How do you keep a good mood going?!
Question:
How do you keep a good mood going?
Feels like I've been in the depression for a while now... I'm feeling so much better today, alert, brighter and more enthusiastic. But it's been like this before... And last time I stopped taking the anti-depressants I was prescribed. I got prescribed more this morning, (to start taking tonight), but altho I feel OK right now... I know it could so easily slip from under me again. It'll take about 2-3 weeks for the AD's to kick in, so anyone got any ideas how I maintain this brief happiness until then?
Answers:
It's all in your thoughts. All of it. The best way to legitimately keep sunny thoughts is Jesus Christ. I'd also suggest reading some nice books by Orison Marden, Norman Vincent Peale, Hillary Ziglar (goes by Zig), and Napoleon Hill.
I was down with Katrina Syndrome last fall after volunteering to do disaster relief work following Hurricane Katrina / Rita. It's not necessary to detail that here (you can email me) but suffice it to say I was having major difficulty- not the least of which was losing the woman I love.
It was an extremely trying time, but that's when and how I learned to let go of whatever other foolish thing I'm holding to, and come home to my Lord.
It wasn't easy even after that though- and the thoughts of those grand authors did a lot for me.
I was also prescribed anti-d's (and even an antipsychotic!) to come out of the worst of the post-traumatic stress disorder stuff, and they do take a while to get rolling.
I like Simon's advice a lot too!
Major importance is to get your eyes off yourself. Best way I know to do that is volunteering. Second best is DON'T just vent and talk about it and stuff, I mean you can do some of that but other times it never ends, especially if there's hurt for another person involved. Go do something else. Laundry, pay bills, check fluids in your car- nearly anything will do. Walking the dog doesn't work as well as you might think because it doesn't disengage your mind. It's usually good stuff, sure, but not for this.
If you're in college, you can probably talk to counselors for free. I did- it wasn't bad at all.