Change the way you think!

Change the way you think and your mood will change. Sound a bit puzzling? Let me use an analogy of driving a car as you head on the journey of overcoming depression.

Driving your car!

You might wonder what on earth driving your car has got to do with overcoming depression. To learn to drive a car, you probably went for driving lessons. You thought hard about taking out the clutch and putting your foot on the accelerator, so you didn’t stall or grate the gears!  And if you did you just had to practice a bit harder.

And most importantly you keep to the correct side of the road!

Driving your Life!

When we were growing up the people around us taught us how to ‘drive’, or live our livese, what to do to get on well in life. At that stage we had no idea if we were being taught well or badly! If our parents said something was right, it MUST be right! To children parents are ‘god-like’! Now some of our ‘life-skill’ instructors (otherwise known as parents) weren’t that smart because they also had been taught badly when they were growing up.

So now in adulthood we drive ‘our lives’ off the main highway and onto the dirt tracks, falling into potholes along the way. We’re bad drivers. This really means that it’s time for some self-examination, seeing which our beliefs about how we relate to this world are really true. If untrue they need to be chucked out!

Think of some of the criticisms you received as a child that emotionally handicapped you. Thoughts might be something like, ‘nice children don’t get angry’, ‘big boys don’t cry’, ‘children are to be seen and not heard’. Throw these thoughts away, they’ll take you into the potholes!

Some people say, ‘well, that’s just the way I am, can’t do anything about it, it’s too difficult to change’. Yes, it’s true, change is difficult. But if you moved to a country where you had to drive on the other side of the road, you would learn very quickly! Why? Because you value your life and really don’t want to crash.

Same applies with our lives, try listening to your inner thoughts. See if the engine is healthy and if not, start fixing it up! Overcoming depression? Check up on your driving!

Lovely chatting to you! Be sure to look out for more info. next week!