Mental Frames for Depression
1. Happiness is a Choice
The most profound thing I came across in self-help exploration so far is the idea that at the end of the day both happiness and suffering are choices. However incredible or awful your life may look on paper, you can control how you process and interpret the world around you.
Naval Ravikant's interview with Tim Ferriss illustrates this pretty powerfully.
2. Suffering is a Teacher and The Obstacle is the Way
“I had a health issue a few months back, which is a great wake up call. Everything great comes from something bad. Krishnamurti has this definition of suffering, where he says suffering is a moment when you see reality exactly as it is. When you face reality, that’s when you’ll change. It’s hard to look at suffering as a teacher but that’s how you should prepare yourself for it…I had a bacterial infection and my internal state was unhealthy. In one week I dropped alcohol, dairy, caffeine, red meat, went completely zero carb. All my bad habits disappeared overnight because my body was giving me a tight feedback loop. If I ate the wrong thing, I felt terrible. That was a gift! When I’m 41, my turns around and tells me what to eat to be healthy. If I ate perfectly, then the symptoms were much better.”
A great frame to adopt is that this journey can provide you so much more teaching than your average time going back and forth to work or school. What you're experiencing now will end up dramatically reshaping you for the better, empowering you to be a more willful, empathetic person.
Do listen to the most recent Tony Robbins interview on the Tim Ferriss podcast right now. Skip to minute 35.
Again coming back to that Naval Ravikant interview.
As for books, or audiobooks if you can listen to things easier: Marcus Aurelius' Meditations (he'll get his own post soon enough--I liked this translation) and Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle is the Way.
For me, my mind has raced, occasionally recklessly, as long as I can remember. I’ve been uncomfortable with empty mental space and introspection — starting back in second grade I fell asleep with a radio on. As the things that I’ve used to divert myself from my mind — podcasts, reading, facebook, socializing — became physically painful, I’ve gone through an aggressive crash course in sitting with my thoughts. The mental journey has not been fun. However, honestly confronting and learning to mold my mental state has been the most profound silver lining of this experience.
3. The Importance of Gratitude
Every morning and night write down three things you're thankful for and try to reach out and thank one person a day for something. Your symptoms may be really terrible and you may feel like your prognosis is hopeless but if you're reading this blog you're most likely in the global 1%. If that's the case, you have a tremendous amount to thank fate for.
Feeling really desperate?
Tell someone. Call 1-800-273-8255 right now.
I liked this also.
Lastly, it's helpful to know that you're not alone. WebMD tells me that around half of those suffering from PCS confront depression in their first year. Your brain is playing tricks on you but you will get better and come out stronger for it.