My Recent Depression And Anxiety Tips (My Top 6)

This one is dedicated to my mom.

It's been a while since I've written anything. Lets just say I was going through stuff...

As you know, I've struggled with depression, followed by anxiety, topped-up with substance abuse. Since my last post, for some reason, my life went completely down-south, and totally unexpectedly. In the last 3 years I've lost three jobs, two rental apartments, the majority of my friends and all support from family. Today when I look back, I know what I did wrong. My life did a complete 180 degree and continued going down hill from there. Without getting into many details, and I'm sure you have an good idea, so I really want to focus on what I did to get myself out the deed, deep misery I had put myself into, how I got back on my feet, back on track, and even stronger than ever. One thing I do want to say is don't ever think you've become strong enough to suddenly be able to deal with addictions because you got over your anxiety/depression. Addictions and anxiety go hand in hand. Addictions are extremely difficult to control, and even no matter how strong you think you've got. Please keep in mind, and you know that, when you start it's extremely difficult to stop or control, and so you might just fall right back where you once were, deeper, and possibly hit rock bottom... that's exactly what happened to me, so I hope these tips can at least help some of you.

Let's get right into it. Here are my most recent 6 tips for finally concurring depression and anxiety, especially when mixed with substance abuse.

1. Stop Consuming Drugs And Alcohol, Whatever It Might Be For You

This is a crucial step, if you allow in the devil's temptations, you will never be able to see the light again or gain the strength to get through it. Go head, have that one more drink, one more night of fun, and then what? What about the following weekend? What will happen when that "friend" calls you to come chill, what will you respond? Are you going to go back just so that you can test your own strength? What does it bring to your life or future? What's at the end of that tunnel? How far in life have you gone since? Are you making good friends, I hope so, because you will need some. Those people are not your real friends, maybe you have something in common, but you can not help each other get better by doing the same thing. Talking to each other about your future goals and plans while high, is not going to take you any further, but only to that next party.

From my experiences, none of that matter. That fun you're having isn't real fun, and trust me, it's actually taking your further and further to your dreams and goals, and often extremely dangerous. No savior is coming for you, you're dreaming, comfortably numb, in your own fantasy world, but with no means of getting out of it. Life won't help you if you don't help yourself.

Sober up a bit and slowly you'll find the courage to get help, and there is so much help out there. One thing at a time, one moment at at time, one goal at a time, you will eventually reach every single one of them, as long as you stay as sober and keep your focus.

2. Come Face To Face With The Fact That You Do Have A Problem

Most of us don't think or believe we have a problem. Anxiety and depressions are linked to deep wounds that were once forgotten, pushed away and never dealt with. The reason why we rebel is because of our hurtful wounds from our past which we think no longer exist. When we feel unhappy we naturally get involved with the wrong people, introduce substances to ease the pain or to feel accepted, loved or appreciated. We must remember that we attract what we are, these people, whom match your current mental state, are not going to be helpful, however they do make you feel comfortable and welcome, right?

Don't give in, know better. You have wounds to heals and you need to accept it, don't copy them, don't settle, don't give up on your dreams just like some have. You need to talk to yourself and say "I need to change my behaviors and actions". Do that and your life will follow... it's truly the only way. You will feel it in your mind, body and soul when it's really time to quit. Then focus on you and you will begin to be more honest with yourself and with others. Transitioning is never just a walk in the park, it hurts, but it does go completely away :)

3. Be Completely Honest With Yourself

Like I just mentioned, being honest with yourself, knowing who you are, where you come from and what you want in life, all will support you during your transition. You need to be self-aware of everything about you. Whatever you need to do to find that out, just do it, trust me, it's worth it. As soon as you admit to yourself "I have a problem, I know", then, you will immediately feel that feeling of calmness, and right through your veins. What do I do now? Make a list of steps you can take, and start with one, anyone, just pick one. It is a very powerful practice, it works, it worked for me, and I hope it works for you. Be a good person and stop lying to yourself and to others. You will gain confidence, self esteem, and others will begin to respect you, once again.

My life changed dramatically; I gained back my respect, I started loving myself more, and today I  completely accept my flaws and previous mistakes. I never judge myself or anyone - I respect other's journey and where they might be today.

