10 Ways to Manage Your Depression

Adapted from New Life Ministries

1. Do not expect too much from yourself too soon, as this will only accentuate feelings of failure. Avoid setting difficult goals or taking on ambitious new responsibilities until you’ve solidly begun a structured treatment process.

2. Break large tasks into small ones, set some priorities, and do what can be done, as it can be done.

3. Recognize patterns in your mood. Like many people with depression, the worst part of the day for you may be the morning. Try to arrange your schedule accordingly so that the demands are the least in the morning. For example, you may want to shift your meetings to midday or the afternoon.

4. Participate in activities that may make you feel better. Try exercising, going to a movie or a ball game, or participating in church or social activities. At a minimum, such activities may distract you from the way you feel and allow the day to pass more quickly.

5. You may feel like spending all day in bed, but do not. While a change in the duration, quality and timing of sleep is a core feature of depression, a reversal in sleep cycle (such as sleeping during daytime hours and staying awake at night) can prolong recovery. Give others permission to wake you up in the morning. Schedule “appointments” that force you to get out of the house before 11 a.m. Do this scheduling the night before; waiting until the morning to decide what you will be doing ensures you will do nothing.

"Mental Illness"-- by me, 2007 oil

6. Don’t get upset if your mood is not greatly improved right away. Feeling better takes time. Do not feel crushed if after you start getting better, you find yourself backsliding. Sometimes the road to recovery is like a roller coaster ride.

7. People around you may notice improvement in you before you do. You may still feel just as depressed inside, but some of the outward manifestations of depression may be receding.

8. Try not to make major life decisions (such as changing jobs or getting married or divorced) without consulting others who know you well and who have a more objective view of your situation.

9. Do not expect to snap out of your depression on your own by an exercise of will power. This rarely happens. Many churches and communities have depression support groups. Connect with people who understand depression and the recovery process.

10. Remind yourself that your negative thinking is part of the depression and will disappear as the depression responds to treatment.

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From New Life Ministries. Used with permission. More from New Life Ministries

Sep 11 2011

Seeing Through Photos

Images from http://laylasphotoblog.blogspot.com/. She has a fair number of very good images that she has winnowed out from everywhere. I have culled out these from her and hope they bless you. You just might visit her blog and soak in the beauty she has. She has several pages, and hundreds of photos.

Creativity

Humility

Family

Taking Risk

Beauty

Her site has this notice on it. I have brought it over to BB. “Its very difficult to acknowledge an artist or photographer for each of these photos. I found them all online without copyrights or credits. Each one says something to me. I hope you enjoy them.”I will promptly take any down if I discover that there is a copyright issue.

Jul 14 2011

Three Paintings You May Like, (Maybe)

Copy of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night“, done in Acrylics (but should’ve been done in Oils.) This hangs in a non-profit org. here in Homer, Alaska.

My favorite, out of everything I have done. “Jesus, with His crown of thorns” This sets on the landing of my steps, coming down from my loft.

: California Poppies, Acrylic–

This hangs in my home, since I refuse to peddle it to whoever thinks they might have it in their interests to put it up on their wall.

These three paintings are recovered into circulation because a dear friend asked me, (quite directly, mind you) to bring them out into the sunlight again. For whatever they are worth, it you can soak out anything of truth and understanding, I will leave it up to you. For the most part, I regard these as a definite foolishness. If you happen to disagree, I have no real problem in that.

Mar 22 2011

Simply Golden

by Norman Rockwell, 1961

“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

Luke 6:31, ESV – The Golden Rule

Sometimes I hit the switch, and “shut it down.”. Essentially, I get wrapped up with one of my favorite sins and soon I turn off my faith, unplugging myself from the wall. I have a desire to escape from what I see as restrictions that I believe faith brings me. I want to have fun–I don’t want to pray or read the Bible.

Actually I can do this in a lessor or more subtle degree. I just raise the volume of my sinful desires, and try to drown out that “still small voice.” I can maintain a “holy” life for my Christian friends, while I enjoy the pleasures of my favorite sins. Sins or holiness, I want to go for both, but the reality is I just get one.

There is a voice that is speaking profoundly. “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” Our particular “versions” of Christianity so rarely include this–”the golden rule.” In my own mind, I diminish this as a little bit antiquated. I will rarely feel its pinch or pull. It is never a topic of serious thought or meditation. It has become what I call–”an alienated truth.” It is very much real, but it is not connected to me in my daily walk.

Treating others, the very way you want to be treated–do this! Love people outrageously and deeply; because you like it when they do this to you. There is reciprocal action here, a sort of spiritual circle of kindness. Our vernacular says, “What goes around, comes around.” And it certainly has a degree of truth in it.

All too often we have a version of Christianity that has had “its teeth pulled.” We have tamed it, and brought the sharp teeth of the faith under our personal decision-making process. The “wildness” of a true faith is domesticated and ‘house-broken.’ And we start the rush to unplug things. The golden rule gets detached right away.

As I struggle as a mentally ill Christian, it is mandatory that the truth be lifted up in my life. I can become quite disturbed and manipulated by life’s dealings. My issues of paranoia and delusion cripple me, or become the step-stool for those wonderous things on the shelf of grace. Dear ones, use your illness to reach for the best.

Artist Research: Norman Rockwell (nex0003.wordpress.com)

Jun 4 2010

My Paintings, Vol. 2

by Bryan Lowe

Here are some more, I hope that they bless you somehow. All were painted out of a long season of deep depression. Painting these (and a lot of others) was the only thing that kept me sliding off the edge. Some might ask, how can you create these out of your Bipolar Disorder? To be honest, I am just as mystified as you.

“An artist has been defined as a neurotic who continually cures himself with his art.” (Lee Simonson)

The Bipolar Mind

Three Crows Having Lunch

All of these paintings have been given to various non-profit organizations, for the handicapped and the mentally ill. To me, that is the place they belong.

“If you have two loaves of bread, keep one to nourish the body, but sell the other to buy hyacinths for the soul.” (Herodotus)

Kachemak Bay, with moonlight

Straight on view

Doing my best, and feeling my worst. I make no pretense to being an “artist” so if you don’t care for these paintings I will understand. But for me one painting is worth 20 Zoloft.

This was painted when things were really bad.

May God’s presence come near to you today and may you understand his outlandish love for you.

“Artists are just as important as doctors and nurses. People need nourishing of their souls as well as their bodies; in Navajo culture the word for ‘medicine man’ and the ‘artist’ are one and the same.” (Marni California)

Dec 7 2009