5 Things I Did During a Flare-up Depression
Chronic illness can often lead to physiological depression, especially during a flare-up. This was something I faced often, and today I share with you five things I did during a flare-up depression.
One thing I learned during my 10-year adrenal fatigue journey is that recovery is not a straight line from sick to well.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Instead, it looks like this.
I will say that this process is much longer than this graphic even suggests.
I simply didn’t have room for all of the scribbles and crashes necessary to adequately describe what it is like.
I often found myself somewhere between the second crash and “Found what works. Yay!”
And when I would experience a flare-up, I would experience depression as well. Have you been there?
Depression is a familiar foe to adrenal fatigue sufferers.
I remember the first time I truly acknowledged that I was in a depression. I’d been there before. Many times. But I didn’t want to admit it.
Somehow, saying I was in a depression was right up there with a 4-letter, dirty word.
I couldn’t allow myself to say it.
Saying it would make it real, and I am a Christian – I’m not supposed to be in a depression.
At that time, I didn’t realize that a physiological depression wasn’t the same as demonic oppression.
In my mind, depression was almost always demonic oppression.
The more I began to research adrenal fatigue, the more I learned that when the body is lacking essential resources for its function and survival, it often has to turn off unnecessary resources.
There were times when I felt emotionally dead.
When I felt happy, it was such a faded feeling that it was almost a mirage. I didn’t even really feel sad when it was appropriate.
I just didn’t feel at all.
After going through several crashes, I began to see a pattern – and a part of that pattern was depression.
5 Things I Did During a Flare-up Depression
I want to make a distinction in this post that this depression is purely physiological.
I also want to emphasize that this was my personal response that I am sharing with my readers.
This is not advice I am giving as a professional, because I am not a professional.
If you are experiencing depression and/or are suicidal, please reach out to a trusted source or call 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK).
1. I would remind myself that this is physiological.
Somehow, just knowing that it is physiological and not psychological or spiritual was a huge help to me.
I would often take time during the day to just speak to my heart that this was a result of my chronic condition, that I’d been here before, and that there would be better days ahead.
This reminder proved to be an enormous help.
2. I reminded myself that there is an end in sight.
While flare-ups never lasted forever, it was impossible to know how long they would last.
So much of it depends on your health before the flare-ups, your response, and your immune function during the flare-ups.
But the good news is that they don’t last forever.
Knowing that there was an end, even if I didn’t know when that end would be, was very helpful in keeping my heart encouraged.
3. I practiced biblical meditation
I found that biblical meditation was essential in walking through depression.
Filling my heart and mind with Bible verses and passages that encourage and build up tended to give me a strong foundation that kept me from falling into a dark abyss.
Here are articles I’ve written about biblical meditation.
4. I chose to walk in joy…even when I didn’t feel like it.
It was during one of my early struggles with depression that I learned the value of choosing joy.
Happiness is the natural outcome of positive circumstances.
Joy is a choice we make, no matter our circumstances. And we all have the ability to choose to walk in joy because of the power of the Holy Spirit.
I would often take verses on joy to meditate on, and instruct my heart out loud to be joyful.
This was particularly essential when I didn’t feel like it.
What I didn’t do was give in to the temptation to be lazy, sad, or walk in self-pity, which is destructive and can potentially turn a psychological depression into a spiritual one.
5. I did things that promoted happiness
During flare-ups, I would try to limit my time online because screens cause stress on the body.
I would try to get extra sleep, continue to be diligent about taking my supplements, and watch my diet.
These are all things that helped to support good immune function and limit chronic inflammation in my body, which would prolong a crash.
I would also try to find time for fresh air each day, spend extra time with my family, and just do fun things.
I would do this especially when I didn’t feel like it.
Many times, doing what I felt like doing was destructive — because what I feel like doing is mindless scrolling through social media, distracting myself with binge-watching shows, eating junk food, and being selfish by not giving time to my family.
Many times, our bodies will want the very thing that keeps them in an unhealthy state.
This is when we must be the grown-ups in the room and take control.
This is when joy must be a choice.
This is when making healthy choices for our behavior, diet, and health must be a choice.
This is when making wise choices for our activities must be a choice.
These 5 things were enormously helpful in staying positive and joyful for my family and me when I was facing the dreaded flare-up.
What do you do on your journey with chronic illness to help stay positive and joyful?
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