Ever felt powerless and overwhelmed by depression? Imagine a world where you're in control, where depression no longer reigns, and personal power is yours to wield. Welcome to the 'Win Over Depression' podcast where I, your host, Tamera Trotter, guide you on a transformative journey to reclaim your power and overcome depression. We delve into the depths of power in our lives, dissecting the impacts it has on our mental health, and exploring how to utilize it positively to combat depression.
Unpack the myth that depression is a choice, and learn to appreciate the strength it takes to navigate through. Together, we chart the importance of setting goals, celebrating small victories, and the influence of relationships on our power dynamics. Let's address the need to examine valuable friendships and relationships that may or may not be contributing positively to our mental health. Ready to claim your power? Then this episode is for you. Decode the connection between powerlessness and depression, and make your first move towards taking control of your life. Join us on this empowering journey towards overcoming depression.
Hello and welcome to when Over Depression. I am your host, tamara Trotter. This podcast is dedicated to the millions of sufferers of mental illness and those who try every single day to feel better. We encourage you to like and subscribe to our podcast, which can be found on Spotify, google Play and Apple Music. Please share this with someone who you know needs some encouragement to help them get through their day.
Speaker 1:
Today, we'll be talking about power, and so let me first define what exactly is power. Power is the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality the power of speech. It is also the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others on the course of events. So think for a moment about the power that you have in your personal and professional life. We all actually have power, but the question is how often do we actually utilize the power that we have, and when we are utilizing that power, do we use it in a positive way or are we influencing others in a negative way? Moreover, are you being influenced by others in such a way that one might conclude that someone or I have heard some people say that being depressed is a choice, because you can choose not to be depressed Well, I'm actually a believer of that.
Speaker 1:
But here's the thing you have to be strong enough to not allow your feelings and emotions to get the best of you. You have to be strong enough to push forward despite how you're feeling. And, to be totally honest, the average person cannot do that without some coaching, intention and belief that they have the ability to exercise their power in this specific area. And from first hand experience, I can tell you that it is very difficult and there are so many setbacks that tend to push you back that a lot of people give up. And it has taken me years to master the ability, and I still have setbacks and days when I am just not feeling my best and not able to get over that hump to feeling better. So I would say that it can be a choice if you're in a position, in a situation where you have control over your emotions.
Speaker 1:
And so when we talk about power, it's really interesting because we may not recognize the power that people have in our lives. We tend to make decisions and choices when we feel as though we have power, but guess what, there are times when we may not verbalize that we really don't have power in this situation, but our behavior is a direct indication that we feel powerless, and so, oftentimes, when people describe what depression feels like, they use the term that they feel powerless. And so because there is a chemical imbalance in the brain, because when you suffer with depression, you are fighting the thoughts in your head that are telling you untruths. Because of all that, that is why you feel powerless. So how do we change it around, so where we can use our personal power in a more useful way? Well, it has to be intentional, and so that is why I love to let people know how important it is that when you are setting goals for yourself, personal or professional, that you should be writing them down. Short-term goals generally are a range between one month and three months. A mid-range goal is anywhere from three months to six months, and a long-term goal is six months to one year. And that's great.
Speaker 1:
But sometimes we forget that we should be celebrating our small steps, the little incremental change that's being made, that we can really know for certain that we have in fact made a difference. We've turned a corner, we're feeling better, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and we are regaining our hope and belief that our situation and circumstances will turn around when we grow up. Our parents have both power and influence over us, and so, at some time in our lives, we claim our own power. However, because relationships can be so complex and difficult, sometimes we allow other people in our lives to take away our power and that really is something that precious to us and when we allow people to take away our power, we fill as if we don't have any control, and that is true. So think for a moment about the power that you have in your life, or the power that someone may have over you, and have you endorsed their power in your life? Have you given them the authority to exercise their power or have they simply taken the power away from you? And if they have, it's time for you to take your power back, because if you are feeling powerless and you can admit that someone is taking power from you, it would be very difficult for you to overcome your symptoms of depression.
