determined by how strong you are to fight them off, or at least react to them in a negative way. Geoff.

Dear Geoff,

I find the conversation with your psychologist interesting. I agree with your statement that a person's strength plays a big role in dealing with bad thoughts.We are all different and due to our genes, experiences  or upbringing have different ways and levels of coping.  We don't appear to be  born depression, do we?  In normal situations we are  looked after as babies and all is great until we lose some of that wonderful care we enjoyed. In science everything  is relative to it's opposite.Through the process of evolution and natural selection, we became creatures that want to survive that's why we have  come this far.   We are biased towards life so we fear death.  After a hospital stint where I went under for an operation I related my state of unconsciousness  to being dead. During this I had no thoughts and time meant nothing. Since then and believing death is like that I don't fear it so I can  stop it putting weight on my positive thoughts.  Anyway....Those things taken from us that enforce our will to survive and to move forward  need to be identified and dealt with accordingly.   Depressed people should be helped with understanding and shown that there are still future positives in store.  There is merit in believing this fact; Each day, in the world, there are  people whom you don't know, never met and never will meet that are working on new discoveries. Discoveries that may impact on your terrible state.

Yes hairyca thoughts are sneaky and it doesn't take much to trigger a bad one which can then start a downward spiral. That's why we must try to stop them as soon as there is a hint of starting. There is truth in the saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure."  I do hope what I mentioned earlier does help  but don't give up  if it doesn't work this time.  Experiment with different types of distractions. I have worked on puzzles as a distraction and in particular Cypher Puzzles from the internet. They are not too difficult and there are wise sayings amongst the ones I found . The internet has something for everyone....we are an example. 

Hi TAnnetta,

Thank you once again for your reply.

Will definitely try what you suggested.

I try to distract myself by keeping busy, but this eventually tires me out. I will also have a look at the Cypher Puzzles you mentioned. And you're right, the internet is an amazing space.

e.

Dear hairyca

Try googling mad ciphers

Dear BKYTH

Would love to see the whole poem, if you could find it's title.

Although I dare say if you have a means of lighting the end of the tunnel you could light the spot where you are. Good on you if you have the will and strength to get up and make a  dark place lighter for yourself. I'm new at this but I imagine there are those who are so far in the darkness with so much fear and anxiety that  they may not even know which direction the end of the tunnel is. I have had a small taste of that feeling. I'm fine  because I can sense the negative thoughts coming on don't give them a chance to feed on themselves by doing something to distract.

Hello Bkyth, I haven't heard that quote for years! I remember I loved it when I first heard it. It's such an interesting thing, that when we hear the phrase 'no light at the end of the tunnel', it does suggest that we are waiting to be rescued somehow.

Even though I realise it's just a turn of phrase, perhaps it is also worth thinking whether the metaphor of being a in a tunnel to start with is helpful. Tunnels are fixed structures with the path and entry/exit points predetermined, and out of your control, and life is not like that. It is more like an open space, where you are vulnerable to the elements, but also free to choose your path.