4. Detach Yourself From Toxic People

I've always believed that people cross your path for a reason, but I also know that it doesn't mean everyone will stay in your life, and sometimes it's just for a quick brief moment, just to teach you something, or perhaps you need to leave them with something. In any way, some people show up only to make your life miserable as hell, more then their own life. They will do anything to keep you from getting better or succeeding, because that's what they thrive on, victimization. They pick at you, wait for that reaction, and can't wait to see you hurt. It's only until you realize this, that you can then make a conscious choice to let them go. Get to know them so they don't bother you ever again, new comers, they will come. Cut them out of your life, and COMPLETELY! I'm sure you've met a few.

5. Take Care Of Yourself

It took me a few back and forth before I finally became to understand that part-time consuming, is not a thing. Only after I decided to ONLY focus on my physical health, mental sanity and spirituality, that I began to feel completely at ease with myself, my life, my behaviors and attitude towards people. I now take good care of myself, eat even better, back into yoga and meditation... life if wonderful again, but at higher level. I do not force anything, because the last thing I want to do is create any unnecessary stress while I'm healing. One day might be yes, but the next might just be Netflix. I take it one day at a time, I don't think about tomorrow or yesterday's mistakes, because I know that will trigger anxiety and overthinking, and we both know that won't lead us anywhere! I am now leading an easier, almost stress-free life style and I'm loving it. I did move to another city, but only because I left like I had no other choice. It's up to you. Whatever makes you feel good just do it, as long as it's healthy!

6. Know Your Goals

This has to be my favorite. I might not have previously touched this topic, but I truly believe that the root of the problem, is that we are completely lost human beings, not knowing what we truly like, what we should be doing with our lives, yes I'm talking about your life purpose. Picture you're an artist but you work for the government full-time, and completely dislike your job. The majority is doing it, they "seem" happy, so it must be alright. Well, it may be the worst thing for you. It is soooo important that you have a goal, mission, purpose, reason to live, reason to be alive! Otherwise, what's the point. I finally think I've got my mission figured out, which is to help people, in any way I can, through this channel, through beauty, being raw and authentic, so that others can replicate. I have decided to become the type of person I would wish to meet and have a conversation with, and be so comfortable that I can truly be myself. That is enough for me. I'm also starting my own business, and from all that, I know I'm doing what I was called to do. They're many things you could accomplish or do, it might not just be one thing! Being a good mother is one :)

You must find what those are deep down, and slowly work your way to them! I believe those are the true meaning of happiness, no anxiety, to stress, no depression. Remember, anxiety and depression are only here to assist you.

You also have a story to tell, click here.

Be well.

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3 Easy Steps To Finally Realize Your Core Fear (Part 2 of 2)

In part 2 we will explore techniques on how to dig into our emotions so that the heart of the symptom can be revealed, which is our core fear imprint.

Important note: Just so that you are aware, I will be brutally honest with myself in order to show you live examples, and extreme sensitive matters will be revealed.

In Part 1 we looked at The Art of Asking Questions, and how imperative it is to allow ourselves to ask questions when we feel something is not quite right. We recommend that you check out 3 Easy Steps To Finally Realize Your Core Fear (Part 1 of 2) before going into these final 2 steps.

Step 2: Locating Secondary Fears That Will Lead You To The Core

Core fears are what govern our every move, thought, action and emotions, thus effect our physical, mental and emotional behaviours. They reside in our subconscious mind and contradict our highest good or well-being, consequently cause us pain. It's like living with a roommate whom you just can't seem to get along with. Well, it's time to break the lease!

Analysis for your visual: You try to bring a plant back to life, which you have been ignoring for years, by going back in time (of course with a time machine) and provide it water and sunlight so that the damages of today can be reversed. This process is the exact same concept, except no need for a time machine, just a bit of imagination ;)

As shown in the previous diagram from Part 1, there could be many secondary fears branching off of that one source fear, also called the heart of the fear. But if we look at the surface level what we will see are by-products of the actual root problem. So let's take a quick look at examples of what our core fear may be:

• Abandoned, Ignorance, Loneliness, Neglect, Rejection or Undesired
  opposites: accepted, attention, cherished, comforted, connection, desired, expression, reassured, wanted
• Betrayed, Deceived, Mislead, Undervalued
  opposites: justice, accepted, affection, appreciated, cherished, loved, valued
• Humiliation, Judgment, Misunderstood or Misinterpreted 
  opposites: accepted, loved, heard, respected, understood, valued
• Danger, Insecurity or Uncertainty 
  opposites: comfort, peace, reassured, safety, security, survival
• Despair, Failure, Inferior, Powerlessness or Lost of Control 
  opposites: hope, faith, encouraged, confidence, powerful, succeed, determination, control, self-worth, purpose
• Disconnection or Emptiness
  opposites: awareness, connected, one-self, being, belonging, purpose
• Unhappiness, Unfulfilled 
  opposites: complete, fulfilled, joyfulness, peacefulness, purpose
• Unimportant or Worthlessness 
  opposites: capable, efficient, important, worthy

Here is a diagram displaying examples of how our core fear will branch off in to multiple secondary fears:

Sound familiar? If so good! We're one step closer...

