Depression is an illness just as real as physical ailments and just as serious. It has a negative impact on how you feel, act, and function in your day-to-day life. It gives you an unrealistic perception of your self-worth, place in the world, and your relationship with others. Let’s take a look at 4 lies depression may be feeding you, and challenge each one.
Lie #1 You’re Better Off Alone
The little voice of depression constantly tells you you’re better off alone. It can make you withdraw from spending time with family and friends. Depression can make you believe you don’t contribute anything to anyone else’s life. Therefore you’re better off spending time by yourself. There’s no point in making the effort to get off of the couch and go to the family reunion or a night out with your friends. After all, you’ll just bring everyone down. Depression tells you being alone will make you safe and prevent you from getting hurt.
The Truth
Even though depression tells you you’re better off alone, isolating yourself can actually make you feel worse.
Try to remember that depression wants to make you feel bad. So even if you don’t want to go, go out with your friends anyway. Attend the family reunion, and catch up with your long lost cousins.
Being with others can actually make you feel better and reduce feelings of depression.
Lie #2 Nobody Loves You
Depression can make you feel as if nobody loves you. Your family and friends are only associating with you because they either feel sorry for you or they feel an obligation to spend time with you. They don’t actually love you or even like you. After all, how could anyone love someone as flawed as you.
The Truth
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Your friends and family care about you because you’re you. They see what you aren’t able to see right now – your many unique qualities and talents.
You add value to their lives. If you could see yourself through their eyes, you’d see how much you have to offer them and others around you.
Lie #3 You Aren’t Good Enough
Depression tells you that you aren’t good enough. “I’m not a good mother. I can never be like all the other moms out there.” “There’s no way I’m good enough to nail that interview tomorrow.” “That girl is really cute. She’d never go out with me.” Depression makes you feel less than, prone to failure, and scared to take chances.
The Truth
You are good enough!
Do you love your children? The most valuable thing you can give your children is your love. So maybe you are good enough after all.
Are you willing to try that interview? Well, then who knows? Maybe you will nail it. Or at least improve your skills by trying.
Go ahead and ask her out on a date. You never know what’s going through her head. Maybe she’s thinking the same thing.
It’s important to remember that while depression can certainly take over every aspect of your life, it’s an illness. And it doesn’t define who you are. Even on your worst days, you are good enough. You don’t have to live up to anyone’s standards to be enough. You just are.
Lie #4 There Isn’t Any Meaning to Your Life
Depression can make you believe your life is meaningless. You aren’t doing anything worthwhile and nobody would even care if you were gone. You’re the definition of failure. Why are you here? This pattern of thinking is dangerous and needs to be stopped. Don’t try to do it alone. Get help.
The Truth
Your life does have meaning.
Comparing your life to anyone else’s (or even yours in the past) is detrimental to your happiness. Everyone walks a different path and deals with different challenges. Right now, depression is yours.
Hang in there. You won’t always feel this way. As long as you’re trying, albeit barely, your life has meaning.
You don’t have to believe these lies. Help is available.
Coping with depression can seem hopeless at times, especially when it feels like you’ve tried everything.
Pouring out your soul with a therapist, sometimes coupled with medication, is the traditional way of managing depression. And it can definitely help.
But sometimes it’s just not enough.
An innovative therapy called Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) has changed the way depression is treated. Depending on the severity of your depression, it can either replace or be a much needed addition to your current treatment.
You need to make progress now. To fight the voice of depression in your head now. ART is designed to do just that.
It’s possible to feel significant improvements in just 1 to 5 sessions with ART. It could be the answer you’ve been searching for. You can find out if it’s right for you by taking this simple quiz.
And please, no matter what you do, don’t give up. Reach out for help. You don’t have to do it alone. You are loved and worthy of love. You are good enough. You are worthwhile and your life has meaning. You can fight this.
