How often do those of us with bipolar pat ourselves on the back or give ourselves praise? For me, this can be especially difficult when staring depression in the face.
But I recently stumbled upon a nice thought pattern that gave me a little pick me up. I started listing things in my head that I was proud of myself for that day. I was proud of myself for sticking to my high protein diet when all I wanted to do was make some damn pasta. I was proud of myself for asking a potential employer for more money. I was proud that I went to the gym even though I wasn’t really feeling it.
As I started my mental list I found that more and more things came to me. It felt quite nice and gave me an instant boost of self worth and confidence. Rock it out, me.
I think I’ll try and do this every day. Depression or not, I think we all deserve to tell ourselves how awesome we are for doing even the simplest of things.
kept the flowers 
“Rock it out, me.” Love it!!!
My therapist recommended that every day when I do my mood chart, I just list out three things that I feel good about for the day. They can be simple, short, and easy. Went to gym. Good talk with daughter. Peaceful time reading with the wife. Stuff like that. It really helps.
Unfortunately, I don’t do it consistently, and can see a real backlash towards depression when I let it slip for a few days.
Great reminder!
[…] like my idea of listing the things I’m proud of myself for each day, I thought it might also be good to remind myself what I’m grateful for. It can be so easy, […]