The ultimate guide to getting over depression and bad moods
We all experience unhappiness and bereavement at some point in life time. Our faith and belief in Almighty God’s will are usually enough to console and strengthen our sense of loss, grief or sadness.
However as human beings we are prone to feelings of depression
under serious and difficult circumstances. It has been said that depression affects up to 60% of people at some stage in their lives, and has been found to be more common in women than in men.Depression can seriously affect a person’s daily life.
If you have grown tired of life, or wish to go someplace where you can be alone, or you are always nervous, stressed, worthless, restless, sleepless and gloomy, you are probably suffering from depression.
One could expect such a person to be suffering from this ‘illness’ who is incapable of fulfilling his needs or a time has come in his life that he feels totally helpless and defeated, either as a result of an unfortunate death, a missed opportunity, a financial loss, persistent feeling of depravity,
or some other unexpected (class exam results) disappointing experience, long-term illness, unnecessary negative thinking.
This can invariably contribute towards feelings of jealousy, fear,
cowardice, pessimism and insecurity. A heightened form of this ‘illness’ could force the sufferer into committing suicide or even setting himself ablaze. It is a pity though that today this ‘illness’ has become rampant at every level of society and its disastrous effects result in the form of all sorts of hideous crimes depending upon the circumstances and history of the sufferer.
Our objective is not to delve into the causes of depression, rather to focus on just the ‘illness’ itself from a different perspective
In layman’s terms, depression can be of two forms: one finds its roots in the chemical disorientation of the sufferer whereas the other can be attributed to social circumstances.
A psychiatrist can help recuperate the victim belonging to the former category whereas a psychologist can attend to cases forming the latter group.
We should never loose hope in life. There are days which can be gloomy but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel
Whenever I am depressed I rememer this quote.
Don’t ever say, Oh God! I have a big Problem, Instead say Hey Problem! I have a Big GOD
Let us learn a moral lesson from the story of Donkey
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.
Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw.
As every shovel of dirt hit his back, the donkey did something
amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.
The Moral: My dear friends, life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up! Never loose hope and place your complete 100% trust in Almighty God as shown in the following story.
“THIS TOO SHALL PASS!”
A king called all of his wise men and counselors together for a meeting.
He addressed them and said, “I want you to go and think, read, and
research. Consult the wisest and most learned men in the land. Spare no
expense.”
“I want you to find the ONE statement that will get me through all situations
in life. Whether I am on top of the world or in the pits, find that
statement.” “I don’t want to learn long and complicated philosophies. I
want one simple statement. Find it or write it; I don’t care, just bring me
the statement.”
The men left and consulted for months. They finally returned and handed the King a scroll.
The King unrolled the scroll. On it was written four words. “THIS TOO SHALL PASS!” That was it.
The wise men explained. When you are on top of the world, that is but a fleeting moment, things change, always remember, this too shall pass. When you are in the pits, all nights are followed by day, at your lowest moments remember also, this too shall pass.
All external circumstances and material things change. No matter what your circumstances, remember, “THIS TOO SHALL PASS!”
The wise men reminded the great King that this would get him through his earthly things but the truly wise knew there were things beyond this earth and life.
Things that were eternal. True wisdom they reminded the King was in the ability to recognize the fleeting temporal things of the material world from the truly eternal things.
O Great King they said, “Most of the things that you worry or gloat about are temporary and our four words apply.” “THIS TOO SHALL PASS!”
The Signs of Happiness
There was a young couple who led a very happy life together. The only thing that they worried about was, whether their happiness would last forever or would they too would have to face problems.
One day, they heard that a wise old man had come to town; he could solve all kinds of problems and guide people. So the couple decided to visit the wise old man and tell him their source of worry.
The wise old man told them; “Travel around the world and seek a man and a woman who are perfectly happy as a couple. When you find such a couple, ask them for a piece of cloth from the man’s shirt, then keep that piece of cloth with you, and you always remain happy.”
The young couple began their journey, to find the happiest couple in their world. In one place they heard that the governor and his wife were the happiest people, so they went to their palace and asked them, “Are you the happiest couple?”
The governor and his wife replied, “Yes, we are happy in every way except for one thing; we do not have any children.”
Well that didn’t make the governor and his wife the happiest couple. So they continued their journey.
They arrived in one city where they had heard that the happiest couple lived. They went to their house and asked them, “Are you the happiest couple?”
The couple replied, “Yes, we are really happy in every way except that we have too many children which make our life a bit uncomfortable.”
No, this couple did not sound to be the happiest. And, so they continued their journey. They visited many countries, cities, towns and villages asking the same question but they did not find what they were looking for.
One day the young couple came across a shepherd in the desert. The shepherd was grazing his sheep when his wife and child came along. The shepherd greeted his wife and gently patted the child she was carrying. She laid the mat and started to eat contentedly. The young couple came to
them and asked them, “Are you the happiest couple?”
The shepherd and his wife replied, “Nobody is unhappier than the king.” The young couple immediately realized that they were the happiest couple and asked them for a piece of the shepherd’s shirt, so that their happiness too would last throughout.
The shepherd said, “If I give you a piece of cloth from my shirt then I will be left without any clothes since I own just one shirt.”
The young couple at once understood that it is very difficult to find perfect happiness anywhere in the world. The couple decided to return to their own country.
They went to the wise old man and related all that had taken place. They also complained that his guidance was difficult to abide by.
The wise old man laughed and said, “Was your journey useless or did you learn something from it?”
The young man replied, “Yes, after this trip I have learnt that in this world, nobody is perfectly happy, only that person is happy who does everything to please God.”
The wife said, “I have learnt that in order to be happy it is important to remember two things; first, all human beings should be thankful and contented with whatever they have.”
And secondly, for ultimate happiness one must always practice patience.
After that, young couple thanked the wise old man for his guidance and returned home.
The wise man prayed for them and said, “Indeed the sign of happiness is in their heart and they have good manners and if the lifetime is spent in pleasure of God there would be no differences in the existence of mankind.”
Remember the five simple rules to be happy
- Free your heart from hatred
- Free your mind from worries
- Live simply
- Give more
- Expect less
I had blues because I had no shoes Until upon a street I met a men who had no feet.
Now a days the major cause of depression is the cell phone. there are number of articles and surveys which clearly indicates that being addicted to cellphone leads to depression specially in women
Is it true that the calamities of this world will not touch the man of contentment? No, it is not true, because calamities will touch everyone, but the way he reacts to the calamities will be different.
He will not get in the emotions to handle the situation. People react to their problems in different ways, some being more vulnerable than others. As the saying goes, “Winners don’t do different things. They do things differently.”
Let us read the following story called as “Be a Lake” to understand it
better.
Be a Lake
The old Master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it. “How does it taste?” the Master asked. “Awful,” spat the apprentice.
The Master chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the apprentice swirled his handful of salt into
the lake, the old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”
As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the Master asked, “How does it taste?” “Good!” remarked the apprentice. “Do you taste the salt?” asked the Master. “No,” said the young man.
The Master sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said, “The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less.
The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the
amount we taste the ‘pain’ depends on the container we put it into.”
The Moral: My dear friends, when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things… “Stop being a glass. Become a lake!”
By : Akramullah Syed
