• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Mental Health Resources
    • Depression Resources
  • Blog
    • Coping
    • Medication
    • Self Care
    • Stress and Anxiety
    • Unhelpful thinking
      • Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda
      • Fortune-Telling
      • Guilt and Shame
      • Time Travel
    • Sleep Issues
    • Depression
    • Covid19
    • Suicide & Self-Harm
    • Wellness Tools
      • SMART – Self Management And Recovery Training
      • WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan)
      • Change Triangle
  • Contact

“I Suffer From Depression.” Here’s What I Am Learning.

Turnaround
You are here: Home / Featured Home / Seven reasons I am ready for the New Year

Seven reasons I am ready for the New Year

December 30, 2019 by Depression Is Not My Boss Leave a Comment

I am sure I will make a New Year’s resolution or two.

But I won’t need to go far to find them. My resolutions or plan for the new year is the same today as it was yesterday.

And it is encompassed in SMART and WRAP training. Without the tools, ideas and support of these organizations, I am sure my recovery would look very different.

Facing the New year is exciting, not frightening.

READ: Is it possible to be recovered, and not always in recovery?

I know what to expect and am also ready for everything that will happen that I do not expect. And this is when my tools come in handy, for I may not be able to control what happens next year, but I can surely control my attitude towards it.

Here is my list of reasons why I am ready:

  • The future will come whether we are ready or not, so I choose to be ready.
  • My own personal Wellness recovery action plan written is written out and addresses stages of relapse, giving me resources that work to help me understand my feelings and emotions and keep them from controlling me.
  • My toolbox includes CBA, or the Cost-Benefit Analysis tool to help me understand how my choices will change the future, so I can make the best decision possible. SMART has many tools I am using every day to make better decisions and move towards a more balanced life.
  • I have learned to recognize unhelpful thinking and have a series of questions I can ask to challenge the thought as it pops into my mind.
  • My medication is performing as planned, allowing me to be more alert to the present. It has also kept me from spiraling into relapse and has kept me away from the abyss of despair and hopelessness.
  • I have not experienced any of “those thoughts” in a while. And when suicidal thoughts have appeared, I can see them floating on a leaf and heading on downstream, around the bend, out of sight. Then I move on, without engaging the idea.
  • After 43+ years of not facing or even acknowledging I have depression, I fully accept the diagnosis and choose to look it straight in the eye and say, “I have Depression, Depression does not have me.” Keeping depression out in the open where I can see it and see what it is up to has been the best way to keep it at bay, and to forge a new balanced life. Remember, “Depression is Not my Boss.”

Here’s one more reason I am ready for the future.

  • I have a marvelous support group. There are so many people to thank for me being where I am today. Having Peer Advocates, all the On Our Own staff and members, my therapist, my psychiatrist, my General Practioner, family and close friends all have helped in immeasurable ways to keep me on track and heading towards a more balanced life.

READ: Depression is sneakier than I thought

So, I will spend a few minutes time traveling into the future, imagining what the year ahead will look like as I apply the tools and lessons I have learned. Then it is back to living in the moment.

Recently, I have had several conversations where I was “just there in the moment.”

I did not have an agenda, I wasn’t waiting for the other person to pause so I could jam in my opinion, I was just enjoying being in the moment and sharing the conversation. I really appreciated how positive and warm that made me feel. And the other person felt heard and validated. What a cool thing.

Slowing down and being in the moment is what I want for the New Year.

What will you resolve to do?

Filed Under: Featured Home, Self Care, SMART - Self Management And Recovery Training, Some days I feel like myself, Unhelpful thinking, WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) Tagged With: depression and anxiety, depression is not my boss, New Years Eve, New Years Resolutions, SMART Recovery, unhealthy thinking styles, Unhelpful thinking, unhelpful thinking styles, WRAP

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

I write My Concealed Depression to create Mental Health AwarenessHello, I am Joel. I have Major Depressive Disorder.  I am genuinely determined to figure out my personal relationship with depression. With 40+ years of living with concealed depression, I write my blog to find answers. 

I once got so carried away searching for answers that I even earned a  certification in  SMART Recovery. 

Get my latest posts, (your email is never sold or rented)

I developed a 38 Page Mental Health Tools Flipbook. Complete the Form and Get Your Free Copy Now.

Privacy Policy

Discover Self-Care, Coping Strategies, Understand Anxiety, Track your Triggers, Mood, and Sleep; Recap Therapy Sessions, and more.

https://myconcealeddepression.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/my-concealed-depression-intro.mp4
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

More to See

The startling truth about coping statements for anxiety and depression

The Startling Truth About Coping Statements For Anxiety and Depression

October 28, 2020 By Depression Is Not My Boss

My 101 Coping Strategies for Anxiety

My 101 Best Coping Statements For Anxiety and Depression

October 18, 2020 By Depression Is Not My Boss

Is my anxiety from not cleaning up completely from my trip to Africa?

Is My Anxiety Because I Am Still Unpacking from Africa?

January 28, 2023 By Depression Is Not My Boss

Am I Able to Be Happier, to Feel Joy?

January 24, 2023 By Depression Is Not My Boss

You Never Pay More, Yet Clicking These Links And Making a Purchase Helps Fund My Blog

PureFormulas.com-Pure Healthy Goodness, Highest-Grade Natural Supplements! Fast, Free Shipping!
Mosaic 250x250
Blog Meets Brand
Your Page Title

Footer

Contact

Email:  my.concealed.depression@gmail.com

Privacy Policy

Recent

  • If Only I Felt Happy, Maybe I Could Be Happy
  • Is My Anxiety Because I Am Still Unpacking from Africa?
  • Am I Able to Be Happier, to Feel Joy?
  • What Made Depression Almost Keep Me From Summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro?
  • 3 Years and 9 Months After Admitting Depression, I Can Say Merry Christmas

Search

© Copyright 2020 · My Concealed Depression · All Rights Reserved · Designed by The Marketing Momma