It's amazing how one simple conversation with a new friend or just a good friend, even a complete stranger, can change your day from a struggle with depression and self-loathing to a happy person who is unconcerned with the trivial things in life. A simple conversation, a smile, or a laugh can change your day and make it ten times better. You are able to switch from a gloomy perspective to a much brighter one with a few clouds to blot out the sun rather than a sunless day.
Today has been one of those days where I am constantly telling myself to "knock it off;" "it" being thinking negatively about myself and the situations I find myself in. I have been feeling extremely lonely and at times I've felt very alone. These two feelings are warning signs for me that signal that I am becoming too introspective and self-concerned. They signal a type of fear taking over the way I am thinking.
When I start thinking this way, I know that if I don't change the way I am thinking, the abyss will be close behind to swallow me in darkness. So, today, I have been looking for distractions to get me out of my head or I have been saying the opposite of what I have been thinking. For instance, if I am calling myself stupid or ugly, I tell myself that I am smart and handsome. Occasionally, this method works, but if I can't change the negative to the positive, I look for distractions.
Today's distraction was a simple conversation with a new acquaintance. We just started talking about our distaste for reality TV, learning to defend myself, and whatever else came up. The simple conversation was enough to make me feel some semblance of a connection with someone else. That connection was enough to lessen the sting of loneliness and it gave me another possible good friend.
In the novel Where the Boys Are, William J. Mann writes, "It's only through connection with another person that one understands why we're here..." (39) and to which I add that through that connection we gain experience and learn to live. The connection we feel when we are with people is necessary to feel a part of something than a lone being. It is those connections that get us out of our heads. And those simple, but necessary, connections are needed to make life bearable and worth it.
Today has been one of those days where I am constantly telling myself to "knock it off;" "it" being thinking negatively about myself and the situations I find myself in. I have been feeling extremely lonely and at times I've felt very alone. These two feelings are warning signs for me that signal that I am becoming too introspective and self-concerned. They signal a type of fear taking over the way I am thinking.
When I start thinking this way, I know that if I don't change the way I am thinking, the abyss will be close behind to swallow me in darkness. So, today, I have been looking for distractions to get me out of my head or I have been saying the opposite of what I have been thinking. For instance, if I am calling myself stupid or ugly, I tell myself that I am smart and handsome. Occasionally, this method works, but if I can't change the negative to the positive, I look for distractions.
Today's distraction was a simple conversation with a new acquaintance. We just started talking about our distaste for reality TV, learning to defend myself, and whatever else came up. The simple conversation was enough to make me feel some semblance of a connection with someone else. That connection was enough to lessen the sting of loneliness and it gave me another possible good friend.
In the novel Where the Boys Are, William J. Mann writes, "It's only through connection with another person that one understands why we're here..." (39) and to which I add that through that connection we gain experience and learn to live. The connection we feel when we are with people is necessary to feel a part of something than a lone being. It is those connections that get us out of our heads. And those simple, but necessary, connections are needed to make life bearable and worth it.
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