Cyclical Emotional Slumps

It's said that the modern illnesses are not of the physical kind, but mental, emotional and I happen to agree with such notion, simply because we are without a doubt, slowly but surely creating a safer world to live in. I mean, there is no such thing as completely safe, but with the advances of modern medicine, organized societies and organizational systems, many of the challenges that were deadly to our ancestors are things we don't even consider challenges anymore in most modern nations.

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Maybe this is the reason why we are now tackling these different issues. I mean, not to discard the validity of mental health in the slightest, but if we had to worry about getting clean water from a well a couple of miles away from our home, people unfriending us on facebook, flagging us on steem etc, would be as insignificant as it gets.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the problems so to speak, are best observed under a very zoomed out perspective, if we really want to tackle it, and not fall into the cyclical slumps. The emotion pits that don't allow us to move forward, and that seem to follow a circular pattern.

An example could be someone who is depressed because of lack of face to face human interaction, who is actively avoiding human interaction because of the depression itself. This sounds paradoxical, but I have to admit I've found myself in similar scenarios before, recognizing the ridiculousness of my behavior and at the same time struggling to exit the pattern.

In the search of meaning, in the search of purpose, we often find ourselves encased in behavioral tunnels with little flexibility. Maybe because we are trying to play it safe, as if we truly desire the avoidance of struggle and conflict.

Today at least, I think I'm inching closer to understanding how my mind works, and how I need to escape my cyclical slumps. More often times than not, the trick is for me to get uncomfortable and try something I don't want to do, simply to nudge myself out of the routine that is partially or entirely to blame for my emotional state.

I'm sure I'm not alone, I'm sure my "solution" is not unique, but it's one of those lessons that even though I've tried to teach others, it's never received well. It seems like everyone just needs to find an exit on their own.