Here’s how to cure depression.
I hate to see people suffer from depression and want to share the methods that worked for me and my coaching clients.
Method 1: Raise your standards.
I made a video about this method as well:
Every day, your standards pull you upwards—to happiness—or downwards—to depression.
Can you imagine an avid runner who eats a big plate of junk food after running a half-marathon?
See, a high standard in one area of your life pulls up standards in other areas.
But this same life principle can work against you.
How I got myself into and out of depression
I learned this the hard way.
11 years ago, I was at the lowest point of my life.
I lost my motivation to exercise.
That was my first standard going down the drain.
Then, I started eating junk food.
Since I wasn’t exercising, I didn’t have to support my recovery with good food.
The next thing I knew I was sleeping in, snoozing the alarm clock endlessly.
I couldn’t do concentrated work.
I just killed time reading and watching useless content.
Procrastination never felt good but at that point, working felt even worse.
I spent about two years in this downward spiral, hating myself.
What pulled me out was listening to uplifting information like Tony Robbins‘ CDs.
I started waking up at 5 am and taking my dog for a long walk, listening to those CDs every time.
It gave me momentum to do more good things during the day such as hitting the gym.
I felt healthier as a result and wanted to eat a cleaner diet.
Soon, my productivity was back to normal.
And the best thing is that I started to smile more!
A virtuous or vicious cycle? It’s your choice!
All standards in your life are interconnected.
When you slack in one area, others suffer, too.
When you increase a standard in one area, you create an upward motion for other standards.
Raising your standards does require willpower at first.
But lowering your standards also takes willpower—the willpower to cope with guilt and regret.
So you make a conscious choice about whether you’re going up or down.
After that, your subconscious mind takes over and does major work creating a virtuous or vicious cycle for you.
A strategic interventionist Joel Morgan said:
Ensure that routines, rituals, discipline—the things that work to keep depression at bay—are being done on a daily basis. Make it very routine and ritualistic so it just happens for you and you know you’re being healthy on a regular basis.
Actionable tip for method 1
How can you start a virtuous cycle right now?
You’re already doing it: listening to positive information.
That’s great.
I’m proud that you took the first step and I believe you’ll continue on this path to overcome depression.
Now take a baby-step in terms of exercising.
Say, go for a 15-minute walk in the morning.
And keep listening to uplifting information while enjoying being outside.
Do this every day to build momentum and raise other standards.
Method 2: Rely on a great memory.
Depression is a matter of focus.
When you’re depressed, you focus on what’s wrong in your life.
But you have the power to focus on positive emotion rather than what’s bad.
Here’s how to cure depression using this method:
- Find a memory when you felt elated.
- Replay that moment in your mind in detail so that you feel the positive emotions in your body.
- And then keep focusing on those positive emotions to replace the negative ones.
- When you feel that the negative emotions creeping back, replay the moment again.
Learn more about this method in my podcast episode #18:
https://romanmironov.com/blog/dealing-with-depression-naturally/
How to cure depression with coaching
If you need help with depression, check out my services.
I’m a life coach in Toronto: book a free coaching session with me through my Contact page.