A Picture Can Paint A Thousand Words - my top 4 tools on how to bust through depression.

Feeling down, sad, or depressed are typically the feelings we always want to avoid, no one likes to feel upset. but depending on our situation sometimes it’s inevitable. So what do you do when these moments hit? How do we move through the pain?

Since I started mentoring women I've noticed far too many of us are struggling in our lives with pain and sadness and not truly allowing ourselves to heal.. We push it down or medicate ourselves so we don’t have to “feel" and we become accustomed to this being the new “norm” so we cope and just try to get through each day, Eventually this becomes the new normal, and we forget what true happiness and a life in complete alignment feels like. I’ll never forget when I finally came out of my depression and my mom looked at me and said “there’s my girl” it makes me emotional still to this day to write because it was such an incredible moment of triumph and joy, I did it, I made it through, I was on the road back to being me again.

my hope is that these four coping tools help shed some light on a few different ways to support you in busting through your pain and struggle. I've been there, I was this person. I lived like this for 3 years, so I understand how it feels to not “feel” anymore.

Here are my top 4 coping tools.

1. Paint A Picture

Put it in words. Write it down. Journal. Draw a picture.

If you have a hard time expressing in words how you feel or are even unsure about your feelings, then I highly recommend you try this exercise. I discovered a lot about myself, and how I truly felt inside using this method. I was actually shocked by what I wrote. There is something so therapeutic about putting it on paper and taking it out of your head. My picture was dark, moody, full of fear, and fragile. When I read my words back to myself, it brought me to tears. The girl I wrote about was so lost and scared, and I had no idea that my dark place sounded so hopeless.

So....what can you do?

Find a quiet place with no distractions.

Don’t want to write your story? You can literally paint a picture, OR if you aren't a painter, grab a pen and paper and just start painting a picture in words.

Don’t overthink it-- just start painting/writing how you feel. What does the picture of how you FEEL look like? Use descriptive words/images and get real with yourself. What does the air smell like, the room look like, the colors, what are you wearing, where are you, etc.

The point here is to get it out of your head and onto paper. You will immediately feel better and have a clearer idea of what or where the struggle is. You'll feel more in power and have a clearer idea on how to work through it and the next steps required to rid yourself of these feelings.

Tip: Diffuse or apply Balance (Grounding blend) or Wild Orange essential oil to help ease any anxious feelings or sadness that may come up. These blends are very calming, and uplifting.

2. Surround yourself with people you love and things that inspire you.

When you're struggling, the best thing you can do is surround yourself with the people and things you love or inspire you. Then look at how you can incorporate them into your life even more. For me I spent time with my family, my husband, parents, and nephews. I began reading books that inspired me, went for massages, wrote in my journal, took a bath in the middle of the day, and had coffee dates with friends who encouraged and lit me up. I made sure I was focusing on the things I loved more than the things that made me sad and it made all the difference.

Next step: Book 2-3 things for next week you can do right away that you LOVE!

Tip: Diffuse and/or Apply Passion (Doterra’s inspiring blend) this help to rekindle feelings of excitement, passion and joy.

3. Get out of the house

I learned that if you can let yourself FEEL the pain a little each day, you can work on healing in small increments and not overwhelm yourself with emotions.

I'll never forget the shock when my therapist told me that I needed to feel the pain, have a good cry, and let out some big screams. I actually laughed and thought “this woman is nuts, if I let the pain I’ve pushed deep down out, it won’t stop coming, I’m NOT doing that” but once I removed my fear and just did it, it felt so good, BUT here is the trick, you can’t dwell on it, let a bit out and then get moving and get out of the house. This is crucial!

Every day I would plan to do something to ensure I broke up my day and wasn't sitting at home depressed, in tears, stuck in the sadness. Go back to step 2 and do something you love, I would go for a walk with the dog, book a lunch or coffee date with a friend, anything I loved that I could distract myself with. I wasn’t letting my pain take over my life anymore – I was taking back control.

Tip: Apply Motivate (Doterra’s Encouraging blend from the emotionally aromatherapy line) topically to give you the boost you need to get up and moving.

4. Forgive and Release

I need to share this with you because forgiveness was a massive part of my healing and one of the key things I teach others in my online class; The BeYOUtiful Mind Project.

Who do you need to forgive to move on? Hint hint, usually it has to do with forgiving yourself. We love to blame ourselves for the bad that happens to us, and most of the time deny that we do, so I want you to get real with yourself right now.

Sit in a quiet place, away from distractions. Grab your journal and a pen and do this forgive and release exercise:

I want you to write a letter to yourself, In this letter I want you to say what you forgive yourself for and all the things you LOVE about YOU. Then how you are going to take your belief next level.

Here are the steps:

1. start your letter

Dear ______

I forgive myself for:

Thinking I wasn’t worthy of being happy
Doubting my abilities in xyz
Doubting my self worth
Hating my body
I forgive myself for xyz

I love my:

Passionate personality
Sense of humor and how I make people laugh
Eyes
Desire to learn and grow
etc………..

2. Repeat this affirmation: I am at peace with all that has happened, is happening, and will happen because I know that everything is towards my highest good.

3. Take all limiting beliefs listed in step 1, any negative thoughts, and put them into a bag, then I want you to toss them in the garbage, say goodbye!!

You are now ready to live in your joy, with complete love and belief in yourself.

Tip: Diffuse or apply Cypress or Ginger essential oils topically to help forgive and release.

You’ll hear me chat about this a lot but I had to make the choice to stop sitting in my own struggle and to change it....so you will have to make this choice as well. Stay tuned for a future blog post all about that!

Until next time

Andrea