{"id":278,"date":"2009-12-10T21:24:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-10T21:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/angelsonyourshoulder\/2009\/12\/7-ways-to-overcome-depression.html"},"modified":"2009-12-10T21:24:00","modified_gmt":"2009-12-10T21:24:00","slug":"7-ways-to-overcome-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/angelsonyourshoulder\/2009\/12\/7-ways-to-overcome-depression.html","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways to overcome depression"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the next few weeks I will be writing a series of posts to help put joy back in the season, relieve stress and just help everyone have an angel filled, magical holiday season.<\/p>\n

It seems odd, but statistically the holiday season sees a huge rise in the number of suicides and the number of people feeling depressed. A lot of that is due to unrealistic expectations about the holidays. My mom died in October and the holidays that year were a nightmare for me. Instead of focusing on all the wonderful memories I had of my mom all I could focus on was her death. I learned many valuable lessons from my mother’s death.<\/p>\n


\nAngels aren’t God, although they are messengers of God. They aren’t the drive through window of enlightenment or pinch hitters of life, yet they are always there. Angels are loving, supportive best friends that are willing to help us, no matter what. They will help when asked and are always willing to offer wonderfully loving spiritual advice. If we are willing to allow in their loving support depression and stress are no longer a factor in our lives. <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Realize you are always surrounded by the loving presence of the angels<\/b>, whether you allow yourself to feel it or not. Angels never desert us, we are the ones that cut off our ability to feel their presence. So remind yourself often, “I am surrounded and enfolded in the loving presence of the divine.”<\/li>\n
  2. Take deep breaths often and give yourself permission to feel loved<\/b>. It is amazing how our thoughts stop us from feeling loved. Take time through out the day to breathe deeply and consciously and say, “I breathe in the love that always surrounds me.” Concentrate on the image of something that helps you feel loved: a sunrise, a puppy, a baby, someone you love. Allow yourself to feel the love and then breathe it in.<\/li>\n
  3. At least once a day look in the mirror and say out loud, “Your name, I love you just the way you are.<\/b>” Say it often and allow yourself to believe it. It took me a while to really believe it and the time I spent practicing it was invaluable.<\/li>\n
  4. Spend sometime in prayer asking for help in feeling the loving presence of the angels<\/b>. Open your heart and your mind to their presence and then watch out for signs. Some people find pennies, feathers, or see angels in the clouds. Take a moment to say thanks when you notice ‘your’ signal an angel is communicating with you.<\/li>\n
  5. Focus on uplifting thoughts<\/b>. When my mom died I constantly focused on my loss rather than on all the wonderful times we’d had together. By doing that I prolonged the grieving process and made myself miserable.<\/li>\n
  6. Make a gratitude list and read it often<\/b>. No matter how difficult life is there are always things to be grateful for and the more you focus more attention on being grateful the happier you will be.<\/li>\n
  7. Give to others rather than expecting to receive<\/b>, and give without any expectations. When I do random acts of kindness I feel so much better about myself and life. Open a door for someone, offer to help carry someone’s packages, shovel your neighbors walk, pay for an extra toll, buy a stranger a cup of coffee or just smile and say a warm hello.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Remember what the holidays are really about. The miracle of the season and the birth of unconditional love.<\/p>\n

    With love and aloha,
    \nSusan<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

    Angels are everywhere just open your mind and your heart to the signs.<\/p>\n

    Make Angels on Your Shoulder<\/a> part of your daily routine and share it with a friend! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Over the next few weeks I will be writing a series of posts to help put joy back in the holiday season, relieve stress and just help everyone have an angel filled, magical holiday season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,26,19,3,20,1,12,13,14],"tags":[29,122,124,123,41],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-angels","category-beliefs","category-communicating-with-angels","category-happiness","category-invocation","category-joy","category-kindness","category-love","category-prayers","tag-angels-2","tag-holiday-depression","tag-magical-holiday-season","tag-overcoming-depression","tag-prayers-2"],"yoast_head":"\n7 Ways to overcome depression - Angels on Your Shoulder<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/angelsonyourshoulder\/2009\/12\/7-ways-to-overcome-depression.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Ways to overcome depression - 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