Now that we've narrowed it down to one or a few core fears, let's choose the most dominant one to work with today during this exercise. Perhaps the one that stood out the most simply by observing these examples or the secondary beliefs you've come up with. The other ones can be visited when you feel ready or if you feel necessary.

Tip: If you can't narrow it down to one main fear, think about a bad experience you once lived where it caused you to fear. Then, summarize it in one simple sentence using your own words, as if you're expressing your concern to a loved one, finally right it down and use it to start this process. Hint: you know you're on the right track if you resonated with one or more of its opposites.

Step 3: Finding The Dominant Core Fear

During Part 1 we looked at The Art of Asking Questions and trusting that our mind will take us to the exact moment we want to be. This is pretty much what we're doing again this time, but we'll get slightly more specific.

Now that you've deliberately been brought closer to the source of the problem and feel ready to take it further, we will now dive in and take it to the final step, and we will do so with a simple mental exercise using our imagination in order to allow us to go "back in time".

To begin, while you're holding on to that thought, observe yourself (always in 3rd person perspective) experiencing it again as if you're watching your own child (or yourself as an adult), and then feel every emotion you were experiencing in that moment, like his or hers emotions were directly communicated to you. Let and invite the emotions rise to the surface naturally. By not thinking and only observing, ask yourself these additional probing questions:

1. When did I first feel this emotion?
2. Who was I surrounded by?
3. Where was I?
4. When did I last feel this emotion?
5. What am I afraid of?
6. Why am I afraid of it?

Feel free to use your own words to describe how you feel exactly. For the sake of this post I kept it cleaner. It should look something like this:

1. When did I first feel this emotion?  between 5 and 6 years old
2. Who was I surrounded by?  no one
3. Where was I?  in my bed
4. When did I last feel this emotion?  last year (in my bed again)
5. What am I afraid of?  for myself, to be alone, to be with someone, to be stuck with someone, to be unwanted, captured, told what to do, my survival, for my family
6. Why am I afraid of it?  I fear never I will be happy

It's absolutely normal to cry while you're consciously re-living your emotions, in fact why don't you take this moment for yourself and let it all out. If you don't cry or feel anything that's Ok too, just keep going with the process and repeat if needed. It's also normal if you start seeing indirect scenarios, this simply means they share the same fear or a secondary fear, and as temping as they may be try to keep your attention on that initial moment. Observation: if your mind repeatedly goes back to another moment, then move on it. Some wounds just need to be acknowledged and your work is done :)

Finally, the last part to this process is to take it a tiny bit further by breaking down your final answer from question 6, or your own sentence you wrote a moment ago, and ask yourself these two probing questions in an alternate matter. Think as if you're trying to find out the truth behind what seems to be a lie ;) This will invite the true core fear to come out. Here are the questions that have been used by many leaders over again:

1. What does that mean to you?
2. How would that be so bad?

Starting from "I fear never I will be happy", it shall look somewhat like this:

1. How would that be so bad?  life is pointless if I can't be happy
2. What does that mean to you?  it means that there is no point to keep on living
3. How would that be so bad?  I guess it's not
4. What does that mean to you?  I don't care for my life
5. How would that be so bad?  asking for self-destruction
6. What does that mean to you?  that I don't care about myself
7. How would that be so bad?  not caring for others
8. What does that mean to you?  I'm selfish
9. How would that be so bad?  no one will want to be with me
10. What does that mean to you?  I will always be alone
11. How would that be so bad?  won't experiencing love
12. What does that mean to you?  I will slowly die inside
13. How would that be so bad?  an illness will take over me
14. What does that mean to you?  I'm giving up on myself
15. How would that be so bad?  giving up on everyone else
16. What does that mean to you?  that I'm a quitter
17. How would that be so bad?  I'm selfish...

