Sometimes I wonder if my current full-throttle attitude towards life is an overcompensation for being so passive in the past. It’s clear to me today that ‘taking action’ is a key element to combating depression.
The longer you avoid a situation, the worse it becomes, which compounds your anxieties.
I’m not saying that if you procrastinate you will become depressed. I am saying that if ‘avoidance’ is your default method of dealing with pain, well, the pain doesn’t go away. It gets worse.
What are some ways that we avoid pain? I tended to do so by being dishonest, with others, and with myself. I pretended I wasn’t in pain, and I actually believed that no one could help me deal with it.
By being honest with yourself, you will see the situation for what it is, and not for what the pain inside your heart makes you feel that it is. (Those two things are not the same.)
Telling you to ‘take action’ and ‘get up and shower’ or ‘go get a job’ or ‘go talk to your wife about it’ is worthless. You’re never going to lift a finger because I said so.
But somewhere in there, I know that you want the pain to go away. Just admit that to yourself, and start there.
Honesty will unleash your power to change, today.
Matt Fried 