Depression and Anxiety – It’s About Time!
There is a wonderful quote that grounds me when I am anxious or concerned, and it’s truth has stood the test of time.
If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
-Lao Tzu
I urge you to take a few minutes and sit quietly no matter where you are or what you are doing.
Sit – now – and reflect on those three lines… what does each one bring you to think about?
Do you recognise times when you have been depressed, or feeling down… and what was it that brought you to that place? Was it about something that was in the past; something that had happened; something that you are simply unable to adjust right now?
How about times when you have felt anxious, when the pulse was running so fast you thought your heart was going to jump out of your chest? What was it that initiated that feeling? Was it concern for something yet to happen; something that was in your future; something that you are simply unable to adjust right now?
Depression and anxiety are major problems in our society – with our fast paced, all or nothing world where there are so many “things” we all need to be aware of and manage each day, where there are now 24 hour news channels ensuring we know what to be concerned about that has happened and ‘will’ happen in our future, peace is a precious commodity.
The answer is to listen to yourself. Meditation and listening to your thoughts and body allows you to recognise that all there is…. is right now.
Depression and Anxiety Exercise
- Make the time each morning to have five to fifteen minutes uninterrupted. (Evenings work just as well if mornings are rushed for you… I tend to fall asleep I get so relaxed!)
- Sit or lie comfortably.
- Starting at your feet, recognise what your feet are touching. Can you feel the floor or your bed on your heels and soles. Take a moment to recognise that sensation.
- Slowly work up your legs, bottom, back, arms, shoulders and finally your head (1 to 2 minutes for each area) recognising what that area of your body is touching – what it can feel that is not part of your body. If you’re wearing clothes, how do they feel against your skin? How does the air temperature feel against your face?
- Once you’ve completed all areas of your body, spend a moment recognising that you are you – you are not everything you touch, you are not the temperature you feel and allow the recognition that all you have influence over is your body and your thoughts.
- Now reflect on the fact that the influence you have is only available right now, in the present. Now is all there is as there was nothing else you could physically feel while doing this exercise!
- While in this state, think about the day ahead (if you’re doing this exercise in the morning – think about tomorrow if it’s evening) and take a minute to calmly recognise the activities of the day, and be thankful and grateful for the opportunity to make it all happen.
This quick exercise helps to not only calm and support yourself as an individual one-ness, but also assists with recognition of the present, of the fact that everything you did not feel does not exist in that moment.
Depression and anxiety cannot exist without thinking about the past or future. I understand reading this may seem to trivialise the depth of despair depression and anxiety can produce, and my goal is certainly not to make light of its impact on those suffering. My honest goal is to help you, the reader, to know that you are you, nothing else and no time else.
Please let me know how this exercise supports you, and please, contact any of the following specialised support groups for depression and anxiety if it all feels too much to handle.
Know that you are not your depression; you are not your anxiety; there is always support available.