As you can see from my attempt, team work would do a much better job at this. Also there are no right or wrong as to which question should be followed next. Simply go with the one that resonates most. You can even ask both at the same time and or let your intuition decide. In my example I chose to alternate between the two and actually found it a bit difficult to promptly get to a satisfying destination.

People who tend to live "in a lie" (and you know who you are) will find this exercise very hard as for their answers won't be coherent nor will they align with their experiences, therefore they will find it contradictory, probably wont enjoy the process at all, or may even find it particularly "pointless", because they refuse to see the truth.

After going in circles, in my case my core fear seems to be selfish. I fear being seen as selfish. What does this mean in my everyday life experiences? Every action I take, words I say, and thought I think are branches of this core belief that I unconsciously have of myself. For instance, when I say no to going on a date or going out with friends, I feel selfish. When I have an opportunity to help someone but it's minus 30 outside, I feel selfish. When I buy groceries, I feel selfish. Guilt, worthless and insecurity could also be other core beliefs of mine, and I'm excited to continue to explore my roots. I could go on and on but I think by now you have a good idea.

It's not the belief that we fear, and in fact we want to thank it for allowing us to see another side of us that we may not be aware of. It is the consequences that follow as secondary fears, (e.g., pain, aches, stress, anxiety. reputation, career, friends, family, love, etc.), thoughts (e.g., self-pity, worthless, self-destructive thoughts, negative thinking) and actions (e.g., self-destructive acts, isolation, hesitating, missing out on opportunities, or over doing it to suppress the pain).

You can also try this process with smaller issues, such as something that gets on your nerves or something you often complain about, and start straight from those two alternating questions. You'd be amazed how aligned it all sums up.

Doing this mental exercise can be extremely powerful in many ways when done with pure honesty, by yourself or with a partner, but it is imperative that you first are willing to accept whatever will be revealed from your past. You must agree to this statement before considering, in other words you have to be willing to face the truth.

I hope you will have as much fun with this process as we did, and hope it can be helpful to you or to someone who needs support. Please don't be shy to leave your comments as we would truly love to hear from your experience.

If you're looking for a quick and very effective way to relieve your anxiety and depression symptoms, then you might also enjoy our other article about 4 Powerful Reasons Why Anxiety Is Your Friend (With Tips!).

If you would like to contribute to our blog by sharing your own personal story on how you struggle with anxiety or how you have defeated depression, please click here :)

Happy Self-revealing!

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Namaste

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3 Easy Steps To Finally Realize Your Core Fear (Part 1 of 2)

Questionable thought, questionable feeling, questionable emotion, questionable symptom, questionable anxiety, questionable depression, questionable meaning of your own life's purpose?

Everything can be questioned. I simply can't get enough of questioning myself, well also about everything. It provides me so much insight as to what are my personal problems beneath the surface, which were completely unknown to me, and even though the answers are not always what I expected, it's good to get to know me :)

They said "what ain't broken can't be fixed" (I love this quote!), so if it's all good then you must be on the right track, though improvement is always welcomed! But maybe there's something wrong going on in your life, maybe you've lost hope, nothing seems to come together or make any sense, or maybe it simply doesn't "feel" right. Well then there are no questions there, there is something wrong, something is blocking you, so there is something to question about.

Philosophers, life-coaches, spiritual teachers, etc., all seem to agree on this one philosophy, which sounds something like:

If you want to achieve greatness you must first let go of what's holding you back.

In this case the "unwanted" will be our core belief. It feels like we're constantly going back to this issue, because there is really no way around it:

The belief which lies in our subconscious mind will dominate all other beliefs we think we hold.

Maybe these 5 examples would be properly adequate to help you visualize:

1. Money doesn't grow on trees, mother repeated, so today you struggle financially.
2. You have a bad relationship with one or both of your parents, and today you're seeing a mirroring effect in your relationships.
3. You felt a lack of love as a child, and today you wonder why no one else wants you.
4. As a child you were told that you were no good and useless, and today you feel unworthy.
5. You were bullied in school, and today you have low self-esteem.

Today what we're going to do is to find out what are those branches growing off of our most predominant fear, and then work with it in order to finally ease the pain associated with it, or better, delete symptoms that may be a by-product of one or more past experiences. Anxiety, for example is a by-product of a fear which has manifested in a time way before we even started having symptoms of anxiety. Let's flip the coin around: our body is being dominated by an unknown fear stuck in our subconscious mind and is re-lived through each of our experiences. It doesn't matter if we saw it coming and recognized it, or if we had absolutely no idea we feared a particular fear, either or the emotion which rises at the surface is a fear from deep within us.

