[SeptemberMorn]

Until I think of some really interesting ways to post these possitive one-liners... READ MY TAGLINE! hehe

[SeptemberMorn]

What? No comments? Could it be because the tag line is possitive? We need to become and stay aware of how our depression, whether holiday induced or perpetuated by our own self-talk affects us. Our own negative self-talk and negative thinking just drag us down further. I'm really encouraging all of us, including me, to fight off this monster as best we can. It's just as easy to THINK possitive as it is negative. This is accomplished by starting very small and not necessarily expecting ourselves to believe it right away. When you have a negative thought, take out your pencil and paper and turn it around, write it down and put it where you can see it. Then DON'T avoid looking at it! READ IT outloud if you have to! It's best if you don't include the words "don't, won't, can't ..." any word that has "not" in it, either in contraction form or not. EX: "I can't do this anymore." Replace it with "I will do this even if it's in a small way." - "What's wrong with me?!" Replace it with "I'm sick but others have gotten better and I will, too!" "This is too hard!" - "It's hard but I CAN do it!"

Don't think for a minute that I'm not doing this myself as I type. We're all in this together. It's just as difficult for me, but... IT'S POSSIBLE! (as opposed to "it's not impossible.")

C'mon, Everybody! Attach your rail road cars to the Little Engine that thinks She Can!

"Chug... ... ... Chug... ... ..."

[(JD)]

Sigh. This is a good thought Septembermorn... and I know others are trying to do the same...

when one is depressed it IS NOT just as easy to think positive as negative.. IMHO... the mind is locked in a downward spiral...and only the negative seems true.

of course, it takes effort of trying to reverse that to curb the spiral... and it the proper action... just a depressed person has to keep hearing it to help, and even then it isn't believeable!

[droopy55]

Hi SeptemberMorn,

Great thread! Here's my contribution. When I find more I will post them. Not only is this thread inspiring, it's fun.

I am the worst person to say shoulda, woulda, coulda. This is a great exercise for me.

<font color="blue">Change your thoughts, and you change your world.
Norman Vincent Peale </font>

droopy

[(JD)]

oh is that what you want? lol ok here's one from Dr Wayne Dyer: change the way you think about something and what you are thinking about will change.

I agree with you Sept - and actually, with Sky too! I think some of us do sabotage our lives in thoughts, words, and deeds. I know I've been guilty of this lately. Working to change those negative thoughts and actions ain't easy when I'm depressed!! Sometimes I feel like I just don't have the energy, and will just get sucked into some awful dark whirlpool. But, I keep working on it.....really I do!

I saw this today, and liked it a lot

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
I hold the sword of vigilance at the gate of my mind.
When the conflicting emotions threaten, I threaten them back.
Only when they relax their grip
Do I relax mine.

~ an ancient saying of the Tibetan Kadampa masters

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Thanks for sharing. You're so right!
Jon

[jbug]

Wow what a profound statement. I have been battling my monsters badly this week and when I woke up this morning all was well again with the world. I guess I just needed to cry for a couple of days. I went and saw my pdoc today and he is bumping down my Effexor XR. He was very reluctant to but I told him I think its time for me to go off my meds. He said I could do what I wanted but I said I wouldn't do it without his blessing so I guess in a way he gave me his blessing and we are starting with this so WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!

Janniebug

[SeptemberMorn]

I know you like to split hairs, Sky, but maybe you missed this sentence.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
This is accomplished by starting very small and not necessarily expecting ourselves to believe it right away.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

[SeptemberMorn]

Great one, Droopy!! I certainly appreciate your help in trying to raise our spirits.

[SeptemberMorn]

Yeah, it's so easy to just let ourselves get sucked into the negative vortex. No one said it was an easy uphill climb, but if we don't try, well, it just gets worse and worse and "worser"...

Thanks so very much for you possitive statement. If you find more where that came from, please do post it!

[SeptemberMorn]

There ya go, Sky! Thank you!

[Raynaadi]

I have been helped a lot after I read the lesson of the 5 balls (See tagline).

[SeptemberMorn]

Hey, Jon! How did the speech go? You're more than welcome to share right here, right now!

[SeptemberMorn]

Congratulations, Jannie!! So what positive thoughts do you have to keep you on the upswing?

