.....is a funny thing. Im not at all in control of it. Im not sure I can really trust it.
I have good days and I have bad days, but really it is only a symptom of how my brain is dealing with things. I can usually tell when I wake up on a morning what sort of mood my brain is in. Today its telling me that Im a bit pissed off. Tomorrow it will probably tell me Im contented.
Thinking this way may help deal with mood fluctuations. It isn't ME that is depressed. Its my brain having a bad day.
Having said that, my brain is ME. I don't believe in a seperate soul, or heart. So where does that leave me. Well from my days working in mental health I know something of how dopamine and seratonin levels in the brain effect our mood. So mine are probably not at the right levels right now. Can knowing that make me feel any better? Perhaps it can if I seperate MYSELF from the mechanics of my brain. mmmm, easier said than done.
So, I know that lower levels of chemicals in my brain can bring about low mood, therefore I can reassure myself with the knowledge that when the chemicals sort themselves out I will feel fine again. BUT, why are the levels low in the first place? Well that is because of reaction to outside events. Anti-depressant medication helps stabilise the levels of seratonin and/or dopamine in the brain, therefore it can help you keep things in perspective. Perhaps that is why instead of falling into a deep pit of despair I can be fairly objective about my low mood and see it as that imbalance of chemicals, rather than something bigger and deeper.
Perhaps I just need to dig out a fawlty towers quote. Hang on...