They say that as a child, more precisely before the age of eight, we have yet learned to understand our feelings in order to express them as emotions. Therefore we couldn't deliberately choose to accept or reject a particular feeling, thus by default we've adopted them all, negative or positive feelings. That is mainly the reason as to why today we keep attracting the same events which are a match to those feelings. In other words we've adopted these patterns which lie in our subconscious mind, which is THE most dominant consciousness. Understanding what are the "Royalty" controlling our everything is the first step to unleashing ourselves from those past experiences that no longer serve us.

As we all know, our fears expressed in the form of emotions can be manifested through an illness, anxiety, depression, a particular event or person, a thought or a future event or scenario (e.g., how will I pay rent this month, or how will my future look like 10 years from now). So, what do these fears have to do with the core issue? Everything... let us detail with a few scenarios:

1. Will I ever come out of this financial struggle?
2. Why do people make me feel rejected?
3. Why do people hate me?
4. Why do people make me feel worthless?
5. Why do people make me feel angry?

You may find that you can replace the noun people with a distinct name, and that is even better.

Now let's take a quick look at this converging diagram for a brief moment:

This example represents worthless as being the core fear, and we can see clearly how it's branching off as different assignments, but ultimately they are all by-products of not being worthy.

If only the root fear never existed, there would be means for the secondary fears to exist.

From this observation, we may want to blame, for instance the fear of reputation, but because a fear cannot be manifested overnight, yet it requires years of affirmation, convincing and many replicated back-up scenarios for a fear to become a dominant fear. For example, if your core fear is worthless, it was certainly not caused by a couple of people telling you that you were worthless.

Ignoring our fears is really not the best thing you can do for yourself, although it may help reduce the emotional pain momentarily, however in the long run it can only continue to grow branches. It would be like switching your attention towards something that feels more positive, while the fear lingering in you awaits another opportunity to arise, once again.

Now dwelling on our financial problems instead of looking at possible solutions is focusing on the problem only, but the core belief behind the financial problem is what requires our attention, and it's what's causing us physical and emotional pain, so it's essentially not the fact that we can't pay our rent.

So how can we find out what are our core fears? We can do so in 3 simple and easy steps:

Step 1: It's Time To Ask Questions

First, we need to find what is troubling us, what are we afraid of, what event, people or circumstances seem to cause us the most physical, emotional and mental suffering, and we can do this by simply asking ourselves questions. This should be done at the time a fearful emotion has manifested, but anytime you feel ready is also good, whatever feels alright with you.

Now that you've purposely chosing to hold on to one fearful emotion or a parallel moment, ask it about its originality by using probing questions such as the below. This will activate the critical thinking part of the brain:

1. What am I afraid of?
2. When was it?
3. Where was I?
4. Who was I surrounded by?
5. Why am I afraid of it?

You may add to these questions and dig as deep as you possibly can. This may require a bit more time for some people depending on how suppressed the core fear is, or to others it may come very easily. Simply let your mind do all the work, let your mind take you where you want to be, let go of any thoughts and completely surrender to it and trust that it will show you what you're seeking. Do not try to force the process by provoking a thought or a "desired" scenario, or worse suppress the emotion from coming to the surface. This is a good time to be brutally honest with yourself. Trust that your mind knows you best :)

Important note: Before beginning with this process please keep in mind that you don't necessarily want to "relive" that moment, but instead what you're looking for is to "revisit" it as the older version of you, and observe that point in time (from the 3rd person perspective) and allow the experience bring up for you memories, flashes, images, words or any feelings or emotions from this moment. Since the heart of the fear was most likely manifested as a child you may not necessarily see pictures or images, but you may only feel the emotions surrounding that fear.

To conclude with step 1, simply take note or perhaps have a friend take note for you of every bits and pieces you were able to subtract from this experience. You will be surprised how much will be revealed to you; blueprints you were unaware of, and most importantly you will recognize what are those negative imprints that have been governing your life up until now.

We hope you have fun with this simple exercise and don't forget to smile once in while :)

In 3 Easy Steps To Finally Realize Your Core Fear (Part 2 of 2) we will learn effective techniques on how to narrow it down to one predominant fear and navigate The Art Self-Revealing, only one fear at a time ♥

Namaste

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