How to Know You’re Not Depressed
It’s Easy to Be Confused About Who You Are
Here’s an illustration of how to know you’re not depressed even though you think you are. Assign any human view of your srl to the same way of asking and knowing you you truly are.
Role play with me:
If ask you, “Who are you?”
You might say, “I am Jane.”
I would reply, “Tell me more. Who are you?”
“I am a daughter, sister, wife, and friend,” you might say.
Again, I would ask, “Who else are you?”
“I’m a writer, Buddhist, and creative outlying misfit,” you might reply.
I would ask again, “Who else are you?”
You might say, “I am a human being. I do my best to love the world, but what I see makes me sad. I am often depressed.”
If I continue to ask you who you are, you might come up with a few more, “I amisms.”
But here’s the truth. You are not who you think you are until you know who you truly are.
Here’s how to know the real you:
What was the one constant in how you described youself?
“I am…”
What was everything else? The variables of your self-view.
But when you rise above your perceived self, and see the one thing that never changes, it is that I am part of you.
That’s the real you.
When people asked Buddha who he was, he said, “I am awake.” Buddha knew who he was and who he was not. But it took him lots of practice.
The same is so for everyone else. We must be willing to ask.
We are eternal souls jammed into God-given bodies with the only animal brains capable of becoming self-aware; true SELF.
So, if you think you are depressed, anxious, mad, rich, poor, or anything else, think again.
The I am is who you truly are. The same is true for everyone else. When you know who you are, you may feel depressed, but you won’t stay depressed for very long.
But most of us will never know this simple truth because we simply don’t take the time to be still and ask, “Who am I?”
All you need to do is keep asking and listen for the right response. That’s the best way to know who you are.
Thanks for reading my article. When not coaching and advising emerging entrepreneurs, business owners, and investors, I help people improve their "mental wealth" and quality of life by writing, speaking, coaching, and advocating for mental wealth and well-being. Learn more at www.CliffordJones.com, or subscribe to The Clarity Letter on Substack.
