When the world caves in

So, yes, crap happens all the time. Some days are okay while others are total disasters that doesn’t seem to end with the day, much like a waking nightmare. You know, the kind that seems to churn your stomach inside out.

What do you do on these days then?

Well, if you’re like most, myself included, you either have an option to scram for cover under the thickest protective blanket you can get a hold off and wait it out till the weekend for a breather or drink yourself silly to wart off the feelings of anxiety and general “shittiness” that seems to hover everywhere about you.

Honestly, I don’t know which one to recommend, but I do know that I’ll likely choose the latter, although not really drinking myself silly. Just two cans of nice cold beer and a good friend to hang loose with certainly helps to while away the time without having to be “in the zone” of worrying my nuts off about problems of the day.

Having said that, I have comes across another solution, which is very much in the head kinda answer.

See, the human brain has a capacity to induce and produce neuro-chemicals that dictate moods. That is, at least in theory, the brain can order for the secretion of the happy-feeling chemical, Serotonin.

Hmm… so how does one go about to have that done without having years of meditative expertise to help in the process? After all, them Tibetan monks spent a good part of their lives just meditating day in and day out to achieve some of the most amazing feats you can ever imagine.

Well, here’s one little trick I’ve found that helps me avoid being reeled over by the doldrums of depression.

I begin imagining myself as some great general such as Napoleon or MacArthur and then proceed to hype myself up with questions on what they would do under such circumstances, how they would react. I would then tell myself that I too, am a general like them and all of a sudden, I find that I would be planning for things ahead as well as strategising manoeuvres to overcome these problems one by one.

Logical steps and next course of action are then rationalized. I would then take a seat back to have a look at the whole picture and ask myself again… is this what great generals would do?

Yes, I know it’s very much playing a fantasy role, but on the other hand, if it helps, why not? Besides, anything would still feel better than that stomach churn. So, go ahead and try it. Let me know if it works for you as well.