Making Your Custom Depression Emergency Kit:

Making Your Custom Depression Emergency Kit

Action is King

I have a saying: Action is King!

Because taking Action – doing something – shifts energy. And in order to kick Depression, we need a shift in our energy.

Sounds simple, right?

The problem is, when we’re Depressed, we can’t think of what to do. We get cloudy. We get stuck.

Energy Gone Awry

In my previous posts on Depression I shared my discovery: Depression isn’t what we think it is. It’s not really caused by the circumstances we attribute to it.

Depression boils down to one thing: Energy. Depression is Energy gone awry.

In Depression, energy spirals Inward.

Our goal in Overcoming Depression: Reverse it – send our energy Outward.

(If you haven’t already read When Down is Up, and Understanding Depression: Thermostats, Automobiles and Airplanes, please do so, as these previous posts set the stage for this next step.)

Apply Energy Outward – Full Thrust!

As noted in my previous post, we can learn something from pilots about airplanes. In order for an airplane to fly, the pilot must apply all of its throttle, all of its thrust.

In order to kick Depression we must apply all of our energy into an Outward endeavor, thus shifting our energy – and freeing ourselves of the “gravity” of Depression.

Depression Emergency Kit

Several years ago I came up with an idea. Just like we have a First Aid Kit on hand for when we get scrapes, cuts and bruises, I designed my own Custom Depression Emergency Kit. I’ve worked with it since, and it’s really helped.

I’m sharing my Kit with you now, so that you might make one, too.

Your Kit is your tool, your Solution for Depression. Your very-own List of ready-to-go Strategies and Action-steps designed to pull you Up when you are Down.

The Purpose of your Kit is Threefold:

1) Shift your Energy – from Inward to Outward

2) Propel you into Action

3)  Raise You Up and Out of Depression

It’s best to work on your Kit before you need it. However, this is rarely the case. So go ahead and work on your Kit while you’re Down, but remember – keep working and adding to your Kit when you feel better.

An Earthquake Kit still does good after the quake – it prepares you for the next one. And since the experience is recent, you’ll have even better ideas about what you’ll need to include…

Making Your Custom Depression Emergency Kit

Begin by gathering up a List of Strategies, ideas, activities, pep talks, affirmations, sayings, resources and quotes… that you can turn to when you’re Down.

Here we go, pilots. It’s time to prepare our Check List!

The List:

1) Make a List of the things you like to do:

* Write a poem
* Read a book
* Take a hike
* Ride a bike

Brainstorm a big long List of stuff that speaks to your soul:

* Sketch
* Journal
* Paint
* Dance
* Sing

This becomes the backbone of your Kit.

2) Save The List!

* Store your List in a Folder on the Desktop of your Computer (My Desktop Folder is labeled: DEK – Depression Emergency Kit)

Having it on the Desktop is important, because when you’re falling down the rabbit hole you’ll need to find it easily, without a lot of distractions that even opening a program can bring…

* Print it out in case of Computer Failure! Keep the Print-out where you know you’ll easily find it.

My friend, “J”, keeps his as a written scroll, rolled and tucked into his curtain blinds. He knows his pattern. When he gets into a Funk, he curls onto the couch and pulls down the blinds to shut out the light. That’s when his scroll falls onto the floor, and his Kit helps lift him into action and out of despair…

And his Kit really works!

“J” told me that since working with his Kit in this way, he’s avoided the depths of despair he previously would have gone to. Pretty Cool Awesome Fantastic stuff!

3) Continue adding to your List

As more ideas come, Brainstorm the things that will help get your attention Off Yourself and Shift your energy Outwards.

* Listen to uplifting music
* Pray for someone else
* Clean the house
* Cook (something healthy…)

4) Add pep talks, quotes, wisdom, sayings, affirmations – anything that might speak to your soul and pull you Up when you’re Down.

