Riding the highs and lows

“Allow for a quiet moment, and remind yourself why it will be alright.”

Tough stretch?

I could give you some practical tips that might help you feel better. But no.

You’re really in it this time. Nothing going on. Nothing to look forward to. Sure there are ways to be productive and force yourself out of paralyzing depression. But that’s just it. You know this, and yet you still choose to do nothing and sulk. Because well… fuck it.

So my advice is to continue doing nothing. Ride it out. Sit in the stink. Stir your own stew. Endure.

In this state you can become a passive observer. Thoughts and feelings will come and go around how you got here, what you need to do to get out, whether or not you can. Let them. Don’t fixate or spiral, but do pay attention and take note.

Also note that you have been here before and that you have come out the other end better for it. Also know that you will eventually take action and climb out. Not now. Perhaps tomorrow or the next day. You will. You’ll learn something new about yourself and your process, and you’ll make an adjustment that may work until the next time you hit a spell. Rinse and repeat.

By the way, the same goes for trips on the other end of the spectrum, when you’re jacked up on dopamine and riding the highs of extreme elation. Not much to do there either, and it also won’t last. Still, you can sit in the joy - observe it, feel it until the great, inevitable crash.

No sense in trying to avoid highs or lows, or in trying to prolong the highs and shorten the duration of the lows. Over time, you’ll want to just work on making trips to each end less extreme. No spikes of tidal waves and the fallout from them. Just mellow waves up and down that you can balance on top of like a surfer dude.

This is a lifelong balancing act. You’ll get better and better at managing the highs and lows that come with this experience.

So next time you’re feeling down - good. Soak it in. Ride the wave. Work on becoming a cool surfer dude.

It’s going to be fine.

Love to all -

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Related Poetry

Trying to turn things around

From Fire & Earth: A ThoughPose Poetry Collection | 9/4/2019

When your dreams are chasing you
And luck says, “Break a leg.”
So you literally do

When you’re what alot is going through
And your wish to stop wishing
Doesn’t come true

When even the grays are feeling blue
And it feels like time flies,
Only after it flew

When you’re the shit that it happens to
And what you’ve always thought
You never quite knew

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