If you are dealing with clinical Depression, or possibly another mental health issue, I want to help if I can. Following are the things I do to keep Sybrie The Tenth locked up tight in her cage. Maybe you can do these things, or a form of them, to keep your own demon under control.
1. Keep the faith. Whatever it is that you have faith in, remind yourself often. Commune with whatever higher power you believe in. For me, that's best done in nature. I live in a rural town, right on the Ohio River, so there's lots of nature around. Even just on the property of my little apartment complex, there are several trees I can go sit under. I run away to the Smokies every chance I get.
2. Surround yourself with good people. This is your support system. Select people who are good to and for you, not people society tells you to associate with. If a person makes you doubt your own worth, they are toxic and should be avoided.
3. Remind yourself to try. I do this via wall art and even kitchen towels. "Gather with a grateful heart." "Enjoy the little things." My favorites are Ralph Waldo Emerson's Success and the prayer of Saint Francis.
4. Forgive yourself for failure. One of the things hanging in my little office corner is a degree from UC. I failed to learn ahead of time how few jobs in the field there were in my area, so I never actually "used" it, but I earned the dang thing! I grew my brain in the process, something I recommend everyone do. (I also failed to become a mother, so I focus on Aunting.)
5. Accept constructive criticism. Constructive being the key word. When one of those good people you've surrounded yourself with suggests you might have a problem (or be a problem), listen to them. They probably have a point. My own support system has standing orders to bully me into taking walks with them because I need the exercise!
6. Develop coping skills. It doesn't matter what they are, as long as they harm no one (including yourself). I play with dolls and color in coloring books. I write fiction I'll never have the courage to submit for publication. I love to learn so much that one of my nicknames is Research Whore.
7. Focus on the positive. This can sometimes be easier to say than do, I admit. Sometimes you really gotta search, but I promise it's there.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I'll apply #4 when I remember what it is.
