Monday, May 7, 2018

Mindful tracking for depression


You ever find yourself in a funk? Like one of those truly insidious moods that sneak up on you. It allows you to function and even appear “normal” for months, maybe even years on end. Meanwhile, in the background there’s a persistent sadness, irritability, or anxiety that lingers like a low grade fever. This feeling is often what brings people into counseling. They don’t quite feel like themselves. They know they’re not as happy as they used to be, but aren’t sure why.

Truthfully, most of us have felt this before…when you’re overwhelmed by the blahs and beside yourself. Are you clinically depressed, you wonder? Burned out? Absorbing other people’s emotions? Why is this uncomfortable feeling like a familiar companion that has overstayed its welcome? Sometimes the unknown makes things worse. You feel like you’re going crazy because you can’t pinpoint why you’re hurting. This is where mindfulness comes in- mindful tracking to be exact.

Next time you notice a persistent feeling of unrest do a lifeline. This is an exercise where you track significant life events over a designated time period. It could be your entire life or just the last 5-10 years. You pick the duration. But on a lifeline, you draw an actual line on a piece of paper, like a ruler, and indicate major life transitions, losses, relationship changes, perhaps traumas. Basically, you indicate anything that you deem developmentally significant. In doing so, you will more than likely see a pattern or theme emerge. Perhaps you’ve had a lot of deaths or relational losses. Maybe you had back to back health issues or educational challenges. It could just be a lot of normal life transitions that you didn’t quite adapt to or cope with effectively. Whatever it is, a lifeline will afford you the opportunity of increased insight. It will help you make sense of your emotional experience and perhaps lend wisdom for how to handle your mood state.

No one likes to feel abnormal. No one wants to feel down and unwell all the time. Even if you are functioning, often you intuitively know things could be better. If you feel this way, I definitely encourage reaching out for counseling support. Additionally, take some time to explore the last season of your life. Maybe just seeing in line graph form how much you’ve been through can normalize the struggle. It can also help you have compassion on yourself as you heal. So, give it a try and let me know what you find. I’d love to hear what you discovered and learned about yourself with a little mindfulness. 


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