Anxiety and depression can really destroy your happiness. There’s not usually a quick fix to help you break free from the patterns that bring it on, but sometimes a small change can make a big difference. I’m on a journey to be completely joyful and anxiety and depression-free, even when my circumstances are less than ideal. As I find things that help me, I’m sharing them on my blog so that I can hopefully help other people.
When I came back from my last trip, things were happening that would normally cause me to stress out like my autistic son dumping all the grated cheese on the floor or taking mouthfuls of milk and then spitting them all over the living room (I was so happy he was “drinking” so much milk), but I was able to calmly realize it wasn’t that big of a deal and I could quickly clean up the mess.
On the trip I had a break from things like cooking and washing dishes plus I had extra help from my husband, but it’s not like I didn’t have any stressful situations. I had all three of my kids sleeping in one room for most of the trip, and one night Jac stayed up until 3:30AM, and then the next night he woke up at 3:30AM and didn’t get back to sleep until 11AM.
However, this phenomenon occurred when I returned: for some reason, having been in a different environment with different demands on me for eleven days, when I returned, emotionally and mentally I “forgot” my stress triggers. I felt like I had a clean slate. All the same things were there that would cause me to be anxious before, but somehow I forgot the “logic” behind why they stressed me out.
About a year ago is when I realized I had some kind of issue with anxiety. I did receive some breakthrough with it where for about a few months it was gone. However, by now I understand the nature of it, and I am extremely cautious even when I feel like I am doing great, with what I consider to be my stress triggers. I have a list of things that I practice regularly that help immensely with managing stress.
That said, I would highly recommend if you struggle with depression and/or anxiety that you take a break for a while and remove yourself entirely from your environment. This may mess with you mentally enough to give you somewhat of a clean start. I understand that not everyone is able to do that, so if you at least are able change up your routine somewhat, even temporarily, that may help also.
If you have any tips or techniques that help with managing or keeping your depression and anxiety at bay, let me know what they are in the comments!
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