DOWN IN THE DUMPS?

Why do we get so angry - with ourselves - when our best laid plans go kerplaff?

What, you say you don't get angry?

Just depressed?

Hellooo…

Wake up call!

What do ya say?

Can you recognize your anger?

WHERE'S THE BOUNCE?

Check out this story:

"I was doing really well", she said.  "And then… it just all fell apart."

"No big thing," she continued.  

"Just lots of little bumps and crashes… and the next I knew I was down in the dumps and felt like nothing was working anymore…"

"And the worst thing," she wailed, "before this no matter what happened, I bounced back… but now?" 

"No bounce!"

What do ya say?  Can you relate?

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - ALLOW ALLOW

How have we gotten stuck on thinking of perfection as an attainable and stationary position rather than a direction?

Going back to the early philosophers we get definitions of 'perfectio' that include attaining a state where 'nothing could be better' and something that has 'attained its purpose'.  

It's interesting to think that both of these positions describe an end state… 

We know that people who get hooked on the need for perfection tend to have more issues with depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. 

Remember that beautiful Beatles song:  'LET IT BE' ...

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS           

An opportunity to experiment with some fun ideas…

This one is really easy!

Think of your 'cracks' - you know, the things that others have criticized in you and that have been part of your own 'not good enough' list.

Now, make a list of these attributes - both physical and emotional.

Next make a list of the things that you've 'done wrong' in your life.

NOW IMAGINE THESE TWO LISTS ARE YOUR OWN PRECIOUS AND PERSONAL LIFE LEARNING MANUAL!

To comment click below

DEFYING GRAVITY

Ever watch a kangaroo bounce through the air?

For us they often seem the epitome of joy as the leap and bound seemingly ungoverned by gravity…

Gravity?  What a concept!

Can anything hold a kangaroo down?

Check this out:

'Holding a kangaroo's tail off the ground prevents it from being able to jump.'  read more

Interesting thought …

What do ya say?

Remember That great song from 'Wicked'? listen here

What keeps you grounded?

To share your thoughts click below…

DOWN IN THE DUMPS SOME?

"Okay," he said.  "I was doing fine… not the best time in my life, but I was getting by… I had a few little projects, you know, weight loss, home upgrades, staying on top of things…"

"And then - poof! - one after another, they all came tumbling down!:

"No more weight loss, actually 3 pounds up, my assistant quit, I saw paperwork crashing around my head, someone was creating an obstacle course in the hallway, and some serious weirdo was leaving really scary notes on the building's bulletin board: 

'You are being watched…'

Oookay…

"Oh, yeah, and then I twisted my ankle hopping over all that stuff in the hall…"

"But really, what I don't understand is why I feel so down…"

Is he serious?

What do ya say?

Can you top this one?

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - DOWN IN THE DUMPS

We've all had those days, right? 

The 'we want to crawl under the bed' days.

This experience is so much a part of our on-going lives that we've created the expression 'down in the dumps' to describe it - and the expression - and the experience - have been around a long time! 

The earliest written use of the term is the year 1529!  

read more

This is one of the most important times to beware of our internal Bullies.

When things are tough we tend to feel fear - and fear is the playground of our own internal Bullies!

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS           

An opportunity to experiment with some fun

ideas...

DIALOGGIN' WITH YOUR BULLY:

First find and identify your internal Bully voice - if you are feeling down it's probably there… 

The dialog might go something like this:

Bully:  Man, you are such a mess!  It's your fault that everything went wrong!

You:  No, it is not!  Only some of it…  I am human you know.  You're making everything worse.

Bully:  I'm just trying to help… I mean if I can't point out your flaws, who can?  I know you the best.

You:  Hey, pointing out flaws is NOT helpful!  Why don't you find something nice to say - you know, supportive!  Maybe you could help me through this awful day!

Bully:  What, you want me to lie?

You:  YES!

You are probably laughing now … and seeing the ridiculousness of piling on yourself…

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"SOME DAYS MUST BE DARK AND DREARY…"

Ever hear that poem?  read the poem

This guy was the walking incarnation of Longfellow's words…

"Ugh," he moaned, dragging himself into the room. 

"I am so depressed!"

"Today was one of those total loser days!  I just couldn't catch a break!"

"Nothing I did turned out right … and then some texting idiot crashed into the side of my car - at a red light!"

Yikes!

What do ya say?

How do you deal with those 'everything goes to s*#%' days?

Got any remedies?

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - STARTING FROM 'NOW'

I know you used to run marathons, weigh 120 pounds, and dance til dawn...

Yay you!  Give yourself a pat on the back for all your past accomplishments and now start from today - not from yesterday!

People get stuck - and depressed - when their expectations are not realistic - and basing goals on past performance is by definition not real!

