>>whenever I try to keep my chin up and start to feel like things are getting better, something comes along to knock me back down

Natural law. If not for this 'law of nature', EVERYONE would have unlimited success, immeasurable wealth and power, etc, blah, blah, blah. Without the negative, there would be no positive. Life would not exist ... there would be too much 'competition' to say the least.

The universe is not picking on you. You are captivated by the negatives of life ... convinced nothing good happens. This is what needs to change ... eliminating negative is impossible. How you react to it is changeable.

>>it still seems easier than exerting the effort to turn the frown upside down.

Resignation IS easier than exertion. In this case, exertion puts you in a better place .... so it is worth it.

Love yourself ... love life.

being negative can be addicting just like anything else it also can be learned behaviour .............the only thing that realy workd aganst negative .....is positive .......the dark can't live in the light ........it is like when you are in a dark room ...and you turn on the light the dark ..is gone ...this holds true for ....dark energies ...as well ..........we all have a well of light energies or more often caled ...just a light ..in us ......it is all positive energie ...............we can learn to call on this light to puch the dark back ........start small ...it has probualy took you a life time to get to ware you are ...and you have had a lot of negativity in your life and negative people in your life .....one thing you can start with is limiting ....the negative energies that are around you ...like negative people or people who force a negitive ..reaction out of you all the time ........even if it is family ...............limit the amount of time you let them spend around with you ....than there are athers you can cut off all together ............you can love the parts of them that you can love and than you need to axcept them for who they are ...and relize you are not going to be able to change them .....so you need to take your self out of as much of that negative energy as posible ........than you can start working on your self ...............the way to start that it to let good ....energies in ....first you have to be looking for these good energies or you can easey miss them .....because you are not a custom to seeing them ............so ..first step ...ware ever you are ....pay atention to what is around you ....find the good that you can find .....and take a few minits to take that good in ...feel it ....and pratice this ware ever you go ......what I do ..because .i live in ..a small comunicaty .....realy Dowen one streat dowen around the lake ......I will go for a walk ..and I will see ..wild flowers and even weaks ..because some of them have beautifull flowers on them ...so I stop I look at them ..I look at the diferant shades of the same colours in the flowers ...I look at the shapes .....eventually I am thinking ....there has to be a god ....to make somthing so perfict .........so good ......so beautifull ......and it will bring good into my heart and ..it will feel like good energy ...and I just let it do its job ...........so I don't know ware you live .....or what ..is around you ....if you are in the city it could be the arkitectur ...or somthing ..you see in a store .....or when you look up at the sky ..or see the stars .......no mater what it is ........it could be a child ........it can be anything .......that holds a positive energy .............so you just ..get up in the morning with the intention of looking for the .......good ....and when you find somthing that gives you that ....touch of that might be good ....take a few minits to study it ..not ..judge it ...just .....look at it ....and let its positive energy ...in .........the more you pratice this the better you will get at finding the good ............at first you might not see to much good ....but pratice it ...and the more good you find and let in the more good you will be opened to ...........because the negative energy can not live in the dark ................I hope I have explained ..this well enough ...if you have questions ...........just mesage me .......I went through this ........it works ........take care ..God bless

WV, I understand that we can't all have great things happening all the time, that's impossible. What I'm saying is that im actually scared when things look up because it just means something bad is around the corner. I guess that could just be me setting myself up, too. But when you're really low for a very long time and you start to come up even a little, getting kicked back down, sometimes even lower, it's hard to handle.

Muskrattiger, your suggestion seems so simple. Theoretically, I could put this into practice. However, knowing how I've been when I've tried it before, I have so much on my mind all the time that I'm trying to sort through that I hardly ever think about my surroundings. And right now, as I look around me, I see a big mess that I don't have the energy to clean up.

I'm so damn stubborn, I can't even stop myself from seeing negative even when I try to be positive.

