Beating Holiday Depression

Chris Albert 00:00:00 (link to this point)

This is Chris Albert, and I'm here to remind you of one thing. Someday, you're going to die. Now that's not some morbid statement or scary idea. It's solid fact. Your time here on this earth is limited.

We need to be reminded of this as much as possible for one simple reason, to live your best life while you can. This is the Warrior Soul Podcast.

What's going on, everybody? Welcome to the Warrior Soul Podcast, and this is a really experimental episode of the Warrior Soul Podcast. This is live recorded on our Facebook page at the Warrior Soul Agoge. So today, I'm gonna be talking about an issue that affects a lot of people, and that is depression during the holidays. And it's an interesting situation to be in.

Because around the holidays, everybody kind of goes about their own business, you know, being happy, trying to be around family, trying to to get to get togethers, to get to parties, to, you know, get their Christmas shopping done, to be able to make some memories. But for a lot of us, whether we are surrounded by people or not, the holidays can be a really lonely and dark time. And the celebration of the moment seems to capitalize on that loneliness. It seems to emphasize that loneliness. It seems to exacerbate it.

And for a lot of us, the holidays are a time that's really difficult to bear. So what I'm gonna talk to you about today is is getting through this time period. Keeping your head straight throughout the holidays and and really focusing on on what you can do to overcome depression and to make your life better, to come out of this dark time, you know, a stronger and better person. For those of you who haven't been to this podcast before, my name is Chris Albert, and this is the Warrior Soul podcast. This podcast was started because over the past decade and a half of war, The US military veteran community has faced a lot of very dark things, really high rates of suicide, extremely high rates of chronic depression, and really high rates of chronic disease.

And there's a lot of people out there who are raising awareness about these issues. And while I appreciate raising awareness, we need solutions. So I'm not just here to raise awareness. Every time you listen to one of these episodes, I hope that you come away from it with a real strategy or something that you can implement in your life that's that's gonna make it better. And as I said before, I hit record to those who are listening live.

If you're not a veteran, stick around because a lot of the stuff we're going to be going over is gonna be able to apply to anybody. I also just wanna say this, this podcast would not be possible without our good friends at F Bomb Nutrition. They are an amazing company. Ross and Kara out in Arizona, they make an outstanding product. It's macadamia nut butters and and you can carry them around with you.

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Now, you know, when we're talking about something like depression, it's it's a very complex issue. And the thing I want to emphasize here is that everybody has their own battle. You know, somebody whose life can seem like it's perfect on the outside, can, you know, really be facing a lot of dark things on the inside. And, you know, I take Anthony Bourdain as a case. Of course, he's he's not a veteran, but but he's somebody who who traveled, right, who who lived the life that anybody could dream of living.

He found immense success, but he was battling darkness. And so it's important to remember that no matter what somebody's life seems like on the outside, you don't know what they're dealing with on the inside. And somebody who's been very depressed before, a lot of times it feels like even when you're in a crowded room, surrounded by people who who say they love you, surrounded by people who care about you, you feel like you're the only person there. You feel like nobody really does give a fuck. Right?

Nobody really does give a fucking. You're the only one who's in your world. And a lot of times we we we turn inward we go deeper and and, you know, it's it's rough. It's rough. It's rough to get out of.

And a lot of times people bring up solutions, they'll say, well, try meditation, try this, try that. And you know what, though all those things are awesome. They're fitness, meditation, cold exposure, all these different things are amazing. But when you're talking to somebody who's depressed, a lot of times they're like, Why are you telling me this? They can't see it.

And so it's important to really try to break down that barrier. If you're dealing with somebody who's depressed, you have to understand that just coming up to somebody and saying, hey, this is the solution, it's not the thing to do. It's not the thing to do. Right? What you got to do is you got to be there for them, you got to talk to them, you got to try reach out to them.

But just trying to slam something down on the table that, you know, some sort of tool or anything like that, it's not necessarily going to bring them to the light. But for those of us who are dealing with depression, something I just said is something that's important to realize. And that idea that nobody really gives a fuck, that nobody really cares. Well, here's the thing. Yes, your family loves you.

Yes, everybody who's trying to help, they they truly have your best intentions in mind. But in the world in general, it's important to realize that that nobody does really give a fuck. Right? Nobody does really give a fuck. And why is that important to realize?

Well, it's important to realize because, well, when you understand that nobody really does give a fuck, that means that that you really have to. You have to. Right? Because all the tools, all the the meditation, all of the the the the fitness, all of the the self improvement stuff, none of that is ever going to take effect until you start giving a fuck. Nothing else will matter.

Right? So that's the the big thing I think that everybody who who's dealing with this darkness needs to needs to understand. Right? There there there is nobody else that can help you until you start caring about yourself, until you start caring about your situation, till you start giving a fuck and you tell yourself that, you know what? I'm gonna give a damn about me.

I'm gonna start caring about me because nobody else can truly help me out of this situation. And that's a hard thing to realize. It's a hard thing to come to. But when you are going through it and and you do start to see the light, you start to realize that you could take control over certain things. Right?

So that feeling of loneliness, that feeling like you're alone in a room, a lot of times, it is an illusion that we create in our own minds. It's something that that we've told ourselves. It's something that we've built up around us. And what happens when you start to give a fuck is that you start to realize that you also have control over the perception that other people have to you. So rather than going inward, you know, potentially reaching out and trying to make somebody else feel good, trying to give a smile to somebody or to really put some interest into helping somebody else.

