My name is Emily. I have depression, am an addict, and am working towards living a more serene life with these two things that
will likely always have an impact on me. When I have bouts of what I now will
call depression, the things that would help me dig out of that lonely place
tend to fall by the way side. Those things that help the most are regular
attendance at my support group, vigorous exercise, healthy amounts of sleep,
early-ish rising, being on time to my commitments, and writing in my
journal. I have been in a funk for a while now (funk meaning having more
emotionally challenging days than easy days) and have not been fully utilizing
my known funk-kicking tools. But today, during a vigorous walk/run, I had a
cool thought. What if I asked myself each day, "Emily, what have you done
for your depression today?" Have I done at least one good-for-me thing to
help stabilize my mood? So far today, even though I don't feel my best, I have
walked a few miles, started a healthy dinner for my family, and shared my new
trick with you. I don't know if I'll ever feel 100% emotionally all the time,
but it feels good walking towards that.
Emily Jourdan
Image credit: Emily Jourdan
Image credit: Emily Jourdan
