Have you ever experienced waking up early in the morning, feeling that life is meaningless, thinking you are worthless, feeling despair about the future, and even having bad thoughts?
Often feeling negative emotions, lack of willpower, losing interest in everything, even when eating your favorite food, you have no interest.
These are the early signs of depression.
According to statistics, around 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression. It’s like an invisible hand gripping your throat, making it hard to breathe.
I have discovered a simple and effective method to help us stay away from depression: learning to have a dialogue with ourselves.
Do you think talking to yourself is a sign of mental illness? Of course not.
When I talk about talking to yourself here, it means learning to observe your emotions, listen to your inner voice, and have deep conversations with yourself.
This way, you can understand your true thoughts and needs.
Let’s imagine that there are two small beings living within you. One is the emotional being, responsible for feelings, and the other is the rational being, responsible for thinking. When faced with hardships, the emotional being reacts immediately, while the rational being calmly analyzes.
You had an argument with your husband. The emotional being says, “He doesn’t love me anymore, doesn’t value me, maybe we should just part ways.”
The rational being, on the other hand, says, “Don’t get upset. Every couple has conflicts and arguments. Once you calm down, think about the reasons for your argument. Is there a better way to communicate and resolve this?”
By having this dialogue with yourself, can’t you see the essence of the problem and not let emotions dictate your thoughts, preventing regrettable impulsive actions?
Of course, having a dialogue with yourself doesn’t immediately show results. It requires continuous practice to develop self-awareness.
Here are a few tips that might help you:
1. Allocate 5 minutes of alone time for yourself every day.
No matter how busy you are, I recommend taking a few minutes for yourself. You can close your eyes, quietly feel your deep breaths, and observe your inner thoughts.
When troubled, write it down. Record the dialogue between the emotional being and the rational being. You’ll realize that many problems are not as bad as you think.
2. Learn to praise yourself.
By praising and rewarding yourself, you can boost your confidence. So, next time you accomplish something, don’t forget to give yourself a big compliment. It will motivate you to persevere.
3. Cultivate empathy.
When facing situations, don’t immediately blame others or yourself. Try to put yourself in their shoes and you’ll realize that things are not always black and white.
4. Stay curious.
Life is tough, but we must maintain a love and curiosity for life, making your inner world more colorful.
Do you doubt whether these simple methods are really effective?
Let me share a true story.
I have a friend who used to suffer from mild depression. Her thoughts were extremely negative and pessimistic. At that time, she would lock herself in her room all day and avoid contact with others.
Once, when I visited her, I brought a journal and suggested she develop the habit of writing a diary every day, to express her thoughts, essentially having a dialogue with herself every day.
Initially, she was not used to it, feeling it was like writing a composition for a friend and gave up quickly. But with my strong recommendation and persistence, she tried it again.
Slowly, a miracle happened. By writing down her feelings, she started to rationally and objectively look at her emotions.
She no longer let negative thoughts control her and learned to encourage herself.
After a few months, her situation improved significantly. She was willing to step out, reconnect with people, and even found a new job.
Now, she has returned to being the sunny and optimistic person I first knew, no longer as pessimistic and negative.
She later told me something very memorable, “Having a dialogue with myself made me see myself and the world differently. I realized that my despair was because I tended to think too negatively about everything.”
See how powerful the dialogue with oneself can be!
It not only helps us overcome the gloom of depression but also allows us to rediscover ourselves, make peace with ourselves, and become a better version of ourselves.
As a psychologist once said, “Knowing your shadow side will make it your bright side.”
