Dear Depression: Kiss my beautiful, Truth-proclaiming ass

“No one is your enemy except yourself.”–Shannon L. Adler

A person very close to me is struggling with depression. Since I once believed I, too, had depression (To borrow a Prince moniker, I now refer to myself as “Joy Previously Masquerading as Sorrow”), I wrote the following letter:

Dear________,

I’ve been thinking a lot about your current depression. Because I have also suffered the debilitating “dis-ease,” I feel that I can understand and perhaps help in some way.

Here’s what I now know: The only thing “wrong” when I’m depressed is my thoughts. My thoughts start their incessant yammering, telling me I’m bad, that something is wrong with me, that life is hopeless.

But what I now believe with complete certainty is that these thoughts are false.

When I listen to them, claim them as my identity, I give them power they don’t deserve. The better tact is to observe them with interest (Wow! Where’d you come from?), know they’re temporary and REFUSE to fight them.

God promises me an abundant life, a life of joy, purpose and peace.

The thoughts of worthlessness are imposters. They only get away with their bald-faced lies to the extent I let myself fight with them, to the degree I let myself believe they contain power.

Nowadays, I try to remember my two magic words: “It’s okay.”

And I hold on to the fact that there is NO WAY I can be worthless or bad or unloved. The ego’s ridiculous thoughts have no power except the power I give them. I can choose to simply observe them and recognize them as the powerless posers they really are.

The only, only Truth is that God loves me as His precious child. He adores me and wants only good for me and for all His children.

As for the ego and its thoughts of worthlessness? They can kiss my beautiful, adored-by-God ass.

And so it is.

Pam Grout is the author of 17 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the recently-released sequel, E-Cubed, 9 More Experiments that Prove Mirth, Magic and Merriment is your Full-time