Resetting Depression After A Horrible No-Good Day

Some days are bummers.

We all have them. And we all get low. 

Anyone reading this who was never depressed? 

What – you were NEVER depressed?!

Then either of two things is true:

1. You don't need to get my Daily –  please give me your URL, I'll follow you!; OR
2. You've got an ego the size of New York and about as much self-awareness as a Neutrino particle – get lost!

As for the rest of us – we have bad days.

If you've lived past 23 years, then you must have strategies to deal with your depression. 

If you don't have any now, it's time you did. Here's some of mine…

Calling it "depression" has to be your first port-of-call. Mostly it is not depression. They have a saying in one group I used to attend = H.A.L.T. Which means that if you're feeling low, then before anything else checkup these four things:

Hungry – An apple a day keeps the doctor away (Eat you dumb f***!)
Angry – Have you got a way to deal with that (other than Pancreatic Cancer)?
Lonely – Pick up the phone, wait. No. Don't do that. Hmmm – go for a walk and smile at people. (Don't get arrested).
Tired – Isn't it obvious?

My yesterday "I can't do anything" feeling of depression arose out of the final reason of the four above. I was tired. No big mystery here folks. I decided to nap. Two hours later, I felt a whole lot better. Not everyone can do that, but the Japanese are masters of the Power Nap. Get into any subway train at any time of the day – and half the train is asleep (and the other half is quiet thank you very much). Go find a place and power nap. (Research power nap if you don't know of it – it is a depression antidote).

But what happens if you're sated, indifferent, surrounded by people and just woke up?

I have two moves – and I combine them: Posture and Exercise – in that order of importance. 

When I was living through a New York summer – waiting to take a part in a movie in the autumn – I was overcome by daily depression. That was when I started running. I'd learnt from my mother's experience with her dog – when dogs get neurotic, exercise heals them. 

Well, I thought, I am a mammal too. Maybe it will work for me?

Every day I would run a loop around the Reservoir in Central Park then back to my apartment in 86th Street.

Do you exercise? Start. Walk up the stairs. Catch your train one extra stop away. Take a walk out at night before bed. And while you do this – run your Paleo-Posture thing (Alexander thing).

For me, that means a wave of constructive, creative cognition of what I am doing to be walking. I have many sub-routine programs I experiment with: the pelvis flip, splat on my landing foot (thanks Malcolm) and of course – my head and all of me organizing my run along the river in a myriad of different ways.

I run for at least 5km, or at least out of breath – when you are stressed, you learn how to optimize your Paleo-Posture moves. That's why putting Exercise and Alexander's discovery together is your effective option. People with hobbies – like Musicians, Yoginis, athletes, Pilates, Singers and so on – they already have an activity that assists calibrating that Paleo-Posture. As you hit the natural way – your pitch improves, you can stretch further and more easily, you travel further or sing longer on a single breath. 

Teachers who restrict their students to (mostly) chairwork are losing out on all these positive reinforcements. Acing different activities motivate students to learn.

If you are uncomfortable or unsure on how to teach this way – drop me a line and we can set up something. It costs of course! How much depends upon you.