Speaker 1:
In many of my episodes, I have talked about the importance of considering purging certain friendships and relationships in your life. This gives you an opportunity to evaluate how is someone affecting your life? Are they helping you to celebrate your wins? Are they bringing you joy as a result of being in your life, or are there people that you have given way too much access to? Because if you give people too much access and, on top of that, you have given them your power, then you are sinking in quicksand very fast, and it would be a miracle for you to be able to pull yourself out. So I want you to be totally transparent with yourself.
Speaker 1:
Do you have power in your life to make decisions, to move about the way that you want to, or are you influenced and encouraged and you decide to let someone else make decisions for you? Because once we become 18, that is when we are legally an adult, and as adults, we then have the ability to make decisions for ourselves, and society recognizes that now. We are responsible for our behavior, we are responsible for the decisions that we make and we are responsible for whether or not we lead a life that is satisfying to us or, in some way, we allow other people to negatively influence us and therefore the life that we expected to live, the life that we grew up dreaming about, cannot become a reality. And all of this can cause you to feel depressed, powerless and you feel like there's no way out. But there is always a way out. And why do I say that? I say that because we can change when we decide to.
Speaker 1:
If there is something that you have wanted or desired and you have tried one way to get it or another way to get it and you have not been successful, then you have to change the way that you are going about getting, whatever that is. If you continue to utilize the same plan to get what it is that you want and time and time again it has proven to you that the way you're going about it is not going to be successful then guess what. You have to reevaluate, think deeper, change your strategy, talk to someone who is successful in that particular area and ask them to tell you what they did. You do not necessarily have to reinvent the wheel in order to regain power in your life. So if you are someone that continues to feel in despair, you continue to fill as if there's not going to be a positive change in your life. You continue to fill as if Life is not going to get better.
Speaker 1:
It is up to you to make a decision today that you are going to take back the power in your life, and what are the first three steps that you need to take to regain the power? Is there someone that you need to part ways with? Is there a decision that you know you need to make that you've been putting off? Is there someone who has encouraged you to do something differently? And they've been trying to coach you and they're getting frustrated because they're giving you good advice but you're just not doing the work.
Speaker 1:
Remember how we talk about doing the work in this podcast when, over depression, we talk about how you have to be Ready and willing to do the work, whatever it looks like in your life. You have to want to take charge of your life. We talked about how, when people change, they change due to inspiration or desperation. So how inspired are you to get your power back or how desperate are you to get your power back? Either way, the first step begins with you. So in the next five days, I want you to take the first step to getting your power back. You can do it.
Speaker 1:
It may be difficult, it will be difficult, but as you continue to make different decisions, the people around you will notice that you are Making some progress and some change in their life and they're either going to encourage you to continue or they're going to discourage you because they feel like, if you start Getting to places that you want to get to and start achieving the goals that you set, that you are going to leave them behind. It is very true that the people that you hang out with have an Influence and power over your life. If you hang out with people who aren't going anywhere, they don't have any ambition, they don't really have a drive to do anything, then they are going to influence you to Stay on the couch with them. So if you are ready to take back your life, regain your power and move forward, you may have to change the circle of friends and acquaintances that you hang out with. So your homework in the next seven days Write down three things that you are going to do to take your power back. It's up to you. It's just one decision. You don't have to have all of the answers right now. Just take the first step and be confident in your ability to be successful. Be confident in your ability to make a change and be confident in your ability To see that your life can, in fact, get better.
Speaker 1:
I never want to end my podcast without thanking you so very much for listening. I am so excited that we are almost at our 100th episode, and boy is that super exciting, remember? You can reach me at TT mental health expert on Pinterest. You can also find me on Instagram, twitter and LinkedIn at Tamera Trotter. That's TAM ERA. Last name Trotter, tro, tt er.
Speaker 1:
Again, would you like and subscribe to this podcast? You can also join us on Facebook at the Facebook group when over depression. You can also follow us on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel, also called when over depression. Would you consider buying us some coffee? If you go to my website when over depression dot org, in the upper right hand corner you can click on the support button, and your smallest donation will help us immensely. You can also become a patron at patreoncom. That's wwwpatreon P-a-t-r-e-o-n. Com. You can become a patron and as little as five to twenty dollars per month will help us to Spread this message even further. You can also give a one-time donation on Patreon comm. This concludes our episode for this week and we will see you next time. Remember, giving up is never an option. We must stay in the game of life. Take care, my friends and I will see you next week.