100 Seconds In Motion

I’ve had a few important conversations with important people (to me) about mental illness this week. During one of the discussions, a friend asked me, “What advice would you share with someone struggling with depression?”

I responded with something rambling and not so eloquent, and then I landed on a maxim I’ve been sharing for a few years now. I’d like to share it with you now!

An object in motion stays in motion. An object laid up on the couch, eating ice cream, and watching Parks and Recreation marathons, will stay on the couch, eating ice cream, and watching Parks and Recreation marathons. I believe in listening to my body and because I don’t always process stress at the best times, I will find myself over-functioning in a crisis, and then crashing under the weight of stress after the crisis has died down. I know I need to rest and recover. But, sometimes you need to get going again.

I will force myself to function for 100 seconds. It might be a short shower. I will stand under the hot water, counting to 100. If the time is up and I want to leave and return to my cocoon on the couch, I’m allowed to do that. It might be doing the dishes. I will count to 100 while I wash dishes or put them away. If there are still dishes in the sink when I reach 100, I’m allowed to leave the sink and return to my pillow. I might start laundry. I’ll count to 100 while I pick up dirty socks and check for dirty clothes under beds and in closets, and then start a load of laundry. If I haven’t finished finding all the socks or checking all the closets and I hit 100, you guessed it–I allow myself to choose to return to the couch.

But… an object in motion often STAYS in motion, unless something acts to stop that motion. And as a depressed person, it’s sometimes hard to stop the motion once I get started. So I’ll stand in the shower a little longer and maybe wash my hair. I’ll start counting again as I do the dishes just so I can feel the satisfaction of an empty sink and a clean counter. I’ll start up a load of laundry and get another load ready to go.

This works because I can do anything for 100 seconds. Often times my depression stems from my inability to care for myself properly during times of stress. My body will react to my bad choices by shutting down and requiring complete love and care from my heart and mind. If I act outside of myself during these times, I feel this pang of resentment come from my inner child. I resent my good decisions. But, if I can tell this whiny inner child that we are allowed to rest and relax in just 100 seconds, I am able to propel myself into motion, and that start, that propulsion, can launch me out of my funk and remind my inner self that we really do enjoy living as a healthy and functioning human being.

That’s a long way of saying. An object in motion stays in motion. An object at rest stays at rest. In order to get moving, I tell myself to just try moving for 100 seconds.

I hope this helps some of you who also struggle with depression. Thanks for reading!