I'm Still Human: Understanding Depression With Kindness (Expanded Edition - 2021)

‘normal’ (part and parcel of life). It’s more of how our mind reacts
to the sadness with aversion, “Oh my God, It’s back again!” “What’s
wrong with me?!” “Why can’t I just get over this?!” “Come on, move
on lah!” “I shouldn’t be like this!” “Shit, I should have tried harder!”
Such kind of self-critical thoughts can easily
suck us back into the depression ‘black hole.’
Mindfulness of thoughts involve mentally
stepping back and looking at the thoughts from a distance with
kindness – like watching birds and clouds passing through the sky.
In the process, one realizes that thoughts are just creations of the
mind which can be distorted. With that realization, we can respond
to situations wisely, instead of reacting impulsively, and end up
with full blown depression relapse.
This is the Chinese character for ‘Mindfulness,’
with sub-characters of ‘now,’ ‘heart/compassion’
and ‘home’ – all representing important values
for healing of depression.
For further information on MBCT, you may refer to the book,
“The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself From
Chronic Unhappiness,” by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel
165