Imran asks: How can I avoid depression, anxiety, phobias, etc. How can I make good relations with others and enjoy my life?
Hi Imran –
Hmm… If you’re asking how you can avoid sadness and worry, then I suppose the answer is to not ever care about anything. Life creates both, and that’s nothing to… well… be sad or worry about!
However, your question uses bigger words than that. Depression can be a terrible state, leading to misery, lost years from your life, or even death. Anxiety and phobias can be equally bad. These can be huge problems.
Really, the difference is probably in how quickly you recover from them. If your best friend tells you they don’t like you anymore, you’re probably going to feel sad for a while. But eventually, you’ll most likely recover. Similarly, if you have a big exam coming up at school, in a class you’ve never done very well at, you’re certainly going to worry. But once you find out your grade – good or bad – the worrying ought to stop. The problem is if those bad feelings last way beyond the “triggers” that set them off.
I have hundreds of answers for your question, if that’s the case, all based on the specifics of your depression or fears. So one thing you can do is to send me a question about what’s going on with you. But the other, which might be better if the feelings are really bad, is to seek out a therapist or counselor, who can help you with them. A good therapist will talk with you, help you express your difficult feelings, help you find what you can do with them, and might, if absolutely necessary, refer you to a physician who can prescribe medication for them (but I don’t like to suggest taking medicine unless it’s absolutely necessary).
In the meantime, the best preventative cure for depression and anxiety is having fun. The more of that you can have, the better you’ll do. So I’m very glad that you’re reading this on your computer screen right now, but how about getting up and finding a friend and playing outside for a while? Or best of all, finding a dog and playing outside for a while! Now that’s the best cure for the blues I’ve ever heard of!
Good Luck!
Shirelle