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Depression SWOT Analysis

One of my special talents (no big head here just historical evidence) is translating and adopting seemingly unrelated concepts to solve problems. This is the context for sharing how I used a traditional business tool SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to assess and plot a path out of depression. First off, using business tools for mental health is a great thing because it allows for taking the illness into a more pragmatic framework than traditional therapy approaches. Secondly, business concepts are known to many so there is an innate comfort in relating to them. Third, using a tool that is not psychological in nature may help put more emphasis on problem solving than illness identification. What I mean by this is a different viewpoint that focuses on current practices and options moving forward. So lets begin. SWOT is a staple of competitive analysis tools in business. You can read a good writeup here: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm My adoptio
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What's holding you back from healing

So you've been depressed for months or years... and no matter what you tried, you hover on the bottom with a few periods of somewhat better times. There is no one answer to why YOU are stuck in the vicious cycle but chances are, it falls into one or more of the below categories. You may have a genetic disposition to depression (I wrote about this before). Truthfully, if you have it, then depression will always be a part of your life. BUT, it is not a reason to always feel bad or give up on having a relatively peaceful mental state. However, you need to look at it as a condition like any other (like ADD, diabetes, whatever) that you can manage. So, shift your mindset from curing to managing! You've tried therapy, medication, behavioral changes (good or damaging), mind over matter tactics, coping mechanisms, self-medication, environmental and social changes, and everything you could think of... but nothing gave permanent relief. Why? Because your efforts focused on relieving/elim

Depression - 4 Daily Essentials

After almost a year of searching for, testing and developing practices to eliminate depression, I've come up with the most essential 4 that has the greatest impact. I'll keep this really simple. 1. Start the morning right (5-minutes) State out loud: I am the maker of my good day Make a list of 3 positive things you a thankful in your life Make a daily to-do list of 3 items (must, optional, just for me) Commit to make the day count for you (learn something, feel progress) 2. Reset when unwanted thoughts, events, whatever happens Make a list of 5-minute activities (water plants, load dish washer, sort laundry, send a message to a friend, walk around the block, window shop online for something specific, have a cup of tea, meditate, listen to a song/talk/audio book, etc.) Whenever you sense the onset of a downward feeling (usually a gut or heart squeeze) nip it immediately by doing one of the items from your list 3. Take a 15-minute 'me time' Create a playlist of meditation

Depression after beliefs shatter

It occurred to me that after the January 6th riot, many of the people who truly believe they have been cheated by the system can fall into depression. It is like their whole world crumble. They may feel abandoned as human beings. I'm not talking about the rioters that were looking for an opportunity to cause havoc. I'm talking about those who cried while stating that they have no option but resort to extreme measures. Regardless of what our political views are, we cannot forget that behind the scenes are real people with real feelings. The effect of facing with our beliefs being destroyed is like a glass castle crumbling to pieces. People will feel lost, purposeless, discredited, ousted, ostracized, looked down on, and a host of other things. Many will fall into depression and some into deep depression. How are we going to help those who will fall into hopelessness, helplessness, despair? The burden to heal so many will fall on all of us because mental health professionals will

Depression perpetuated by Guilt

Spurred by someone I care about, this post is for all those who battle the unending guilt experienced during depression periods. Guilt is a very real and debilitating but completely useless feeling. It stops us from moving forward by blocking rational thinking on options for and ability to act. Why I say perpetuating? Here is a typical chain of thoughts I lived through that rendered me completely unable to think or act. (Remember, by definition, depression is, among other things, the inability to carry out everyday tasks.) The kitchen needs cleaning up (stuff put away, dishes washed). It can wait. - the mind is trying to find a way out of doing I'm too tired to clean up the kitchen. - the mind is trying to rationalize why not to act This is such a small thing but I can't bring myself to do it. - I'm just lazy... GUILT sets in I should find something useful to do. - searching for a way to eliminate feeling lazy I just can't get myself moving. - what's wrong with me?

Depression and Self-Sabotage

It is completely okay to acknowledge that we are struggling with depression! The problem starts when such acknowledgement turns into self-sabotaging habits. Have you skipped exercise one day which turned into days? How about getting take-out food rather than cooking which led to eating out most days? Habits start with an good and necessary decision to take a break from something that is repeated.  This happens when we don't put a limit on the behavior. Here are some examples and possible solutions to depression created self-perpetuating habits in no particular order. Oversleeping Sleep is necessary and wonderful for regenerating the body. However, when we sleep more than our body needs, it can turn into sluggishness. Depression often makes us try to hide from our pain and suffering for which sleep is a 'perfect' solution... for a few times but repeated use will have diminishing positive effect and increasing inability to get out of the vicious cycle of depression

Digging out of the Depression Hole - Acknowledge

I'm back after many months to share the journey to digging myself out of a period of deeper than usual depression.  I hope that these posts will help some of you in your own journey. I want to emphasize that deep depression is not something that happens at the time of causes.  It is a result of prolonged and piled up unresolved emotions and feelings.  Being functional keeps many of us dealing with the root causes when they occur.  Therefore, do not try to find causes of depression in current situations, the damage happened in the past.  I wrote this as an 8-year-old: I have everything but I am just not happy. Well, you may have everything okay right now but the past has caught up with you.  Like when I had cancer... I was taking the treatments like a champ but 6 months later I fell into a deep depression. Emotions have a lag time. Depression is not new to me as I have suffered it my entire life (at least all of it that I can remember). Naturally, I've dug myself out of it m