I attribute my success to having a great sense of self-worth and well-being. Practicing positive thinking is very important if you want to improve your life and the quality of your work. Optimistic people tend to be more successful in live because they believe they can achieve anything. To be successful you have to develop a sense of identity and belonging, positive feelings of self-worth, confidence and resilience.
A few months ago I realized I had mild depressed. I had all the symptoms. I was angry and stressed over so many people and so many things in my life. I had just graduated and I was unemployed and living in debt. My student’s loan of $1600 needed to be paid, I had just had a nasty break up with my boyfriend of 2 years and I just wanted to die. I became suicidal. It was bad and the only thing that kept me from thinking about suicide was my fear of finding myself in hell.
I had enrolled for an advanced course immediately after collage but depression interfered with my further studies and I dropped out as I had trouble focusing. My weight dropped to 41kgs. The doctor actually said I had malnutrition. The feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and guilt were intense and unrelenting so I turned to drugs. I felt that nothing would ever get better and there’s nothing I could do to change my situations. I struggled with these feelings for over a year.
Some of our most iconic leaders were depressed, alcoholic or suicidal at some point in their lives. There mental problems might have helped them to become great and successful. Abraham Lincoln friends described him as the most depressed person they’d ever seen but he managed to use his weakness as strength to become a great leader. Lincoln utilized his love of poetry and humor to protect himself from his mental storms. Legendary British Wartime leader, Winston Churchill, spoke openly about his depression calling it his “black dog”. He used his creative depressive personality to become one of the highest paid journalists of his time.
I told myself that I didn’t have to live on stress on a constant basis. I did a lot of research on how I could turn my stress into a blessing so it can benefit me. I realized that I needed to develop traits that would help me become successful. These are some of the things that I helped me get better and overcome my self-doubt.
I started socializing
I enjoy my company but loneliness and isolation are some of the risk factors that left me vulnerable to depression. Studies suggest that when we receive praise for good work our brain releases dopamine which is responsible for feelings of pride and joy. Finding social support from my family and friends, whom I had cut off, really helped me get back on my feet. I made sure that I was enjoying at least some form of social interaction every day. As a result I felt happier and my life became more enjoyable and worthwhile. Social instructions are powerful and can be very beneficial to someone recovering from depression. They naturally make your life more meaningful. Even a 5minutes call to friends that I hadn’t talked to since graduation made me feel better and happier.
I set my goals
Setting goals and achieving them was one of the most effective tools that helped me focus and get my life back in order. I listed the easily achievable goals first as I figured having small success would motivate me to achieve harder goals. If you are not real with yourself and find that you can’t achieve these goals it can have a negative impact and you may not be able to overcome your self-doubt. Having goals such as exercise, eating healthy, quitting smoking and writing really helped in treating my depression. Every week I reviewed my progress to make sure I was staying on course. I found that having my phone off helped my clear my head and focus on my goals and this ended up being the best thing as it improved my productivity.
I quit marijuana
I often smoked pot to detach from my depressive symptoms. Since I hadn’t connected my depression with marijuana it wasn’t immediately apparent that I needed to stop smoking. It wasn’t until I read a few articles and discovered that marijuana use and depression often accompany each other. Marijuana does not directly cause depression but factors that trigger depression may lead to use of the drug.
I started an exercise routine
I turned to YouTube and downloaded all the cool videos that I could find on how to get a bubble butt. When you are depressed exercising regularly can be very effective. Research shows that exercise can help improve and reduce stress as it releases natural brain chemicals that enhance well-being. It is even more fun if you have a goal like growing a six a pack or like in my case getting a bubble butt. Even takes walks a few times in a week can have long term effects on people with depression.
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