Finding strength during the darkest times

When you're feeling low and your head is telling you to give up it can feel virtually impossible to try to find enough strength to keep going each day because this is the time when fighting counts. Just the smallest amount of strength can get you through the day, so you have to search for the last bit you have left and fight for your life. 

For me, I had a few different methods I used to get me through my darkest days that I want to share with you in this post to give you a better chance of recovering yourself. They're tips I used to help bring some positivity back into my life and helped remind me that I had plenty of reasons to stick around.

Try to focus on the small things in life, the ones that seem insignificant but actually aren't, because they're your lifeline. Anything from your partner coming home from work to a hug from your mum to a call from your childhood friend. Anything that makes you feel loved and gives you a sense of purpose in life - keep reminding yourself of them. These little things really are the most important in life. We all only ever think about big things like having a big house, a new car and a busy social life but in fact, it's the small things that make us happiest.

I know it feels like the darkness that surrounds you and the feeling you're experiencing will never go away but I promise you that it will. It will take time and the journey won't be easy but you will get there and you have to keep reminding yourself of this. Every day tell yourself that this feeling will pass and repeat it till you are blue in the face. Just knowing that this isn't going to last forever will give you the strength to keep going.

Find things that make you feel good because these are what you need to rely on. Try to focus your energy on something positive and create a routine for yourself so that it feels like every day you achieve something. My feel-good things are going to the gym, going for long country walks and watching the sunset. These are things I know I can do which always makes me feel better, they're also things that I know I can do to escape from everything else that's going on. When suffering from depression it's so important to have activities that keep your mind so occupied that you can't think about anything else.

 Depression can make you feel like you're worthless and I found myself always questioning my point in life because I never felt that I was achieving anything. When I decided I wanted to recover I realised I needed to give myself daily tasks so I felt that each day wasn't pointless and I did more than just exist. Doing jobs even something as simple as cleaning the house can be rewarding. Cleaning the house doesn't seem like much but when you are feeling low, just getting out of bed is a challenge. 

I know right now all you want to do is give up and I understand but no matter what you do you have to keep going. Find whatever it is within you that motivates you and utilise it. I promise you can find a way to get better and you will be happy again. Recovery is possible for every single one of us and you can have it too you've just got to fight for it.

Please remember that no matter how difficult things get and how low you feel there's always something or someone worth fighting for. Never give in and never give up.

My email is always open to anyone struggling. Chloevowels1995@gmail.com. The Samaritans are here for those times that are emergencies: 116 123 (UK).