[h0kie]

I don't know if this is what you mean Sept...but this saying runs through my mind frequently. I heard it on the radio one morning and I had to pull the car over because I was so shaken.

People may not remember exactly what you said, but they will always remember the way you made them feel.

A lot of the people here should think about that, because they've helped me immensely. You know who you are

[SeptemberMorn]

That's great! Anything anyone can add to some positive thought is wonderful! All I want is to start us thinking a bit more positive and not be so closed in by our own depression, especially at this time of year.

(PSST! Don't tell anyone but I think I'm one of those that has helped in some small way. It goes both ways, Hun!)

[ktp]

"I Celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass."

~Song of Myself by Walt Whitman.

My husband bought me the book of poetry "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman several years ago and I fell in love with it.

[SeptemberMorn]

That is absolutely beautiful! He must have had the gift of "being." Just being! Not doing, not thinking ahead, not worrying, etc... Just BEING! That's really tough to attain but so wonderful when you begin to notice that you've been there.

[Wants2Fly]

I’ve been keeping a file of favorite quotations since I was a teenager. This is one of my favorites – however, I don’t have my file with me, so the language may be slightly off.
It is from a book entitled The Grand Sophy by the late, great Georgette Heyer. Bear in mind the language is that of historical romance.

You have fallen into a state of despondency and there is not the least need. In fact, nothing could be more fatal in any situation. It encourages one to believe that there is nothing to be done, when all that is wanted is a little resolve to bring matters to a happy conclusion.

[SeptemberMorn]

{{{{{{{{{{{Wants2}}}}}}}}}}}}}} That's great! So true, too!

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
...when all that is wanted is a little resolve to bring matters to a happy conclusion.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Yes! Yes! Why is it that despondency is so easy to fall into? Nobody likes being there!

Thank you! I love it!

[SeptemberMorn]

Sky, I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear on that statement. True, the effort it takes to think of something positive on your own is totally different. Gravity sure has it's pull on negative thoughts as well as on a lead balloon.

Maybe what I should have said was that when someone posts something positive, at least dwell on it long enough to make it register instead of doing the incessant arguing that comes with negativity. Granted, not everything is going to resonate with different individuals, but we still need to make the effort to find some kind of glimmer in the darkness. If we constantly argue or discount something someone said, we will continue on the downward spiral.

Does that make any better sense? I hope so.

[Wants2Fly]

Hello September --

It makes sense to me. In the bleakest hours of my depression and desperation, through all my whining and negativity, there was always some little part of me open to seeing things in a more positive light.

One of the things that were discussed this summer was the put-down so many of us hear, to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" -- and so forth. None of us were even sure that the saying meant.

If there are bootstraps by which one pulls oneself up, I would have to say that the ones I used were these:

1. The kindness and understanding of people on the forums, which were a lifeline

2. Educating myself about what depression is and the distortions in thinking that it causes -- through reading the forums and books and counseling

3. Allowing space in my head and words to consider alternative ways of perceiving reality -- that is, alternative to my own dark ideas. And words are the "bootstraps" through which that happens.

Sometimes, when we are so very down and desperate, the idea that any effort will produce a positive effect seems ludicrous. Yet, we have to keep trying. Thanks for reminding us -- I need a lot of repetition for things to sink in -- and to penetrate my dark haze of negativity . . .

[SeptemberMorn]

You're exactly right about the "bootstraps." They are what we can make of them through what we've experienced in the past and all the resources that are available to us, such as the friendly, caring people here on the boards, reading and allowing a professional to help us see the individual trees rather than the whole forest at once. The only catch is that each of us has to put out that effort of "pulling ourself up."

Thank you so much for your great insights! They've been a help to me as I struggle to "pull up." I, too, need a lot of repetition before it starts to sink in. Don't you think most of us are like that, though?

[SeptemberMorn]

Ok, I can't think of any really creative way to post these things. Ya'll are just gonna have to bear with the same, old but tried way of posting. You might call these "affirmations" or just your "positive thought for the day." Here goes:

<font color="purple">Value Yourself

You have the right to be treated well, to value your own intelligence, to create a satisfying life for yourself and to value your own creativity.

You deserve to have good friends, fulfilling personal relationships and strong family bonds.

And, most of all, you deserve to have a great relationship with yourself. You are worth it!</font>