9 Lessons on Facing Depression and Anxiety

It ’ s been twenty five years since my first depressive episode and there have been many dark periods since. Some of these episodes were so bad, the only relief I could get was to think about my own death. It took me a long time to learn these lessons and now that I am finally well I will remember them for the next time .

自從我第一次抑郁癥發(fā)作到現(xiàn)在已經(jīng) 25 年了,，這期間有很多黑暗時光。其中一些情節(jié)如此糟糕,，我唯一能想到的就是死亡。我花了很長的時間來學習這些經(jīng)驗教訓,，現(xiàn)在我終于好了,，我會在以后的時光中記住它們。

Maybe you have learned some of these lessons yourself. If not, I hope this is helpful.

可能你已經(jīng)自己學到了這些經(jīng)驗教訓,。但如果沒有的話,，我希望這能幫到你。

1.We should never go it alone.

我們永遠不應該單干,。

When we are depressed and anxious we alienate ourselves and abandon our social lives. Not only that, but we often refrain from speaking about our problems with family, friends or even our doctors. It is so important to be open and honest about your illness. This way you can avail yourself of loving help, support and medical care. This makes all the difference when fighting a devastating illness like this.

當我們沮喪與焦慮時,，我們疏遠了自己，放棄了我們的社交生活,。不僅如此,，我們往往會避免和家人、朋友甚至醫(yī)生談論我們的困,。對你的病情持公開和誠實態(tài)度很重要,。這樣你可以從有愛的幫助、支持和醫(yī)療照顧中收益,。當與一種像這樣的毀滅性疾病斗爭時,，這會讓事情變得完全不同。

2.We should only take baby steps.

我們應該只邁小步,。

Rome wasn ’ t built in a day — and depression and anxiety will not go away overnight. It takes time to get better and the best way to approach this process is with baby steps. Focus on feeling a little bit every day. Sometimes it might be a case of two steps forward and three steps back, but with determination and a positive attitude you can get better over time.

羅馬不是一日建成的——沮喪和焦慮不會一晚上就離開,。需要時間來變得更好，接近這個過程的最好方式就是邁小步,。每天專注于一點兒改善,。有時可能會往前走兩步而又退回來三步，但只要你有決心和積極的態(tài)度,，最終會變得更好,。

3.Positive thinking is possible.

積極思考是可能的。

I have first hand experience of positive thinking in depression. It can be done and it is effective; I ’ m certain it prevented me from slipping further into depression and it kept me in a place where I could function. Writing down positive affirmations and statements of gratitude are well documented to lift mood — just because you ’ re ill doesn ’ t mean you won ’ t benefit from this.

我有處在抑郁癥時積極思考的第一首經(jīng)驗,。這是可以做到的,，它是有效的；我確信它阻止了我進一步滑向抑郁,，它讓我保持在一個我可以正常工作的地方,。寫下積極的自我肯定和感恩的陳述對于提升情緒肯定有幫助——因為盡管你病了,，但并不意味著你不會從中受益。

4.Look forward to a bright future.

期盼光明未來,。

We are never depressed ' forever ’ — it just doesn ’ t work that way. Every cloud has a silver lining. Of course, when we are depressed we don ’ t see the silver lining; it has to be pointed out to us. There is no reason for us to believe that there aren ’ t fantastic experiences and sunny days ahead for us. Keeping that hope alive can save us from severe illness or help us through it.

我們不該 " 永遠 " 沮喪——這沒有用,。黑暗中總有一絲光明。當然,，當我們沮喪時,，我們看不到光明；必須指出給我們,。我們沒有理由相信前面會沒有奇妙的經(jīng)歷和陽光明媚的日子等待著我們,。一直保持這種希望，它能從嚴重的疾病中拯救我們或幫助我們克服它,。

5.We can make the most of melancholy.

我們可以最大化利用抑郁,。

You heard me — it ain ’ t all bad. We can be at our most creative at certain times in depression; some of my best drawings were done when I was deeply grieving. Many poets, artists and writers produce fine work when they are depressed. Working with music in the background can help to get the creative juices flowing.

你聽我說 - 這并不是對所有事情都有壞處。我們可以在在抑郁癥的某些時候最有創(chuàng)造力,；一些我最好的畫是在我深感悲痛的時候完成的,。許多詩人、藝術家和作家在沮喪時都完成了出色的作品,。伴著音樂工作可以幫助你獲得創(chuàng)造粒源泉,。

6.Be there for others.

為他人努力。

When depressed and anxious, we tend to think too much about our own problems. When we let this go and look outside of ourselves we see that others have needs too. It becomes clear to us that we can help other people and not spend all of our time focusing on our own problems. Now we have a sense of purpose and belonging — this helps with our self-esteem.

當我們沮喪和焦慮時,，往往會考慮太多關于我們自己的問題,。當我們放下這些，去看看我們之外的人時,，會發(fā)現(xiàn)別人也有需求,。這清楚的告訴我們，我們可以幫助其他人,，而不是把我們所有的時間花費在專注于自己的問題上?，F(xiàn)在我們有了目標感和歸屬感，這有助于建立我們的自尊,。

There is great value in this principal when you are without direction and living with depression.

當你沒有方向,，生活在沮喪之中時，這一原則會有很大的價值,。

7.Re-training our thoughts is invaluable.

重新培訓我們的思想無價的,。

Replacing negative thoughts with more positive and rational thoughts is invaluable when dealing with depression and anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy applies this principal and many of us have benefited from putting it into practice.

在處理沮喪和焦慮時，用更積極的,、合理的思想代替消極的想法是寶貴的,。認知行為治療法適用于本原則，我們中的許多人都會于付諸實踐中受益。

8.Detach from your illness.

從病中掙脫,。

For people with depression and anxiety, frequent negative thoughts and feelings are experienced, but we should bear in mind that they are only thoughts and feelings — symptoms of the illness. They are not who we are. We are the person that is literally carrying around these thoughts and feelings. If we can remember who we were before we became ill we can detach from the feelings and try to ignore the thoughts.

對于抑郁和焦慮的人,，都經(jīng)歷過頻繁的消極想法和感受，但我們要牢記的是,，它們只是思想和感情—病的癥狀,。它們不是我們。我們是真正帶著這些想法和感受的人,。如果我們能在我們生病之前記住我們是誰,，我們就可以脫離這種感情，努力忘掉這些思想,。

9.Don ’ t react to your thoughts and feelings.

不要受你的思想感情的影響,。

We have little control over the endless flow of negativity that enters our mind all day when we are ill. In CBT, we learn to stop these thoughts and introduce better one. But we can also be careful not to react to them — thereby reducing anxiety and further negative feelings. This allows us to keep control.

當我們痛苦時，幾乎無法控制進入我們心靈的無窮無盡的負面東西,。在 CBT，我們學會停止思考這些想法,，想寫好想法,。但我們也要小心不要受它們影響——從而減輕焦慮和進一步的負面情緒。這讓我們保持自制,。

【大耳朵原創(chuàng)文章,，轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處】

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