Named after the 300 Spartan warriors who fought to the last man against massive odds at the battle of Thermopylae, this article is for those similar brave souls who battle daily with depression and anxiety and refuse to give up. This is an assurance that we are not alone, but more than that, can derive hope and faith that things will one day be better, that there is the possibility that we will be well again.
My fundamental premise is that depression and anxiety can be overcome, even against the odds. There are no quick fixes or silver bullets, but I would like to share with you a few ideas that have helped me.
The first is the necessity of having a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) which I believe is at least as important as being on the correct medication. Anxiety and depression tend to compress our future timelines into the problems of today, and the purpose of the BHAG is to provide a passion that makes getting up in the morning, in fact life itself, worth the effort. It provides a beacon in the future, something beyond our immediate reach, but which we can take daily steps to attain.
An example of a BHAG is taken from the life-story of Victor Frankl, psychiatrist and holocaust survivor. In the Nazi concentration camp he discovered that those who survived day after day all had one thing in common: all had unfinished business, something they still wanted to do in this life. Frankl imagined himself in a comfortable auditorium, lecturing on the psychology of the concentration camp. Let us pray, meditate, journal, until we have a BHAG we are passionate about, something that will help us to go against the odds of our condition.
The second key is medication, which is a double-edged sword: if it is the right combination it should make one feel better able to cope, however all the medications have side-effects. These are listed on the package inserts, or you can find them using an internet search, but you will only know the ones that affect you by taking the medication. First and foremost it is essential that your medication be prescribed by an expert - in other words a psychiatrist. Getting onto the wrong medication could give the double whammy of feeling worse and having unpleasant side-effects. Your psychiatrist will know when a particular medication is not the right one, and will know how to wean you off it.
Make sure that your psychiatrist is working in a systematic manner - for example introducing or removing several drugs at once is not systematic. Another thing to be aware of is drug interaction: once you get to about seven medications in total, interactions can become a serious issue. Seven sounds like a lot, but a person might for instance already be on two medications for epilepsy and two for high blood pressure, so three more for depression and anxiety gets us to seven.
Don't expect too much of the medication; for example in the process of preventing abnormal low moods, it might also put a dampener on normal "high" moods. Think of it as a parachute - it is there to save your life rather than give you a wonderful ride.
Third and last, I mention healthy lifestyle as a value proposition for combating anxiety and depression, especially exercise. While a healthy diet/staying at the right weight will help you maintain a sense of wellbeing and self-worth, there is nothing like regular exercise (for example brisk walking, running, cycling, swimming) to generate those endorphins and other "feel-good" chemicals. If getting out is an issue then try trampolining!
The important thing to remember is to take on each day one hour at a time: often we feel terribly anxious and depressed for the first couple of hours of the day, but generally it gets better as the hours go by!
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