[Vomazoono]

"The Key"

There is no doubt that a huge part of me getting better was the realization that my parents went through many similar things. Today, they still have their tough days, like all people, but they are generally happy, well-adjusted human beings. But ultimatley, the sadness to happiness conversion began when I found "The Key" to happiness.

I think when we are depressed we feel we have to do big things to get better. We feel as though there is just so much to do because there is so much wrong. The key to being happy is quiet a bit simpler however.

The first thing you have to do is realize that turning your sadness to happiness involves changing the things you can change. The second component is a decision you have to make in regards to what you really want to change. What do you care about? Do you care about eating healthy? Do you care about being fit? Do you care about being somewhat social? Is it important to maintain a job? Is spending quality time with kids important? Do you love to cook? Do you want to get wealthy? You want to write down at least five interests you have. The thing is, all the things you write down, you will have to do at least once per week. Then each day you simply start doing those things. Each day you have to do at least one of those things on your list. You can obviously do more. They key however is to do at least one.

The biggest issue with depression and sadness is that we become frozen. We don't want to do anything, nothing is important, and its a circle of nothing-ness. At the end of day we tend to feel the worst because we feel as though we accomplished nothing. That is the biggest issue. That is what allows sadness to go on and not get better. But if you start doing something positive each and every day, something you really do enjoy, the days will slowly seem better. You start feeling as though things were not perfect but it was somewhat of a productive day. A sense of pride starts to kick in. But the key is to keep that going.

I remember in my struggle one of the things on my list was to maintain a job. That was important. You want to be realistic early on because you want to get yourself on a roll. So, early on, my goal was to just work two to three days a week. There were days I was tired, didn't get the most sleep, but I went to work. It was tough, but soon enough, going to work in that state, and being strong, got rid of the paranoia and lack of power I felt in the past.

I had other goals too. I wanted to eat healthy everday. I wanted to start excercising regularly again. I wanted to start cooking more. I wanted to get out more (like I had in the past) So each day became a day for one of those things. On the days that I didn't excercise I tried to eat extra healthy. Then on some days I would workout. On another day I would take time to cook something I enjoyed making. On another day I would have work. On another day I would push myself to go out, some days not even with a friend, but just outside to shop alone or do something. Each day now I felt a sense of accomplishment. I was doing things. My confidence started to increase again. I was happy to be doing things that I enjoyed.

The sleep issues? That was all solved with more confidence. Sleep was not an issue anymore because I was happy doing the things I cared about. I didn't feel my life was a waste anymore because I was doing things I loved.