I understand mor than you think I do ..........that is why you need to start living one day at a time ....deal with ..what is befor you on that day ....make a goal .....right them dowen ..and strik them off ..if you get one done but if you don't ..that is ok ....because tomorow is a nother day ....you must be kind to your self ......you muct look after your self ...if you do not look after your self you are no good for anyone else ...and will only see negative ...............these ...exercises I talk about to get some positive energies into you ...don't have to be long ...a few seconds ....under a minit when you start .........but they are ecential ...to push the negative energy back ....to at least open them up wide enough so you can see the possibility for somthing positive in your life ........if you don't look for the positive ..in your life you in your shap can easily miss it ...and that isent good for you ........I had to go through this ...getting the positive energies into me .....I was house bound ....I had to have the curtains shut and couldent even answer the door if my h wasent home ....he answered the door ......but I had to get my self out of the house ....and that is how I did it ..living one day at a time ....and looking for the good the positive ....to push back the negative ....it doesent happen over night you dident get to get to ware you are over night ........but it works ..I am no longer house bound .....I also understand only to well ...of being dowen so long ..that when I am up a little ..the fire of somthing just around the corner that is going to drop me back dowen ..even father than I was ....because that is ware I am now .............but I can't aford to think like that .....and neather can you ...you have to build the positive energies in you .....it is worth a try if nothing else .......I am on all the medacation they can give me ...but they can't get me up high enough .to get out of depreshion and this is as good as it is going to get for me ..........two years ago .........I got a phone call ............if you want to here more about it just mesage me .....but after that call it was like I just walked off a cliff ...and I fell hard ...and far ....my h had to take me to the doctors ..and my doctor called a head to the ..phic hospatill ...and I saw a phicatrist right away and they upped my pills ..and had to two weaks give me sleeping pills ...because I had not slept at all ....just crying ...so uped my pills more ......what had happened is i brok ......that was the third time I had broken ...............now I am back to ware I was befor ..but just a little ...bit ..I think having a harder ..time ...I seam to be stuck .........now I am very worried ......about .....what is going to happen to me if I break again ..and I feel like it could come from any ware at any time ......so it is like I am always looking for that and that is a negative .....I need to stop that ....and that is what I am working on now .......getting rid of this negative energy ......and looking for the positive energy .....the darl at rackets the dark the light atracts the light ......so you can't sit in the dark ...you need to turn on that light .........see what is realy there .......................right now ..I can go to my children's ..ont to often ..but ...I can have fun love them .........when I am home if my h is home ........I am ..still stuck it is hard for me to get things done ...but I can go out with him .....I bought my self this beautifull vase for the living room .....with Browne sticks ...and browen stemed diferant coloured roses .....it is taller than my h ....it was not all that expencive .......but it is beautifull ...I look at it and ..it is beautifull pleasing to the eye ...it has brough some ..good energy into my house ....so I can look at it and bring some good energie into me .........because I need to get unstuck ........and getting enough good energie is the only thing that is going to do that ....and looking after my self ...take my meds .........it is very hard to see anything positive ...when you are depresed .....but to heal you have to open your self to the positive to heal .....I don't think people think of it in those turmes .......as positive and negative ..energies .....they just think they just get better or they don't .....but that is the mechanism that it at work at the most bascic leavel ...of depreshion ......and you don't want to keep going dowen .....belive me you want to do everything you posibly can not to go there .........I ended up in hospital once because I just stoped ....i stoped talking ...I wouldent look at anyone ..I dident ...interact with my surroundings .....they had to give me ECT to get me back ...I was going dowen to far to fast ......I don't ever want to go there again ...........................................bring in this good energies doesent mean you are going to be putting on a smileey face .while you are praticing this ......lol .........that will come eventually ..... once the energies have balanced out ...I don't go around with a smill on my face ..all the time .....but I do have very good times ........but I can also have very bad times ...when my h goes hunting or traping and he is gone over night I get so bad that I have to go and spend that time at one of my children's and so long as I do that I am ok .......so I am depresed but I am able to have very good times ........I have a life .....but I do find it takes a few minits ..sometimes 20 minits ..I need to .look for the good ...take in the good energies ..when I go to stay at ..my children's ..and even to visit ..but once I have done that and goten I touch ..my good energies ..I am good to go .........I am here for you ......how ever you chouice to .help your self ...just take care of your self ....one more thing meditation is also a very good toul ..to use ...God bless .........

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM ABOUT BEING NEGATIVE ABOUT MY MED PROBLEM.
I M TRYING WITH THE LORDS HELP 2 KEEP POSITITIVE, BUT BEING ANXIOUS IS NOT HELPING ME.
LACK OF POSITIVE OPTIONS ISNT HELPING ME.....................
ANXIETY=NEGATIVISM
GBU
D
;-0

I have a gratitude check every morning. It seems to lift my spirits and helps throughout the day.

If you need to have a gratitude check every hour on the hour..

I don't believe in the "fake it until you make it" philosophy because I don't think that is helping anyone deal with why we have negative thoughts. I often think that our negative thinking comes from not dealing with issues or acknowledging what causes the negativity in the first place. I know that I was very negative around my mother and realized it was because I never forgave her for my childhood and even up to the time she lived with me. . Negativity only hurts us both emotionally and physically. I hope you are able to find the answers within yourself. If you need support with anything, please message me or anyone on DS that you feel safe with. Hugs GB

Thank you guys. I do need to just appreciate little things, I did notice yesterday that it was gorgeous outside (in Phoenix we need to enjoy that while we can, it quickly changes to "holy crap find me air conditioning!" at this time of year). I agree with the daily (or more often) gratitude check. I should put up reminders to to that every morning and when I feel I need it. For some reason, it means a whole lot more from all of you than a therapist, most likely because you have to be conscious of it daily. They're just giving advice. Hugs to everyone.

Get to work on something that yields a positive result. Thoughts are great, but nothing substitutes for action.

I get on my bicycle and take a ride, go to the gym and work out, work on a video editing project, go out and take pictures, listen to and/or mix music, read a book, watch a movie, place myself in a social environment where I might meet a new person.

Become nonjudgmental (including of self), and always be KIND to both yourself and others. The worst form of abuse is self abuse, so stop bad mouthing yourself because we all make mistakes, with some of us accepting them as a mere blip on the radar, so come join me, I mean us, no I mean me, it's not my place to speak for us, or is it?

Dwelling on the negative seems to be a big part of depression, in my opinion

I am so happy you are finding some help .here ......and very happy that you took that time how ever short to notice how nice it was .outside ...and let in some positive energy ....and the daily gratutied ...thing ..very good for the heart ......and mind ...also bringing in positive energy in .........I find also that ...hearing ..things from others in here that I know understand me .and what I go through ...realy does help .and even though I have a very good phicatrist ..and a wounderfull family ..I still need .to be here ..for the suport and understanding I can get no ware else but from people like all of you who truly understand ..............that has keept me going ...........and it makes me want to be suportive ...to ..you as well ..because I know the pain ...you go through ....and the strength it takes ..to live through it all ...............you are all good people .......take care ..God bless ....