"Something To Look Forward To"

 


Grandchildren coming to visit is definitely 

"something to look forward to" 

for me. It happens fairly regularly at our place on Wednesday and Thursday and so each one of those days I have

 "something to look forward to."

I had a therapist one time that always ended our sessions with that question

 "what have you got to look forward to?"

 It left our visit on a positive tone. Sometimes I would have to think for a bit before, in my depressed state, I could think of anything to look forward to. But then when I did think about it I was surprised that I really did have few things coming up to look forward to!

In my daily devotions, when I write in my journal, I include a little measurement of my mood. I have a list which I put a note beside with these titles: sleep, food, body, mood, mind, yesterday, today and tomorrow. This helps me get a sense of what I might be up against that day. It also gives me an idea of what might already be good about the day, maybe that I had a good sleep or that my weight is stable. I hope you get the idea.

But this morning I was thinking about my day and I was looking forward to some grandchildren coming to visit later on and I was thankful that I had that to look forward to.
And then I remembered that therapist. So I have now added to my morning checklist

 "something to look forward to". 

 There is always something, think about it....

When you struggle with depression you have to be intentional when it comes to thinking about good things. It seems the bad thoughts you don't have to work on so much. They just barge in uninvited, but the good thoughts can be harder to capture. But capture them we must in order to continue battling this crippling illness.

And yes, it is an illness, not just a state of mind that reflects a weakness in your character. Give yourself a break. This is not your fault. You didn't bring this on, but you can sluff some of it off, minute by minute, day by day if you are willing to try a few little tricks like this one. Try to think of

"something to look forward to"

each day.

And if you don't already have that today, like I do, then find something you like to do, or someone you like to see, and arrange for that to happen.

Don't give up! There is hope for depression.

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