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Health & Fitness

Feeling Blue or Depressed? What if it's Neither?

Feeling blue or depressed? What if it's neither?

I remember how few years ago, I used to feel "blue" more often than I desired.

When those moments came, I remember resisting it with my entire being and always thinking that there is something wrong. They were characterized by wanting to be by myself — often in nature — and read. I simply felt the need to be silent and I kept asking myself some pretty existential questions (see some if them here).

The period lasted for months and many of my friends suggested I might be depressed. There were rare moments where I felt they may be right, but mostly — I felt certain comfort in being where I was. I didn't necessarily like it because I felt I needed to behave differently and that is what was expected of me, but I was curious because it gave me a different perspective and opened me up to new things.

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Then, I read something Wayne Dyer wrote about being in the valley and from there, there is only one way out — going up. That made me seek out other teachers and their advice. I decided to see my situation differently and give it a different name. I chose to call that period period of exploration and "blues" — a spiritual awakening. Mind you, I didn't consider myself very spiritual before so this was a new territory.

The most fascinating thing happened — the moment I reframed my state of mind, I became open and ok with being where I was. After all, who wouldn't want to go through a spiritual awakening?

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I read, I spent time alone, in nature, read some more, wrote and started praying. Books and people came into my life at the right time. My outlook on this process changed. Instead of resisting the feelings, I embraced them and it was ok. As Wayne Dyer says, when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. If you can't beat it, join IT:)

Whatever it is that you may be feeling, how might you embrace it and reframe it? Even if you just tried going with it for a day? I am not a doctor and you obviously may need a different way to cope, but what if you were simply experiencing a spiritual awakening?

I have been getting lots of emails from you, but would also love for you to leave comments. Let me know if any of these notes inspire or make you think differently. I am hoping my beautiful readers can connect in this space.

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