After thirteen years, I was planning this month to return to Iran and show my daughters the beautiful land that defines so much of who I am for the very first time.
I had obtained their visa’s. We had purchased our tickets (which Pegasus Airlines refuses to reimburse us for) and had invited some of our friends and organized the perfect itinerary.
But then Mahsa Amini was murdered, followed by other Innocent Iranians children and teenagers. The revolution brought back so much experienced trauma from a past I (thought) I had safely tucked away.
Overwhelmed with grief, I now burst into tears in unusual times of the day. I don’t have the energy to tuck my girls to bed or read them a story at night. Getting out of bed in the morning feels impossible and if it was not for my small dog coming to the side of my bed, licking my hands, and barking unhappily until I finally get up, it would not be happening at all. When I do make it out to the world, my face must look horrifying, since everyone keeps asking me if I am Ok, that I look so tired. I don’t answer, simply because can’t remember what feeling Ok is like anymore.
Other Iranians seem to be going through similar reactions. But depression is not just impacting us. In general, it affects over 300 million people worldwide, regardless of culture, age, gender, religion, race or economic status.
In the past, when I experienced post-traumatic stress, I tried medication and therapy. Coming from a recent trip to Ecuador, where I had the privilege to meet some very serene people of Inca heritage, I want to try implementing some of their wisdom and give their approach a try, Increasingly, we live in cultures that push individualism when it takes a community and connection to others to heal. That is why I want to ask your help in making myself remain accountable and basically stick to the plan, sort of like all those online weight loss plans, I want to come up with my ‘30 day undepress’ challenge, and invite you to join me to try it, regardless of why you are feeling blue this winter.
The Plan:
1. Meditate 5 Minutes Per day (You can use Aromatherapy as part of this time)
2. Exercise
3. Intake food or drinks that have Antidepressant effects
4. Replace Bad Thoughts with Good ones
5. Express Gratefulness
6. Make a Meaningful connection with someone
7. Journal about the experience
8. Rate how you feel
This is how we can collectively do this:
Add a new sheet to the The Undepress Plan spread sheet and add in your own data on your sheet. (Feel free to use a fake name if you prefer), and this way we can help and support each other for the next 30 days, and compare notes as we go along, and track the impact of the plan.