One of the best descriptions of depression I’ve ever heard was that “depression is when reality doesn’t match what’s in your mind.”

I’ve found the source of all the different styles of my depression by reflecting on this.

On top of this, I’ve also come to understand that the mind is like a robot, and I was living inside my own little bubble in my mind!

That means that, in the past, if there was something that made me depressed if a situation resembled that in the present, then I would also feel that same depression – what the hell!

Here’s a 4-step process I follow for overcoming depression:

1. Do some reflection:

So, what is it about being home that depresses you? Is it loneliness? A desire to be somewhere else? Dissatisfaction with your home? You preferred living somewhere else?

Find out what it is in your mind that is causing you to feel that way, and I’ll bet you’ll find the reason why you feel depressed, and you’ll come to know that it’s because something in your mind is not matching your present reality.

2. Then clear it out of your mind:

My favorite way is to do discarding meditation and clear it from my mind. The mind is like a robot, and the programming is all the past you’ve accumulated in there, which is the source of the depression!

In your case, the things you have accumulated in your mind to do with “home” are the source of your depression. So just being at home triggers that depressive response.

I’ve also found journaling and writing about it a way of getting it out of my mind, as well as talking, but I’ve found these 2 ways to be somewhat endless. Whereas through discarding meditation, I’ve actually felt like my mind is getting clearer and clearer and dealing with the root cause rather than just the surface-level stuff.

3. Move your body:

Moving changes your physiology, and it denies depression if you go for a walk or do some exercise. It won’t get rid of it completely, but it’s a great way to at least change it and not give it power.

4. Keep trying and don’t stay depressed:

OK, this is not easy if you don’t do the above, in fact, it’s impossible. But the more you do the above, the less “life” you give to that depression.

If you keep feeding that mind by continuously talking about it, dwelling on it, and thinking that it’s real or some kind of chemical imbalance, you’re going to lose to that depression…

I wasted many years in that cycle.

I hope you don’t do the same…