By Nancy Virden (c)2025

Suspicions cloud my reason, a negative outlook affects my choices, complaints, and negative self-talk fill the space around me and between my two ears. Then there’s the anger. Lots of anger. These are a few of “my favorite things” when depression is nipping at my heels.

Rogers and Hammerstien’s My Favorite Things as sung in the musical, Sound of Music, didn’t have bipolar depression in mind when they wrote:

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad.

I’ve learned to recognize my symptoms and apply strategies to interrupt the downward spiral. Anyone else with a mental health challenge needs to be aware of their symptoms. These things are often manageable if caught soon enough.

1. Recognize your behavioral changes. If you find yourself atypically hiding out in your room or office for a few days, or if you are eating more or less than usual, if you are snapping at people, or experiencing sleep changes, pay attention. Ask, what is going on? Before other symptoms get out of hand, start practicing what you do when you are not depressed, using healthy coping mechanisms you know work for you.
2. Recognize your thought process changes. Are you more paranoid? Do you think people are sneaks and liars? Do you believe you are trapped in a situation out of your control? Are you thinking about escape or suicide? Interrupt those irrational thoughts with evidence to the contrary. Be with your family and talk to your therapist. Visit with other people who are not sharing your negative thinking.
3. Recognize your emotional changes. Anger, fear, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness, frustration, hopelessness, and other negative emotions may arise on the scene. Ask why you feel the way you do. If you cannot make sense of it alone, talk to someone who knows you well or a professional.

To recognize any of the above, we must first be aware of our “normal”. Pay attention to your values, motivations, and typical responses around people. Write down how you behave, think, and feel when you are healthy. As a generally optimistic person, it is fairly easy to recognize when I’m turning into a sourpuss. My sons and a housemate are great barometers.

As a follower of Christ, I talk to Him about how I feel, think, and behave. Usually, I notice negative thoughts first. Then I can go into my trusty and well-used stash of meaningful and healthy coping skills. If I am too far already into depression, neither these skills nor the Bible will lift me up much. Instead, I will feel condemned as a failure. That is my mindset, not the fault of the Word of God. This is an example of why we need to face our symptoms at their start before we fall too far into the pit of despair and irrationality.

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

Philippians 4:8

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

If you are feeling suicidal, or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S. call 988, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. For a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room. In the EU call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here ). Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. 

NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional, and speaks only from personal experience and observations. This website is not intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

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