Forward momentum - movement - is in our DNA.  It was related to survival of our species and is still important. 

Start with where you are right now, reward yourself for reaching realistic goals - and who knows you might be back to dancing til dawn!

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS           

An opportunity to experiment with some fun

ideas...

STARTING FROM NOW

Evaluate your goals

Are they realistic and based on your current capabilities?

If you were making a 'mini-goal' what would it be?

Now try your mini-goal.

How does this feel?

Did you succeed?  If yes, give yourself kudos and applause.

If no, make it more 'mini'!

Check this out:

That guy from yesterday who can no longer run, dreams of marathons and ends up sitting in front of the tv depressed… He needs movement but denies himself the experience because he is holding onto the past!

That's not you, right?

What is realistic for you?

What can you do to bring movement into your life?

Take a walk to a new place…

Go through a different door…

Clean out a drawer…

Sing a song…

Feel that momentum - and enjoy!

Check out our new YouTube adventures coming soon!

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - CURING THE WINTER BLUES

There is a big difference between temporary wipe-out and more serious depression.  

One difference is how long the feeling lasts and another is the intensity of the feeling. 

We can use a color test to check in with ourselves - Depression is BLACK while the blues are - well - BLUE!

Here are some easy distinctions from WebMD:

"Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods.

Do you have symptoms of clinical depression? Sure, most of us feel sad, lonely, or depressed at times. And feeling depressed is a normal reaction to loss, life's struggles, or an injured self-esteem. 

But when these feelings become overwhelming and last for long periods of time, they can keep you from leading a normal, active life. That's when it's time to seek medical help."

read more

Remember:  Even our electronic devices run down if we don't re-charge the batteries. . .

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS           

An opportunity to experiment with some fun

ideas...

BURNT OUT?  DOWN IN THE DUMPS?  CHECK THESE OUT:

If you recognize why you are feeling down:

          

          Tired?

          Worn out?

          Winter blues?

          Burning the candle at both ends?

You can avoid:

          

1.  Panicking about the feeling - "OMG what's wrong with me?"
2.  Taking it out on others by biting their heads off.
3.  Taking it out on yourself by triggering your Bully
4.  Doing non-productive things to try to feel better:  over eating, over drinking, over pushing… you know the rest of the list!
5.  Probably even that lurking cold that often follows...

And then you can take remedial measures:

          

          REST!

          Re think your schedule for the coming week

          Balance work and play/ people and alone time

          Maybe even - short term of course! -

          back off a little on all the electronics?

To explore any of these topics type a key word into the search field on the upper left of the Blog.

To comment just place your cursor over the word 'comments' (sometimes it says 'no comments') below. 

Remember we are also at:  www.thehumandance.com

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - FEELING DOWN? WHAT'S LURKING?

What is depression?  It is often defined as a state of despondency and dejection with feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy.

Obviously in our “Little Things Mean A Lot” we are not talking about Clinical Depression that needs medical intervention, but rather the everyday feelings that we often label depression.

While depression is most often identified with sadness, another, and very useful way to look at it is as the pushing down, or suppression of anger…

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS

An opportunity to experiment with some fun ideas...    

Think about the little things that “get you down”.

As an wxperiment make a list using this formula:

          “I get down when_____________”

Next change each of those statements using a new formula:

          “I get angry when_____________”

Now going through your list one more time, imagine doing something to release the anger connected to each statement.

No, you cannot throw the scale out the window… You can, however, imagine doing it!

You can yell, stomp, have imaginary, seriously rude, dialogs with anyone and everything, releasing and expressing that anger.

You know you’ve completed the assignment satisfactorily when you start to laugh or yawn… We are looking for release and these are both good indicators.

Once you release the blocked anger – in a healthy way – your energy moves more freely.  Now you can breathe deeply and take the necessary steps toward resolving whatever “little thing” is bothering you!

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LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT…

Remember that song? 

“Blow me a kiss from across the room…touch my hair as you pass my chair…little things mean a lot…”

Touching, right?

(For those of you not yet born, check out this link)

 

This is not about that!

This is about waking up in the morning and having that rotten scale say you gained one pound.  A little thing…

Or how about not hearing back from that person you left a message for?  Also, actually little…

Can you add to this list?

Of course you can!

The challenge isn’t adding “little things”.  The challenge is understanding why these little things create BIG BAD FEELINGS!

Sometimes even what we call… DEPRESSION!

Weird, right? 

What do ya think?  Been there?

To comment: click on the word "comments" below - write in the box, then go to "comment as" and choose how you want to sign in, then click publish. Check back for replies to your comments!

If you enjoyed this post and would like to share it, please click on one of the share buttons below: