Dear Depressed Self

Cheer your future self with a letter.

When you are feeling good, it is hard to imagine feeling terrible.  Likewise, when you are feeling terrible, it is hard to imagine feeling good.  For another person to assure that you’ll get over it soon and be back to  your old self can, in those moments, seem like hollow good wishes.  You will probably smile wanely, knowing the good-wisher means well but feel little comfort.  “How can they say that I will feel better?  How do they know?  They’re not me”.   This is true.  This is exactly why I encourage people to write a letter to themselves.  Writing a letter to your (maybe someday) depressed self while you are feeling right with the world can be a powerful tool to help pull you out of the depths of depression.  The longer and more detailed the letter, the better.  You want to paint a detailed picture for your depressed self – not just that life is good, but specifically why life is good.  Tell yourself how much you enjoy your life now, how good it can be and the things you appreciate.  You might also remind yourself of all the little tricks that you used to help yourself reach a great state of mind – leaving yourself a trail of bread crumbs back to the road of happiness.

~Frank Clayton, Licensed Professional Counselor

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