260. Write a New Script

As if the public stigma of having depression were not bad enough, self-stigma constantly harasses a depressed person: “I am weak, unworthy, broken, a plague on society.” It’s a terrible story heard over and over again.

What to do? Change the script you are telling yourself: “Yes, I am depressed now, but I’ll get better eventually. I’ll find a psychiatrist who can really help me. [Don’t stay with one who isn’t; they’re not all the same.] Maybe I need to see a psychotherapist instead of a counselor. I have a friend who went through depression and she’s much better now; I’ll see if she’ll spend some time with me. There is a pastor in my church who seems empathetic.”

There are two points to remember. First is that a depressed person can rarely pull himself or herself out of the pit. Second is that positive self-talk is better than negative ruminating. It’s not easy, but it can be done. I know because I’ve done it. Write yourself a new script.

New scripting can not only help one with depression, it can help with any condition that has you down.

About Patrick Day

In 2010, I escaped from four long years of deep, dark depression. This blog shares lessons I learned from those years as depicted in my autobiography - How I Escaped from Depression - as well as other insights about depression and anxiety that only come from someone who has gone through it. When you have a heart attack, you become an expert in heart attacks. When you have diabetes, you become an expert in that condition. As such, I am an expert in depression, with a four-year experiential degree and graduate studies in how to live a life going forward that keeps the ever-lurking Depression at a healthy distance.

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