When
you're depressed you
experience feelings of hopelessness and, often times, despair. So, it is very natural for someone who is
depressed to become angry about how they’re feeling and the course
their life
is taking.
Unfortunately,
what usually
happens next is that well meaning mental health professionals and/or
family and
friends will label your anger as “inappropriate” and try to talk you
out of
your angry mood. If they are successful, the next logical step is for
you to
return to the feelings of hopelessness and despair.
This
happens because most
mental health professionals and your family and friends get along with
you
better when you’re depressed than when you’re angry. So, their primary
concern is
actually a selfish one. They don’t realize that they are interfering
with your
progress. If asked, they would probably say (and actually believe) that
you’re
better off being depressed than angry.
However,
what they don’t
understand (because they’re not depressed) is that anger is actually an
improvement in mood for someone who is depressed. At the very least,
there is a feeling of regaining some of your life giving power in the
emotion
of anger and that certainly feels better than feeling totally hopeless.
By
the way, this cycle of
going from depression to anger and back to depression again can
literally last
for decades and is a primary cause of the feeling of “nothing ever
changes in
my life” that is so common for people who are depressed. So the next
time
someone tells you your anger is inappropriate, you can tell them that
when
you’re angry it feels better than being depressed.
But
you don't want to get stuck in your anger any more than you want to
stay depressed. The trick is in realizing
that you are feeling incrementally better and that one improvement in
mood can
lead to another improvement. If you’re angry and look for a thought or
activity
that will give you a feeling of relief from your anger, you will be
able to
move out of anger without going back to feelings of depression. When
you get
the hang of this, you’ll be on your way to healing your depression for
good.
Author:
Gwynne Curry
© Gwynne Curry - All Rights Reserved
Gwynne suffered with depression for
30+ years and has been depression
free for more than 5 years.
http://www.BeatDepressionFast.com
http://www.DepressionInfoGuide.com
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