One of the traps of depression is the way it can at times obfuscate what should be obvious. This is why I sometimes need to remind myself that no matter how drained I’ve been for however long, no matter how difficult it is to get through life from day to day, there is always a solution.
Always.
It could be exercise, better eating habits, socialization, alone time, time spent in nature, or simply a change in pace. It could also be a psychiatrist, medication or even an invasive procedure like deep brain stimulation.
I don’t keep this blog series to promote the idea that attempting to combat depression without therapy or medication is somehow better. I want to address a sense of helplessness that I often feel, and that neither therapy nor medication can necessarily help. The helplessness can also take over when psychiatry and medicine are out of reach, whether the reasons are geographical, financial, social or of any other kind. I cannot provide therapy nor medication, but I can suggest alternatives.
There is joy still, and an easier daily life. There is still a corridor to access it. These are never gone. It is harder: the corridor is blocked, whether by fog or a rockfall. It will take effort, but it will also take strategy.
This blog series is meant to be a compilations of strategies that I have found to work, in the hope that I will enrich others’ arsenals when needed.
But the first and foremost thing to keep in mind is this: there is always an answer, always a solution, always a strategy. If hopelessness takes over completely, there will be no saving yourself thereafter. So if giving in to despair for awhile is necessary to you, then go ahead–but never completely relinquish that lifeline that is hope and the knowledge that there is a way to rescue yourself somewhere. It is only a matter of figuring out how.