Overcoming Depression: Why Mindset Matters

I came across a post on Facebook the other day about depression.

It was a Jim Carrey quote that has been widely spread around social media: “I believe depression is legitimate. But I also believe that if you don’t exercise, eat nutritious food, get sunlight, get enough sleep, consume positive material, surround yourself with support, then you aren’t giving yourself a fighting chance.”

I read it, and it got me thinking about how right he is.

Don’t get it twisted; I’m not saying fresh air and exercise will “cure” mental illness. I know that it doesn’t. I’ve had depression since childhood, which warped into a more severe form as a young adult, eventually intertwining with an anxiety disorder.

So I get it. Depression fucking sucks.

But you know what’s worse than being depressed? Wallowing in it. I’m talking straight up refusing to even try to better your situation and acting all “woe is me” instead.

Depression makes you want to stay in bed all day. It makes it impossible to clean yourself up. To go outside. Literally any type of social interaction is out of the question during a depressive episode (or season).

I remember being in that place myself when I was 19.

For almost two months I skipped classes and laid in bed hating myself. I stared at the ceiling wishing my life would end, telling myself nothing mattered. A couple friends stayed close, but mostly I just wanted to be alone and write about how depressed I was.

Life was hard for many years following. The only social interaction I really had was at parties where I could get drunk and forget everything. I stopped taking care of myself physically and emotionally by putting myself in horrible situations with the wrong types of people.

Eventually I got to the point where I hated myself so much that I stopped caring altogether. I slipped in and out of toxic relationships. Friendships were few and far between. I went so far as to push myself into marrying someone I knew was wrong for me, only to wind up heading toward divorce a few months later.

To put it bluntly, my depression was worsened by my own unwillingness to get better.

One day in late 2015, I hit my breaking point. I had turned into this person I no longer recognized and I was disgusted by who I had become. So I started going to therapy. Through a couple months of weekly sessions, I finally began to understand my depression.

I had previously tried medication in 2013, which only made things worse. My inability to comprehend why I couldn’t fix myself led me down a two year spiral that didn’t end until therapy. What I discovered changed my life.

Although I had various traumas that led to my mental illness, my actions were the reason I kept suffering.

I put myself in bad situations subconsciously because the misery was comforting to me. Miserable was the only thing I knew how to be, and I was terrified of feeling any other way. But if I continued to feed into the depression and anxiety, I was never going to heal.

When that realization hit me, it was like I had flipped a switch.

Suddenly I started noticing my own toxic patterns. I saw how I was attracting negativity into my life, causing myself to suffer. But my behavior didn’t change overnight.

It took another three years or so before I finally reached true clarity.

I allowed myself to be sucked into yet another toxic relationship. Fortunately, I had started using my resources to set myself up for success. I re-enrolled in school to finish my degree, got a good job, moved into a nicer place, bought a reliable car. I spent more time interacting with my family and doing things for myself that I love.

Everything was starting to work itself out. My depression was beginning to lift.

And once I was able to get out of my toxic relationship, things continued to improve. I dated someone new for the better part of a year. Though, once his toxic behaviors came to light, I threw that relationship in the garbage where it belonged.

When I was finally on the other side of things, it felt magical, like things changed overnight. But they didn’t. It took me nearly a decade to cope with some of my worse traumas.

Depression was one hell of a beast, but the moment I started to fight was the moment I started to recover.

I consumed as much positive material as I could. At night I worked on schoolwork and started building my blog. During the day I worked to make a living. I focused on creating things that made me happy, and I cut off all toxic people in my life.

Now that those things are in order, recently I shifted my focus toward eating better and being less sedentary. It’s made a difference, let me tell you. I’ve been sleeping better at night and feel more rested during the day. Plus I’ve had more energy and inspiration to write – a major must for me!

Whether or not you want to believe it, mindset truly does matter if you want to overcome depression.

When I was struggling through my depressive episodes, I thought “mindset” was total bullshit. There was no way “positive thinking” could cure my depression, right? Well, while that is technically true, mindset can still majorly help guide you in the right direction.

In no way am I completely free of my depression or anxiety though. I still have episodes where my illness overwhelms me. Those episodes are like paper cuts; annoying and sometimes painful, but only lasting a short while.

Overall, changing my mindset to bring positivity into my life helped me cope with my depression and anxiety on a daily level. And I believe it can help you too.