Today I will get as real as I can get.  I’m human just like every one of you and I go through personal battles in my life.

Just because I’m talking to you about empowerment and how to be the best you can be does not mean that I am not a student of life and I don’t encounter obstacles.  I have similar experiences to yours but I will always choose to resist depression.

A few days ago I got a little test from life.

I’ll give you the background first.  To put it bluntly, I found out that I had HPV when I was in college.  I was devastated.  It was a time in my life where I thought the world was crashing down on me.

When I found out about it, everything seemed fine until about a year later.  I had an abnormal pap that led to biopsies that led to immediate surgery.  The HPV had quickly caused me to have cancer forming in my cervix.

It was a heavy load for me but I got through it and kept on going with my life.  When it happened, I was blessed to have already grown deeper in my spirituality.  For once, I didn’t totally fall apart and I put it behind me.

Fast forward to two weeks ago.  I went for my beloved pap smear (very sarcastically speaking).  I used to have to go every three months, unlike the norm, which is annually.  I have now been going every six months, which is soon to change.

I thought everything went well until I received a phone call from the gyno. “Hey Iviana,  I’m sorry to tell you but we have to schedule an appointment for you for this week.”

Me: “Oh man, why?”

Nurse: “I’m so sorry but your pap came back abnormal and we have to do a biopsy.  I’m sure you don’t want to go through this again but we have to.”

Very deep breath.

I scheduled the appointment and ended the call.

I’m not going to lie.  Immediately, my emotions kicked in and I started the common self-pity thinking, “Why do I have to go through this again?  I don’t want to deal with this for the rest of my life.”

The reality is, I will have to face it and I might as well look at it differently.

I have just a couple of options:

1.  Feel sorry for myself and break down every time this happens.

2.  Handle it and make some changes in my lifestyle.

Here’s what I told myself to resist depression and I will share with you.  It helps every time.

Happiness is a choice.  I will not let my circumstance dictate my life.  I have to keep moving.  My son needs me, my husband needs me, and most importantly, I need me.

I will not be afraid.  I will not be depressed.  I am healthy.  I am healed.

I repeated that to myself until I felt better.

Yeah, I’m still curious about what the outcome will be.  However, I’m not going to let my mind take over and get caught up feeling sorry for myself.

I have a lot to be thankful for.  I would rather focus on the good about my life than dwell on the bumps in the road.

Now think to yourself.  Is there anything you are struggling with right now?  How will you choose to change your perspective so that you can resist depression?

Think about your struggle and how you naturally want to feel.  Write down the opposite of every one of those negative emotions.  Once you have a nice list of about five statements, repeat them to yourself over and over.  It may seem silly at first until your mood starts to change.

I hope this helped you today.  If you liked this post, please pass it on to one of your friends or just share it on Facebook or Twitter.

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