Three Tips For Instant Depression Relief
Here are three quick tip for immediate depression relief to boost your mood.
If you’re looking for a map out of depression, take my 21 Day Video Course - Break Free of Depression.
I've use these a lot, and they work wonders. They're like having mini ceremonies and rituals throughout the day.
A Quick And Radical Physical State Change.
Jump in an ice bath, take a cold shower, sprint, do jumping jacks, scream into a pillow.
Do anything that is going to quickly shift you into the here and now.
It can be any activity that rapidly gets you out of your head and into your body.
Note the words quick and radical. I'd also go so far to say find something that is immediate.
Doing yin yoga or a walk won't cut it, because there is still room for your brain to have a say in what you think.
We need something radical.
When you're in an ice bath, you don't have any time to think about how sad you are, or how wrecked you think your life is. You're probably just thinking, "Oh Christ, This water is f*cking cold. I'm dying!"
You're in your body and with the physical sensations of the present moment. Not in your head or stories.
There are also a ton of physical benefits to the above mentioned activities, which I won't go into here.
2. Ask Yourself The Two Most Important Questions
After the state change, find a room alone, sit down, turn your phone off, take a few deep breaths, do a body scan, and ask yourself two questions
WHAT AM I UNWILLING TO FEEL?
and
WHAT AM I RESISTING?
These two questions will get to the root of how you're feeling and what's actually going on.
More importantly when you know what you're feeling down about, you will know how to respond, and take better care of yourself for what you need next.
3. Head, Heart, and Gut Meditation
Now that you have an idea of what you're dealing with, we can take action.
Still sitting, eyes closed, you're going to ask the same question to three parts of your body.
That question is, what do I need right now?
Ask your head, "head, what do I need right now?"
Pause and listen for answers.
Then ask your heart, "heart, what do I need right now?"
Pause and listen for answers.
Then you ask your gut, "gut, what do I need right now?"
Pause and listen for answers.
The radical thing is the answers will be very different.
The answer from your head might be very different than what your heart or gut share with you. This is totally normal.
When we do these practices, depression is a gift because it teaches us how to take better care of ourselves.
We get to know ourselves on a more intimate level.
We also learn how to listen deeply to what we need, and more importantly, what we are lacking.
Be gentle with yourself as you practice this.
If you're looking for more tips on depression, my first book Thank God For Depression is out now.
