Depression And Your Spirit Part II - By Lilly   Depression And Our Spirits, Part III By Lilly Failure to do anything about the depression only allows the trouble to remain, thus causing you to bear the burden of it all.  That sometimes is too much for us and that's when the trouble starts.  We think of ourselves as strong and much of the time we are, but not always.  When we try to be strong for others sake taking on additional duties, responsibilities and the like, that, too, makes for an added burden which sometimes can't be born for any length of time.  It's when the strong ones collapse from nervous exhaustion, depression, and lack of sleep that breaks them down.  They are not paying attention to their own needs, as they are trying to be strong for another's sake.  Women more so than men get depression, and it is that factor of putting themselves "on the back burner" and putting others first in their lives, trying to balance it all, along with society's pressure to be "super woman" makes for an accident looking for a place to happen.  It does at times, and then when we can't cope any longer, it's then when we seek help, hopefully.   Try to  notice when you are first getting those indications, those first symptoms and then deal with it right off when it is in its initial stages, not when it gets to be a full-blown depression.  We ourselves are not the best judges of that, and that's why it does help to have family and friends noticing about us the early symptoms.  If a loved one looks worried at you and asks "are you all right"? --Don't just automatically say "sure, I'm fine".  Think about it, ask yourself  "how am I feeling really?"  Try to keep in touch that way with your own feelings, your own self, so that you will be also taking good care of yourself, too.  It's okay to do that, too!  You have to take care of yourself, too, with your emotional health, just like you do with your physical health.  Ask yourself something here:  What do you ask a family member like your child for example you are taking care of, or a loved one you are concerned about?  Do you ask them how they are feeling, do you ask them if they slept well, ate well, etc.?  It's good to ask yourself that, too, and to be thinking in those same terms you do when caring for someone else.  We wouldn't want our children skipping a meal or not getting enough sleep, so we shouldn't neglect our own self in the same manner.  You ask a loved one who is upset, "what's wrong?"   Why not ask yourself when you are also feeling upset about something?  Treat yourself like you would your best friend.  Be your own best friend.  It's good to do that.  And when your best friend fails at something in their life, do you condemn them in their time of need?  No, of course not, so don't condemn yourself either when you fail at anything.  Self-condemnation just makes matters worse, much like crying over spilled milk.  Just clean the situation up as best you can and move on.  You see, God knows that we fail at times during our lives, and how He looks at things and how we do sometimes are quite different.  He views things from the perspective of how we as adults handled the situation that had complications.  Did we try our best to work things out?  Did we fail, but try to manage the situation well?  How are our coping skills?  Did we lose our temper and rant and rage first, or did we just heave a sigh and then calmly try to deal with the problem and fix it to the best of our abilities?  Failure happens, but it's the after time that also gets noticed with the failed situation.  Coping skills are one of the basic Life Themes that we deal with on the Earth plane.  Up in Spirit it is much easier to cope with situations, as we have much more available to aid us, but down here it is a growth-oriented existence, and we have to deal with our issues and problems in a "workshop theme" with cause and effect.  Another category is "Ways and Means Category" with Life Themes.  That translates to what way we deal with our problems and if we handle them well by ourselves without too much outside help, (in other words what means we take to work through our life problems).  If  you feel that you are doing nothing but failing lately, stop and get back to the basics.  What do you think is thwarting you from achieving what you want? Is what you want also what you need? Want versus need should be evaluated.  If you feel like life is stonewalling you at every turn, then perhaps you need to reassess.  Life isn't going to be always easy and the path always smooth without rocks once in a while, so take time out for a reality check with your life goals and desires and  be practical with what you want.   Realizing that you have to once in a while make concessions is better than setting yourself up for a fall. It's also all right to give yourself a compliment, too, even a hug if you want.  We all deserve to be loved, and so often people forget to love themselves.  They get busy with their lives giving others love, but don't think that it's okay to be loving of your own Self.  Your Spirit needs nourishment, just like your body does.  So telling yourself that "I love myself, I love me" is perfectly okay.  God loves us without conditions, so why not  follow God's lead with loving ourselves without conditions? I do want to mention here that if after all you have done to balance yourself with your life and to clear depression without results, then by all means go to a doctor, and follow the doctor's orders.  If you are not feeling that this doctor is helping, then it's good to get a second opinion, or even a third, but take an active roll in your healing.  Taking charge of the overall situation will provide you with some control of the situation and there again it is that which is helping you to gain back your life the way you wish for it to be.  If you have any specific questions you wish to ask me, please write me at [email protected]