This Too Shall Pass

When things are going badly and you feel like giving up, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that things will always be bad. I know. I've done it countless times, and sometimes, in spite of my best efforts, I still do. When you suffer from depression, it seems like the rough patches just keep coming. You may have said to yourself "things NEVER go right for me". I have. When things get bad, just remind yourself of two universal truths:

1. Everyone has times where nothing goes right. Everyone has problems. Yes, some problems are worse than others, and not everyone has to deal with depression on top of all of it, like we do. But nobody cruises through life without encountering trouble. NOBODY.

2. The bad times don't last forever. They may seem like they do, and some people have more bad times than others. But no matter what, just remember that "this too shall pass."

Right now, I'm in the middle of a financial crisis, largely of my own making (I'm terrible at making budgets and worse at sticking to them). All I have is 40 dollars, and it has to last me until Friday. That's five days of buying nothing but absolute necessities. The worst part is that I had to borrow that money, so when I get paid, I've got to pay back that money (and some other debts), leaving me with a smaller paycheque to get through the next two weeks, and I still have Christmas shopping to do. My family is getting cheap crap from the dollar store, again. It's depressing. And I've said to myself "this just never ends" more than once. But it does end. Come January, things will be okay by the middle of the month. The next 30 days are going to be financially tight and less than pleasant, but this too shall pass. Things kind of suck right now, and will continue to do so through the Christmas holiday, but the bad financial time will not last forever. I'll get through this.

And if you're having a terrible day, or week, or month, just remind yourself that whatever crisis you're facing right now, it won't last forever. This too shall pass. Try to remember all the bad times you've been through before, and survived. You may not feel you survived them well, or did a great job. You may feel, as I often do, that you could have handled things better. But the bottom line is you got through it somehow. You're still here, and you're still fighting. You've gotten through some terrible times, and you can do it again. Just keep fighting and don't give up. You may feel that you have more problems than other people, and you may be right. But instead of dwelling on it, just fight, knowing that eventually, you'll get through it. Don't give up. This too shall pass.