Slides and Depression

As a young woman I struggled with moodiness. I’d feel trapped for days at a time in a mental pit of negative thoughts. As a wife and mother of three, this often meant the whole family suffered through my moody times.

Then a mental picture helped me through the process of learning to avoid that awful condition.

It was as though a child’s playground slide were there before me. On the first step: I can’t handle this. Step Two: Nobody appreciates me. Step Three: Why can’t I have the talents others have? The content of the thoughts varied, but the process was always the same. With each step my thoughts grew more dismal. Up the ladder I’d go until I was sitting at the top. Once there it took only a little push like, Things will never get any better, and I was sliding down, down, into the pit of depression.

At first I learned to recognize when I was at the top and about to slide into the sand of depression. I had a choice: I could go on down the slide, or instead I could climb back down the ladder. I found it best to deal with each negative thought that got me to the top. In time I learned to recognize when I was about to put my foot on the First Step – when I could choose to entertain that first negative thought. Or I could choose to reject the thought and fix my mind on the truth.

Depression for me is a thing of the past. I always have the choice of where to put my thoughts.

© Beverly Caruso

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