ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How I overcame my depression by connecting to my environment.

Updated on March 12, 2015
Source

My Sickness

Imagine waking up in the morning and instantly yearning for the sweet solace of unconscious sleep again. Reality abrasively rushes you, demanding your focus and attention. You may feel irritable, depressed, and lonely. You may feel like the whole world is against you, and the daily grind may actually finish grinding what little spirit you have left.

Imagine hating your reflection so much so that you avoid mirrors at almost any cost, and imagine that you are so busy that your social life is virtually non-existent. You're so worn down that you've basically forgotten happiness and joy altogether, and you live solely to experience 5 minutes of occasional peace at your smoke break, or over a box of donuts. You've lost hope and interest, and the colors of life are fading.

Imagine that you constantly feel imprisoned within yourself, you're surrounded by people you despise, all of them strangers. Imagine the sting of shyness as it engulfs you, making you socially awkward.

Imagine not having an outlet; not knowing how to understand your pain, being blinded to everything beautiful in the world.


Source
Source
Source

My Story

In 2011 I was living in Reno, Nv and my workplace was 3 miles up the road. There was a bus line near the complex I lived in, behind a large Casino, and heading one of the dirtiest and busiest streets in the city. Every day I would wake up, go through my cleaning ritual, then get ready for work. I would hurry to bus stop, and always with a little paranoia in the back of my mind of infectious diseases and muggers. I was steeped in depression and social anxiety at the time, and I was always in a rush to get to my monotonous job so that I wouldn't have to think about my unhappiness. This had been going on for such a long time that I actually began to believe this was as close to happy as reality would allow for me.

I began to have frequent emotional break downs. I would cry for hours, in public and at home. It was humiliating and infuriating. My body wouldn't listen to my mind's persistent ,"I'm okay. You don't need to do this." It became so bad that it affected my work performance, and my co-workers were starting to come to me with concerns. I was mentally foggy, and making a lot of mistakes. It took me nearly losing my job to realize that I needed to make changes in my life. I needed to rediscover some kind of joy.

I thought that maybe getting exercise would help my brain produce more endorphins, and naturally improve my mood. I didn't have much free time, so I wanted an exercise routine that would flow with my busy schedule. I figured that running to work would be a good way to do that. I knew the streets in my area fairly well so I decided to customize the best route to and from the office. I could feel positive results right away, which I credited to the natural high cardio induces. I just wasn't expecting the greater impact it would have on me as a person.

The path I ran was in the opposite direction from the dirty little bus stop and it was beautiful. There was a small lake in the front of my apartment complex filled will wildlife and one lone swan. All types of people would meet around the lake: artists, musicians, elderly, children, athletes, you name it. I had a new smart phone with a zune player on it, so I would usually start out my trip by playing Deadmau5's "Strobe", which is nearly 11 minutes long. Kicking my run off to this song was almost a magical experience for me because I felt as if I was swept into a kind of time-warp that allowed me to draw in the pure beauty and richness of the environment in an eerily orchestrated way. As the beat picked up I would notice more activity flourishing around me, with seemingly perfect choreographic motion.

I started noticing the world around me with a depth that felt wholesome and pure. Instead of running away from my problems as I had before, I was now running through the world, and I was no longer blind to my surroundings.

I began to have frequent epiphanies during my jaunts across town because I was constantly inspired by what I saw and felt. I remember noticing two young teenagers cuddling along the shore side holding hands, and I felt love radiate in my heart. On windy days I would witness a mother duck's struggle to keep her ducklings all in a row and I would feel humor and sympathy for her and her little family. Musicians would set up by the water with their instruments and play freely in a way that made me feel proud and impressed. There was a man who also ran, I saw him every day in all weather. He wore long hair, simple sweats, and he never broke his step. I was inspired. I took notice of how the seasons affected the plant-life, and I watched the trees change color. No matter how dead or alive it was outside, it was always beautiful to me.

My ritual of running to work started out as a small attempt to encourage my natural brain chemistry to cheer me up so I wouldn't get fired from my job, but it became something of a spiritual revelation. It gave me empathy, and opened me up to my city. I felt safe, empowered, and eventually in love with my home. My work-life improved because I was happy to be there. My co-workers became my friends, and my customers ceased to be irritating strangers. My outlook on the world was re-born with compassion and intrigue.


What I learned

For a long time, I was at constant battle with myself because I was so absorbed in my responsibilities, obligations, and insecurities that I couldn't see or experience"the bigger picture".

I knew that I was filled with sickness, but I didn't know where it was coming from. I didn't know how to heal myself. I was so depressed from trying to bottle and ignore every single desire, pain, and curiosity, that I was starving myself of a deep human need; I'd lost touch with the physical world outside of myself.


working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)