March 29, 2017

THE CYCLE OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

Why is it that anxiety and depression seem to go hand in hand?

Here’s how it tends to happen. When we suffer high levels of anxiety the world starts to shrink.
We start to feel more and more anxious about things we previously felt ok about and we retreat a little. As a result of this, step by step, bit by bit our comfort zone reduces until we end up with a very small world that we can comfortably exist within. We set up barriers of protection around us and before long those barriers start to feel like a prison. As we start to grow we realise these walls aren’t protecting us from the world anymore. They are protecting the world from us!

Now contrary to popular belief depression isn’t so much about the situation that we are in, or what has happened to us previously, it’s more about whether or not we see a direction to go in and a goal to move towards. In short if we see the light then we have a point of focus and we don’t find ourselves so bothered about the current darkness.

You see, we’re actually very good at moving towards happiness, in fact it’s natural for our subconscious to be working towards finding the best strategy for the most happiness. However, this only happens naturally when we can see the path we need to take.
Anxiety makes everything fearful to us and effectively closes off that path. This is why it can ultimately lead towards feelings of depression.

Now to someone suffering with high anxiety being told they now have depression can be a huge source of anxiety. Before we know it, it’s our general mental health and state of mind that has become our major source of anxiety rather than whatever it is we regularly feel anxious about.

Now even though this sounds like a horribly vicious cycle, knowing it’s a cycle can be really good news. The thing is, if we break the cycle in any way we disable the cumulative effect of that cycle and this allows us to do what we as humans do naturally and that is move towards happiness. There are many ways of breaking this cycle, but it only really happens when we communicate with ourselves in a more positive fashion and deliberately change the things we are doing.

2 steps you can take today to break this cycle:

Take regular steps outside of your comfort zone. Even though this may feel like a challenge you need to remind yourself that you have stepped outside of thes zone many times before. You have had to to do anything knew, and even though the first time feels scary, we know that all the things we now do without thinking started with that
first step.
‍
As you do this be kind to yourself. Treat your feelings of anxiety like a child that needs to be reassured. It’s all too easy to regard where you are right now as the only place you can comfortably be, but don’t buy into this reality. It is the view of the child that doesn’t know any better. Always look to educate rather than castigate your subconscious. Open up the options to that part of you that is keen
to learn.

You are not anxiety.

You are not depression.

You just feel like it right now

These feeling like all feelings will pass.

Take a look at the video to find out more: