Living day to day with major depression is like being in a dark room with the windows shut and the shades drawn. There is no light. Eventually you experience feelings of helplessness and hopelessness and can no longer imagine changing the situation. This loss of control comes with forgetting that you were the one who closed the windows and drew down the shades when your discouragement over life’s potential and life’s meaning became too much to bear. Remembering that you have agency is pivotal. You can start by opening the shades little by little and allowing some light into the darkened room. There are many ways to do this with varying appeal to different people with depression. The list includes walking; exercising at the gym; talking to a friend on the phone; sharing a meal or a coffee with a friend; taking a warm scented bath; getting a massage; listening to music that is beautiful, inspiring or energizing; moving improvisationally to the music of your choice; doing yoga at home or in a class; stimulating your senses by going to a botanical garden, a park or a zoo; and watching comedies on TV. Eventually you will remember your agency and you will not only open the shades fully but open the windows too so you can take in all that air and light. To feel alive again, and taste possibility, is like experiencing the first days of Spring when the sun is back, the grass greens again, yellow Daffodils poke their heads up from the ground, and bird song is heard again. This worthwhile journey back to agency and light does not absolutely require seeing a psychotherapist but it definitely helps. I wish you success along with renewed health and vigor.