That is one of the best ways that I can think of, of really pulling yourself out of darkness. When you start to understand that you're not the only person in the world, that everybody out there has their own problems, their own demons, their own issues that they're dealing with, and you start to put some interest into really trying to solve some of theirs. You know, for those of you who are in the veteran community reaching out to a brother, or reaching out to a friend, or reaching out to somebody in need, and trying to to help them, trying to put some work into them, and trying to to just be a good person to them, that can really help. That can really help. Because it again, it helps you understand that that you one, you're not the only person going through this.

This is not your world. Your world is is much bigger. Right? And all those walls you built up around you, they're illusions. So when you start to take interest in other people, when you start to make that your purpose, you know, living to to help others, living to serve others, living to to really reach out to others and to give some warmth to them.

Then what that does is it is it gives you a reason to wake up in the morning. It gives you a reason to maybe say, you know what, I am going to do everything I can to make myself better because in doing so, I'm going to be able to contribute something to this world. I'm going to be able to contribute something this world no matter how small it is or how minuscule it might seem. Somebody's day is going to be better because of me. And it's easier to do than you think it is.

Right? There's organizations out there. There's groups out there. There's always people out there in need. The other thing to emphasize here is that, you know, when you are doing it, it's it's really important that, you know, you find gratitude in doing it, that you find a way of being grateful for the opportunity to to help others.

And, you know, that's one of the most important practices I think anybody can implement. If you are in a dark place, finding gratitude through service, through the ability to help others, and finding gratitude in yourself for the blessings that you do have in life, that's a really simple practice that you can do, because we could all be grateful for something. You know, I've said it over and over and over again, but, you know, a lot of people claim these are really dark times that we live in. They claim that, you know, the country's divided and the world is is is going downhill, but, you know, the reality is have it a lot better than a lot of people ever had throughout history, you know. I mean, the country's divided, of course, we all have differing opinions, but I mean, think about the civil war.

Think about, you know, all of the the killing and the death that happened back then, and and, you know, think about the fact that that we most of us right now, we we have shelter. We have the ability to have warmth. If you're listening to this right now, you're probably not wondering where your next meal is coming from. And again, that doesn't help to pull you out of a depressed state, but it does help you to find gratitude. And gratitude is a stepping stone to getting out of that state.

Being grateful for, you know, anything is going to bring some light into your life. Once you find that purpose, and once you find your gratitude, then, you know, it's important to get out into the world. It's important to find something that can help you to step outside of your house, to step outside of whatever dwelling you have, to to, you know, be out there with people, to interact with people. Now, the thing I've done, and and this might not work for everybody, but but that's the main reason why I go to the gym still. The main reason why I go to the gym isn't because it gives me the best workout, because I can get a great workout here.

Right? I have a kettlebell. I've got weights. I've got pull up bars. I've got all the things I need to get a great workout here in my house.

But but I get out to the gym because I know people there, because I'm able to talk people talk to people there. I'm able to to to speak to people. And, you know, it's my little way of of getting out of the house because I work here. You know, it's it's a place I spend all day by myself. And, you know, that's that's, you know, my little way of doing it.

Some people might just be comfortable going going for a walk or or heading downtown or or, you know, going to the local coffee shop. But whatever it is, find your little way of of getting out there with people. Right? And when you're around people more, more opportunities to do the things I I talked about come about. Right?

More opportunities come about to help people. More opportunities come about to put some warmth into other people's lives. More opportunities come about to be the person you want to be. Because we can't just be the person we want to be for ourselves. You've got to be that person for other people too, in order for it to to really take root.

Because that's, you know, what our personalities are there for. They're there to be social. They're there to talk. They're there there to deal with people. And as much as a lot of us would like to think, we can't live without other people, or we could live without other people, we really can't.

Right? Otherwise, you just keep going inward. Again, guys, you know, as with anything I I talk about here on this podcast, I really want you to know and I want you to understand that that I don't consider myself an expert on any of this stuff. A layman who has had a lot of experience with it, who's dealt with my own demons, who's dealt with loneliness. Know, pretty And much everything I'm talking about here is anecdotal.

But I do hope that in some way, in some form, those of you who are listening, you do understand. And that you do know that you do have a light inside of you. And the only reason that light is being blocked right now is simply because you built walls around it, and you have the opportunity to let it out. You have the opportunity to let that light shine to the world. And it starts with just taking small actions, not earth shattering earth shattering our actions or not, you know, not going on some quest or or anything like that.

It starts within your circle right now. You know, things you can do within the next ten to fifteen minutes. Alright? And and just getting out there and and and allowing yourself to be open. It's a rough and tough decision.

And I'm not saying that it's easy at all. But the benefit for what could be a, you know, a really quick decision means that that you get to understand that the the darkness isn't real, and that it's something that that you've been imposing and creating, and it's something that you can get out of. With that, guys, I also wanna let you know that I'm always open. Feel free to DM me if you ever wanna talk. And, you know, I love you all, and I wish you all a really happy Thanksgiving and happy holidays.

We'll be back at you on Monday. I got a an awesome episode with Sue Bhatia. She is the CEO of Rose International, one of the biggest staffing companies in the world. And she came on to talk about how the job market is really looking for veterans right now and really looking for people who have your leadership skills, your ability to get things done. And she put out an amazing offer for you guys to come out and and share your resumes and to get into the job market.

So thanks for listening, guys. And for those of you listening live, thank you for bearing with me through the technical difficulties. And I'll go and I'll check out those comments on Facebook. For everybody listening on the podcast, thank you for listening and get out there and live your best life while you can.