Depression Effects | Depression Definition | Depression Children | Treatment Of Depression | DEPRESSION MEN

I am a person who used to approach life in totally the wrong way – in fact I often look back and laugh at just how pathetic I used to be. I was a very negative person, I would stress about seemingly everything and believed that I was so unfortunate compared to other people.

I used to forever compare my life to that of my close friends and family. These people seemed to really enjoy life and did not seem to have a care in the world. I, on the other hand had many issues to deal, with which made life one big struggle. I was unable to talk fluently due to a stuttering problem, this stutter caused me many traumas and made me into a very quiet and shy person.

In my early twenties, I decided that I had had enough of being miserable and depressed and started to fight back.

I started to read and find out about how people lived in different parts of the world. By tuning into the latest news on a daily basis would help me to stay in touch with what was happening around the world. Some of the stories and the way in which people live came not so much as a shock, but as a wake up call to me. I would not want to swap my life with theirs, that is for sure.

It may seem very bad but after listening to the problems of these unfortunate people I actually started to appreciate what I had in life. I have a great job working for a composite door company where I sell affordable composite doors; I do have a weight problem, this is something of my own doing and something which I can change, if I am determined enough. Even though I stammer, I can still converse, I may even be able to cure the stammer, which I now have. I was now suddenly feeling more positive and was now able to seek solutions to my issues.

I used to be quite a fragile character, some would say that I was even scared of my own shadow. I was always paranoid that people were talking about me and laughing behind my back.

So why was I like this? Well it was mainly because, in my opinion, I had a stutter. It started when I was aged four and despite attending various forms of stuttering treatment I was unable to find the solution which would enable me to stop stuttering.

By the age of twenty-two I had basically had enough of living life in this manner and knew that the time had arrived when I needed to become far more self-assured. I could not continue to live my life as I had been, as I would probably be dead by the time I was fifty.

I then went about a self-help program to increase my overall self-confidence and self-esteem. I wanted to learn more about stress-management, dealing with depression, relaxation and about how to become successful in life.

What I found out over the next twelve to eighteen months would change my life forever.

These are the things I had to do:

I had to stop feeling sorry for myself. Yes I am not perfect but who is.

I had to think in a more positive way.

I had to stop worrying about the future.

I needed to become a much more care-free person - I was at that stage far too concerned about what other people thought of me.

I needed to smile more.

I needed to learn to relax. Over the last few months I have been using meditation to help me with this.

I had to learn to like myself.

I needed to become stronger to fight away the negative thoughts in my head.

I needed to appreciate what I did have in life, rather than concentrating on what I had not.

I started to implement the above and it helped me no end. The depression that plagued my earlier life still came back to haunt me around once a month. When it does descend, I now write two lists. What I am happy about in life and what I am sad or worrying about. I have now realised after studying the two lists that I am very much a person that over-reacts.