I've been saying all these years...
I got depression when I was 21.
Like it jumped on me out of nowhere.
'Gotcha!'
Really, it was just the week after my 21st birthday when I finally fell down.
I had been 'feeling' it for years.
I still am.
It doesn't leave you.
I have simply made friends with it.
I have felt it rise up in me now and again over the years, like a volcano ever present, threatening to erupt.
Sometimes it creeps up softly.
Sometimes it's my shadow, silently walking alongside me.
Other times it dances in my face loud and unashamed like a kid wanting attention,
'Hey! Remember me?!'
It has came close to taking over me again on a few occasions but each and every time I manage to negotiate with it.
At first it was a power struggle of blind panic.
Then it became a civilised debate between us.
Now, it's a quiet smile of acknowledgment, an old acquaintance that I show my respects to and satisfied it leaves again for some time.
I understand now, that for me, it's only when I am unaligned with my true self and purpose that it returns with brute force.
I am grateful for this lifelong companion.
I like to think of my friend depression, nowadays, as a lighthouse glowing gently, telling me it's time to change course in my life.
Yoga is my therapy.
Ayurveda is my therapy.
Exploring is my therapy.
Continuously learning about life and finding joy in simple things is my everyday therapy.
Taking precious time for yourself to tap into and return to your divine, magical essence is never selfish, ego centric or frivolous.
It is essential.
It is love.
We can only love, lift up, help and care for others when our own hearts are full.
Look after your own.
Dance, play, swim, create, sing, laugh.
Find your therapy.
Whatever that may be for you.
And know, that you are loved by a force bigger than you can even imagine.
Following what you love will never lead you astray.
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