Nine Steps for Dealing with Depression and Anxiety

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Over the last several weeks, I’ve been sharing on Instagram some of the tools that I wish I had as a child/teenager/young adult to get me through my depressive (and unknown to me at the time, deep anxiety) episodes. I pondered anti-depressants many times, was told by (holistic) therapists and many friends that I should, but I resisted and embarked on my own path of intense healing.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with taking antidepressants, and I’ve recommended to several clients and friends over the years that they try them when nothing else seemed to be working. I just realized early on that my path had to be different, and part of my purpose in this lifetime was to go through the fire so that I could hopefully help others after I came out on the other side.

In our society, anxiety is an epidemic (and for many, depression underlies anxiety). I’m not sure how it couldn’t be, as we are all connected ALL of the time, and expectations for everything to get done NOW run rampant. We have to consciously choose to disconnect and do the work of connecting internally. There is no true mental, emotional, or physical balance when we are always outside of ourselves. And the unevenness between what’s out there vs. what’s inside keeps a lot of us on an emotional roller coaster ride, our outlook on life tethered to whether we feel loved or hated by others.

The good news is that we have the power to work with both depression and anxiety. Please note: I highly recommend working with a qualified therapist if you are just beginning to tackle either of these issues. And if you are clinically depressed, medication is often necessary. But even if you are on medication AND working with a therapist, these steps can help you on your journey.

Here are the top nine things that have helped me tremendously over the years, and what I come back to again and again as I continue to do my work:

  • Step 1: Ground
  • Step 2: Find Purpose
  • Step 3: Process
  • Step 4: Sit With It
  • Step 5: Believe in Something
  • Step 6: Simplify
  • Step 7: Break the Drama Addiction
  • Step 8: Move
  • Step 9: Face Your Shadow

Click on the photos below to read about what each step is about. Please feel free to add any comments to the original Instagram posts, as I’m curious what has worked for other people in this arena, too.

Next week, I’ll share the final step.

 

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