13 Reasons I Love My Depression
Depression is a very real condition and it's not a disorder many would consider worth loving. How can you love something when you cannot experience joy? Positive thinking changes your brain. The more positive thoughts you have, the better, and the more you see your problem with depression as an opportunity for growth.
- It challenges me. Every damn day. One day I may feel like I am on top of the world, the next I may feel like I am in a deep dark hole I can’t climb out of. My depression challenges me and no two days are ever the same.
- It gives me perspective. A perspective that not everyone will experience. However a perspective I am nonetheless grateful for.
- It gives me choice. Choice to change what it is that is making me feel the way that I am. It is through deliberate action and deliberate choice that we can change how we feel.
- It drives me. It drives me and pushes me to move on. I have no desire to live with my depression each and every day – so it’s about taking the necessary steps to make that happen.
- It has taught me to listen. Not just at the surface level – but to truly listen to what people are saying and what they mean.
- It has taught me how to love. I love with my all, and no less. I no longer love by half measures.
- It does not define me, but it makes me who I am. I am not my depression. I am me – but I would not be me without it.
- It gives me responsibility. I am responsible for how I feel. Not anyone else. No matter how difficult or hopeless things may seem, I know I have the power to change how I feel and how I think.
- It connects me to others. It connects me to others who have suffered, others who are suffering, and others who have been affected by sufferers.
- It forces me to take risks. Because, what is the worst that can happen? I have felt like I have been in the deepest of hells. I have felt like things could not get worse. So now, I greet risk, and risk is now an adventure.
- It has grounded me. It has allowed me to look at things simply. It has grounded me in my values and knowledge of what is important to me and why.
- It has taught me acceptance. I have learnt to accept things for how there are, and to know that I cannot control everything. We need to learn to accept ambiguity and uncertainty.
Yet most importantly…
- It has given me meaning. All that I was ever searching for was in my depression. It has given me meaning and purpose. It has inspired me to provide others with the tools to live purposeful, healthier and more vital lives.
