Chain: Depression

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Watch the highlights to Chain: Depression here

By: Jessica Manuel

Can one truly define what depression is? Is it an unbearable weight? Is there a way “depression” comes upon us and a way to get rid of it? I’ve heard people say “it feels like walls are closing in” offering them no motivation. So here’s the question: When can you recognize that you’re not receiving true happiness and you’re experiencing depression in the sense of desolation?

It’s easy sometimes to feel like removing yourself from the best people in your life because you’re tired or busy. Even going for a coffee seems like a marathon because who wants to do that when you can stay home in comfort? After all, it’s taxing to feel like you can’t naturally be happy like ‘them’, so you put on a mask- and no one asks questions.

But what does that do for you?

In the end, there is always silence. If you’re alone, are you happy with who you are? Are you happy with your reality? If so, staying at home and not giving to others is selfish because true happiness is offering who you are.

In a world full of social obligations and a desire for perfection, we never naturally become comfortable with who we are. We compare ourselves to what we believe is success when in reality, those people may be more unhappy than we are.

This can lead to distracting ourselves with television, drugs, alcohol, relationships, religion, exercise, or the next thing that “society says” will make you “okay”. We run from one thing to the next, never celebrating the present success; never being present at all. When we come to a place of silence, we find it empty –  almost discouraging because we’ve let pieces of ourselves go throughout the process of being busy.

When you’re busy, you lack aquiring the knowledge which turns into wisdom, that’s why wisdom comes with age, because reflection takes time. Thing is though, if you make time for it, wisdom comes, you don’t have to wait until you’re ‘older’. We have so much “knowledge” these days, but our society seems to lack wisdom. Change that for yourself by reflecting on your experiences instead of running from one thing to the next. You can’t find or attain a level of excellence without understanding the mistakes you’ve made and how to improve for the next time So don’t rush through life, dig deeper and crush it!

One of the most challenging things you could do today would be testing the reality of your silence. Where do your thoughts wander? Where is your focus? What is the first thing you feel like running to? If you’re okay being still and present, then you are on your way to breaking the chain of depression.

A couple other ways you can take heavy links away is by using the key of community and wearing the mask of transparency. Being vulnerable with who you are and what you’ve been through will allow you to fix something that you may not have acknowledged on your own.

Now its important to do this with a community you trust because vulnerability can worsen your depression, hence why we aren’t vulnerable to begin with. If you surround yourself with family, friends, or a community of faith, you are much more capable to accept what you need to change – and you have the support to do so.

Finally, don’t be too prideful to not ask for help. We all need it, and its okay. This will be the start to a path of accountability, integrity, and henceforth, your dignity. People will respect you because you’ll start to respect yourself. Once you break your chain, share your story and show others that its beneficial to be vulnerable.

This could be the key to breaking their chain of feeling desolation, and in turn maybe depression.