Make Up Your Mind!

I have noticed lately that things have been really great for me. I have been so positive and felt a peace in my soul that I haven't had in a long time. Why is that, I wonder?
To backtrack a little bit, I started this blog to help myself keep positive and to fight depression, a condition I seem to battle often. When I first had it I didn't know what it was. Years later I went through a deep depression and had to go on medicine for awhile. Now when I get it, I have learned how to overcome it without the use of anti-depressants or doctor visits. One of the ways to keep my spirits up and fight off the debilitating effects of depression is to keep a happy journal and this blog has been that for me.
Now, to move on, I have noticed that my mind has a lot to do with the way I feel. When I have wanted something very much, I go after it and nothing stands in my way. Is that true for all of us? Yes.
Well, if you really want to be happy, just make up your mind you want to be!
A few years ago I would have balked at someone who told me that. Depression can be a hard thing to overcome and it's not just an unhappy moment in your life. It's a physical condition that happens in your brain that causes your thoughts to be negative and sometimes worse. You can't always fight it yourself. (See www.depression.com for more information about this disease. Especially if you don't understand it. You need to.)
But these days many people think they should stay on medicine to help them with their depression. This is not true. You CAN fight it! You CAN get off the anti-depressants and live normal again!
Don't get me wrong - I have been to the depths of despair so great I wanted nothing more to do with life. I have sat in my closet crying without hope because I can't even decide what to wear. I have known exactly what it's like to know that I could seriously get a gun and put it to my head without feeling bad about it. I've been to that level more than a few times and at different times in my life.
This is why it is even more glorious news to know that I can beat the blues. I have learned to handle this disease and its crippling effects and you can, too. I hope you know that.
For those who have never suffered this disease or at least not knowingly suffered from it, please remember that you are the most important person to someone who may be going through it. Just a phone call or a note can bring them out of it. Is that amazing, or what? But it's true.
So, here's my happy part: make up your mind that you want to be happy! Look for everything positive about your day, your life, your situation and focus hard! You can do it!
And the best thing you can do - here's the secret, seriously - are you ready??? - is focus on someone else. When you are feeling down, do something for others. Go make someone else smile, make some brownies for your friend or the lady down the street who is all alone. Somehow, serving others makes us forget our own troubles and lifts our spirits. Wow, so I guess the Savior really knows what he is talking about when he tells us to do that, huh???
Peace is not a worldwide feeling until the world, one person at a time, puts it in their hearts. You can't force world peace but you can start with yourself, spread it to your friends, and then pass it on until the whole world knows about it. And I believe that peace comes from our Heavenly Father. He will help you if you seek it and ask him to help you.
So, make up your mind! Be happy! And let me know how you feel. I'm there for you!