* Just do my best. The rest will take care of itself…
* God is with me!!!
* Everything always works out!!!! (Note personal examples from my Life of this ~ like, I didn’t die on Molokai (near-head-on accident), and all the close-calls and near-misses that I’ve been saved from . . . See: My Miracle Book)
* Work within the realm of Quantum Physics! (see what I want, not what I fear)

* Telepathic communication is REAL. God is REAL
* Prayer works! God is Good ~ ALL THE TIME!!! (See: My Yoda Story)
* It isn’t all about me! There is always a bigger picture!
* Reach out and help someone else!!!

5) Add an “Emergency Call List” with names and numbers of a few safe people you can call when you’re down. Be very careful here – write only the few select people you really trust to listen and be there for you!

(If you think it’s best, call these people in advance. Tell them what your plan is – that you’re working on overcoming Depression. Ask if it’s OK to call them when you’re Down. This, in itself, is a very powerful, wise – and vulnerable – thing to do!)

Warning: There will be people who are NOT safe to be on your Call List. You might want to make a list of who to AVOID CALLING so you won’t fall into the trap of calling someone for support who will offset you, instead of Uplift.

6) Keep working and updating your List. Add ideas and inspirations as the come…

Some of the things I’ve included in my list:

Add foods and/or supplements – both those to consume and those to avoid, that cause a bad reaction

* B vitamins
* Calming herbs and formulas (Ashwagandha, Kava kava, maca, etc.)
* Wild yam progesterone (hormone) creme (for women)
* Feel-good foods: smoked salmon, avocado, walnuts, coconut oil…

* Avoid caffeine (coffee)
* Avoid sugar, wheat, carbs…

Add healing modalities

* Acupuncture
* Massage
* Hot Tub
* Chiropractic

Add self-help strategies

* Breathe!
* Stretch
* Detox – internal cleanse
* Detox – foot bath (Bentonite clay)
* Mineral Bath

Add other good ideas

* Go outside!
* Exercise
* Don’t isolate – reach out to someone else
* Take care of my work!
* Read this list and do it!

Add more words of wisdom

* Accept the inevitable
* Remember, I’m a human on Planet Earth – “stuff” happens!
* Everybody struggles, everyone has to find their own way
* It could be worse – I could be _________________
* Know that Life is for learning – see what I can learn from these difficult times

Research and Add more files to your Folder

* Brainstorm your own ideas, analogies, insights into Depression
* Be on the lookout for cool blogs, websites, resources
* Copy online articles, posts, links, photos, inspirations
* Label and store these as files in your Folder, so you can continue to gain inspiration from them…

When you’re Down:

* Call Up The List, read it over, and take some form of ACTION!

* Pick something from The List and Do It!

* Taking Action will help you shift your energy – that’s the goal – shifting your energy from Inward to Outward. Kicking Depression in the proverbial arss!

* Keep note of what works for you. Keep updating, upgrading, re-working your Kit.

* Make it real – let it assist you.

* Know that Depression is a choice. An energy choice. And you do have say-so in the matter!

* Research Near Death Experiences – I’ve found these fascinating stories inspirational as to how to live my Life. The Other Side is closer than we think!

So that’s been my process. I hope your Kit helps you like it’s helped me.

Thanks to what I’ve learned from using my Kit, I’ve found myself actually stopping mid-way into an emotional-meltdown and thinking – Oh, my energy is going Inward right now. I have to take Action and shift my energy OUTWARD.

And I’ve succeeded in thwarting the meltdown!!! Pretty cool stuff!

So now that I’ve shared some of mine, what’s on your List? What works for you?

When you get your List up and running, let me know how it goes. I can’t wait to hear!

(Be patient, though, as it may be a couple of weeks before I’m able to post or moderate comments. High Ho, High Ho! It’s off to work I go!)

 

OK pilots – what’s stopping you now?

Climb Up into the cockpit and get ready to roll.

You have Clearance from the Tower…

Hands on the throttle.

Prepare to push it all the way.

Ready – Set – (In the words of Peter Pan at the ride at Disneyland . . .)

“Come on, everybody! Here we gooooo!”

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Like what you’ve read here? Visit Dawn’s sister blog: Soul Horse Ride

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Copyright 2013