Managing our emotional climate.
What emotional climate are you comfortable with? Do you like a lot of activity around you? Some people thrive on a caffeinated environment.They like the adrenaline rush they get from the go, go, go of life. They like the people around them to be energetic and fun.
Others prefer a much slower place around them. They hate to be rushed. They like calm. In fact, they feel less energized if there is too much going on around them. It wears them out. They like people who are more laid-back.
And it really doesn’t matter if they’re an extrovert or an introvert, although generally extroverts would fall into the first category and introverts into the second. However, in the case of depression, it might be a good idea to change it up a little.
Might need to change it up a little
Sometimes, we need something just the opposite of what we’re used to. We need to force ourselves out of our comfort zone to challenge ourselves a little.
How many of you have found that once you’ve exposed yourself to a different emotional climate, you’ve actually liked it? And in the liking, you’ve discovered something about yourself.
Last year, although we didn’t plan it, my husband and I found ourselves attending some events we never would’ve dreamed we would enjoy. A Tough Mudders contest, a hot-air balloon festival, a Thanksgiving day parade in frigid weather, and a ethnic-based (not our ethnicity) music festival.
Of the two of us, I’m the one who doesn’t like crowds. I don’t like being outside in really hot weather or really cold weather. I feel very self-conscious in large groups. However, put me in front of hundreds of people to deliver a speech and I’m fine.
But I have to tell you, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of each of those events.
I surprised myself.
Shake things up by changing your emotional climate
It’s good to “shake things up”. We discover new dimensions of ourselves. We surprise ourselves. Not always, of course. Sometimes we come away simply more aware of why we don’t like something. That’s good, too.
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(I feel the need to add here, though, that overall, structure is really good for depression-prone people. What I’m suggesting today is not something you seek all the time.)
So with the summer looming, why not shake things up in your own life? It’s hard to do when your depressed. There is great comfort in the status quo. But sometimes, the jolt we need is in the unexpected. If nothing else, the more we put ourselves in unusual situations, other than what we’re comfortable with, we have conversations with people who give us little snippets of encouragement.
Requires effort.
Exposing ourselves, even when we’re feeling really down requires great effort. Most people prefer their comfortable spot. But mood disorders often respond will to a change of environment. That’s because it takes our mind off ourselves for a while, always a good thing and especially so when we are depressed.
We often end up having conversations with people who give us little snippets of encouragement when they had no idea they were doing so. Conversely, we encourage others by what we say.
There is so much more we can learn about ourselves when we change-up our environment. It’s not easy but it really helps us discover some things about ourselves. We will either affirm what we already know, (I hope not), or we will discover some new parts of ourselves that we really like.
Have a blessed weekend.