Friday, September 25, 2015

Depression and Anxiety are People Too...


When I'm feeling anxious, unwell, or depressed, rather than try to fix it, I wonder if I should treat my ailing self like a friend; to show compassion and support, but not in a way that says "I want to change you." More like, "Hello again, welcome. Here is my plan for the day, can you work with me on this?"

My aspie companion Matt is a great example to me. He doesn't try to fix me... he insists that nothing is wrong with me in the first place. And if my issues become a real hindrance--like when I can't focus on homework that's due the next day--he will gently redirect me towards my goal. I don't always listen to him though, and I think it's because I'm not letting my brain mimic that gentle redirection. Instead, I berate myself for not taking the advice of my wonderful friend.

I need to stop thinking that external compassion alone will solve my problems. I can start by showing compassion to myself internally. Perhaps if I mentally implement the approach of acceptance, I can redirect the my thoughts to change my actions. I could halt the cycle of self-loathing, and actually get out of bed when it seems near impossible, or forgive my sensory problems when they disrupt my "normal" behavior, or to keep moving forward when I cannot complete a task on time. I'll say "Hey, I noticed you're having trouble. Why don't we try something else?"

The next time my friends Depression and Anxiety come to visit, I'll try to be a nicer host.

2 comments:

  1. Depression, stress, anxiety and unwell all the facts are related with each other or we may say that all of them are tie in a single knot. Therefore when one arises others are also responding; so it is quite essential to go for good options to deal with depression and anxiety. Here we learn some quick and essential facts to deal with depression and anxiety and I am sure these are really beneficial for us.

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    1. Thank you for your comment! I do believe they can affect each other and heighten stress. I'm just happy to have found this method of self-care that minimizes it.

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