The latest article from the Overcome Depression + Thrive Blog.

In depression, it’s usually pretty natural for us to start feeling like we can’t trust ourselves anymore.

We may start to lose confidence in ourselves, along with our ability to make the right decisions. 

Do you know that feeling? 

Well, if you’re nodding “YES”, then be sure to stay tuned to this episode of Overcome Depression And Thrive because I’m going to be sharing 5 Steps To Make The Right Decision For You, even in the depths of depression!

Press play now to listen to the Podcast Episode or watch the video below.

READ TRANSCRIPT BELOW:

Hi and welcome back, as always, it’s great to have you here!  I’m your host Marie O’Neil, the Author of How To Create A Depression-Free Life and the creator of the FREE Masterclass:  Discover How To Rapidly Overcome Depression By Treating The Root Cause.

Now, who hasn’t feared of making a decision in their lives?  We’ve all been there, right?! 

We’ve all avoided making uncomfortable decisions. It’s just human nature. So, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

However, the trouble we have when we’re stuck in the midst of depression is that this very natural fear which can arise during the decision-making process escalates and becomes more overwhelming. 

It becomes more difficult to push through. 

And, this is simply because we’ve lost trust in ourselves or we’ve lost faith in our own ability to make the right decisions. 

It’s natural that we feel this way, but here’s the thing….    

If we fear making decisions, this state of indecision will actually keep us stuck in a state of depression, here’s why?

Just take a moment right now to recall a time when you didn’t make a choice or you backed away from making a decision?  Maybe it was because you feared the outcome or the backlash, but instead of stepping forward and making a decision, you stepped back?

Now, whether we’re aware of it or not, it’s this “act of stepping back” which eats away at us inside.  It eats away at our self-esteem and self-confidence.

Now, why is that? 

Well, it’s because we know what we did. We know in our hearts that instead of stepping forward and making a confident decision, we backed away out of fear, we wimped out and let ourselves down.

And, even if nobody else in the world knows this, we know this.

And, this knowing tends to make us feel even more useless, more anxious, more fearful, more guilty or full of shame and all these negative feelings, then, go onto to feed the sense of worthlessness, despair and helplessness we already feel in depression. 

So, it’s easy to see that indecision (or not making any decisions) actually compounds our depression.

It makes us feel worse about ourselves, and that’s the complete opposite of what we want and need when we’re stuck in depression.   

So, what’s the solution? 

• How can we have the confidence to make decisions in a space where we’ve lost confidence in ourselves?

• How can we learn to trust ourselves again?

• How can restore the faith in ourselves to make the right decisions? 

Seems impossible, right?  

Well, thankfully it’s not!  You see, the answer lies in recognising that fear, self-doubt and indecision all belong to the mind, so if we can bypass the mind, we can bypass these fears so we can finally make confident decisions that are right for us.

Sound good?

Well, let’s get started…Let’s discover the 5 Steps To Make The Right Decision For You, even when you’re in the depths of depression!

So, before begin lets imagine you’re faced with a decision right now between Option A vs. Option B and you want to discover the best choice for you.

Here’s all you need to do….

STEP #1:

Simply close your eyes, take a few deep breathes and relax. 

You want to calm down your state of mind because it’s really easy for us to say “yes” to everything when we’re in a great mood and “no” to everything when we’re in a bad mood. 

So, we want to level the playing field and we do that by simply stopping, becoming aware of our breathing and calming ourselves right down.

STEP #2:

With your eyes still closed, gently place your left hand over your belly button, right hand on top.

STEP #3:

Simply imagine yourself as being a part of the Option A scenario.  Play it over in your mind and see how you feel stepping towards Option A. 

For example:  If it’s deciding whether you stay in a relationship or not, Option A will be to visualise life with the person still in it.

See yourself moving towards this person and notice how that makes you feel? 

Does moving towards the person uplift your energy? Does it make you feel more vibrant and lighter? Or, does it give you have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach? 

Just notice the feelings within your body and after taking note of how you’re feeling it’s time to move onto Step #4, which is…

STEP #4:

Now, imagine yourself as a part of the Option B scenario. Play it over in your mind and see how you feel stepping towards Option B. 

So, if we stay with the previous example, Option B would be to imagine yourself stepping away from that person, away from the relationship and notice how that makes you feel? 

Again, are there any reactions in your gut or stomach region?  Does your energy feel more uplifted, vibrant and lighter when you step away from this relationship?  Or, do you have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach?

STEP #5:

Simply move towards the option which makes you feel lighter, happier and more uplifted inside. This is your intuition, your inner knowing letting you know what’s truly right for you.

So, they are the 5 Steps To Make The Right Decision For You, even when you’re in the depths of depression!And, if we quickly run through them again now, they are:

1. Relax and calm yourself
2. Place left hand over belly button (with your right hand on top)
3. Imagine yourself moving towards Option A and notice how that makes you feel.
4. Imagine yourself moving towards Option B and notice how that makes you feel.
5. Move towards the option which makes you feel lighter, happier and uplifted inside.

Now, why does this simple technique work?

Well, the key is….

What we need to be aware of is that our minds effectively belong to society. They’re not our own. In the sense, that they can be swayed in any direction.

I mean, our beliefs can be altered and changed with enough evidence. All of our minds can be manipulated to believe anything with the right quality and quantity of information.

So, today our mind can be a “yes” and tomorrow, it can say “no”.

Today, our mind is a believer. Tomorrow, it’s a non-believer.

Our minds really are kinda fickle, in a sense. 

Whereas, our body and our heart are not. They cannot pretend to feel anything that they don’t actually feel, they cannot be convinced of anything which is not the truth.

And, that’s the key to this technique!

You see, by integrating this ever-so simple technique into your life, you’ll be able to quickly bypass your indecisive, fickle mind which is where all your self-doubt is generated, and connect directly to your gut instincts, your intuition, your inner – tuition, your inner knowing, so you can truly discover what’s right for you on a much deeper level (rather, than following what society says is right for you).

Now, I’d like to point out a couple of things so you can get the most benefit from this ever-so simple technique.

The first…. This technique is NOT about imagining a scenario as we want it to play out or as we believe it will play out. 

This is NOT about visualisin