We all have our moments. Those dark clouds hanging over us. Those moments when we hover on the edge of the precipice looking down at the bottomless pit below; when that pit is the only reality, the only way out. The world seems a bleak place, devoid of warmth and light; the night unending with no signs of the day breaking; no hope; nothing. These dark spaces exist in us all. I hate to say this but it may not be a temporary phase. The pit might be the only reality for all eternity. There may be no way out. There may be no help forthcoming no matter which way you turn. So what do you do?
If you think this is one of those how-to manuals on how to beat back depression and come bouncing back all new and shiny, let me disabuse you of that immediately. If you ask me I don't have the answers any more than you do. I'm no wellness guru dispensing advice on how to rise out of that consuming darkness; I offer no platitudes about a certain day after the night. Sometimes life is unending night with no reprieve.
But I can share with you some of my little methods.
Sleep: I find this always works for me. Things look fractionally better after a good night's sleep. What seemed so bleak and depressing the previous night looks better the morning after. Tomorrow like Scarlett o'Hara said is always another day. It might not be a brighter day than the previous one but it is a different one with possibilities which you bring to it.
Play the blame game: Blame everything and everyone you can think of for your messed up life. It might not be true; it might not be right but it will surely make you feel better. Heaps. Works for me every time. Like magic. Anything and anyone you can think of. The government; your neighbor; your spouse; your parents; fate; God Almighty. Except yourself.
Don't think: Whatever you do don't think. At all. Don't brood; don't obsess; don't let your mind dwell on what has happened to your life. Just don't go there. Turn yourself into a mindless zombie moving from one day to the next keeping your thoughts and emotions on the hold. Latch on to your favorite pastime and stay there. Latched on.
And my final mantra. Even this shall pass. Mr. Biswas's ( character in Naipaul's novel) consolation works for me every time. Everything passes eventually. Night doesn't go away; the pit doesn't disappear; but you are able to step back from the edge of the precipice. Finally. Turn your blues into a song as Neil Diamond says. Who knows- even dark spaces have their upside?
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