You know that life isn’t fair because you’ve been told that, and you’ve experienced it for yourself your entire life. Trying to deal with something that is not just unfair but even a complete injustice, can really play havoc with your happiness if you allow it.
- Be Compassionate to Yourself – The one person in the universe that can treat you with the utmost fairness and kindness is yourself. At the very least, make sure you are being compassionate to yourself because when it comes down to it, we are our own best friend.
- Focus on Now – Learning how to be more mindful about what is happening in your life right now is important. If the news about low wages, and your own low wages, are feeling particularly bad right now, focus on what you do have that is going right. Then find a way to fix the issue even if things aren’t fair yet, at least for yourself.
- Separate Facts from Emotion – While some types of injustice, such as systemic racism for example, are rage-inducing even when you look at them on a factual basis, sometimes the facts will help you cope. For example, when the media gets obsessed about something, it always seems worse than it really is. Check the facts; don’t trust your own experience.
- Learn to Breathe Right – Did you know that most people don’t even breathe correctly. To breathe right so that your oxygen levels are the way they should be and to reduce the anxiety, you should breathe into your diaphragm like a baby.
- Eat Right and Exercise – There isn’t much that can replace good nutrition for avoiding depression. While it isn’t always going to rid you of it entirely, it will help you avoid nutritional deficiencies that can lead to depression. Moving more will also help you feel better because it’s going to help you feel more alive and in tune with your body.
- Sleep Enough Each Night – The next most important item after food is to ensure that you are sleeping a full 7 to 9 hours every single night. When you sleep enough, you give your body and mind time to repair.
- Avoid Alcohol and Drugs – This is especially important when you are feeling down, angry, or depressed. Most drugs aren’t going to do anything but enhance the emotions, causing you to be even more depressed. Of course, if you need prescription medication, that is different.
- Avoid Depression Triggers – Most people have triggers that make them get worse when it comes to depression. If you know what yours are, just avoid them. That doesn’t mean that you’re putting your head in the sand. You can always help in another way if it’s interfering with you dealing with the injustice.
- Help Other People – Find a way to get outside of yourself and help others. If you are helping others, and that is what is causing your depression due to the injustices the people you’re helping are experiencing, you may want to try to take a break or take a different approach.
- See a Counselor – A large number of people can improve their lives by getting cognitive behavioral therapy. If you are struggling with injustice for yourself or others and are worried about depression, realize that sometimes depression is not situational; sometimes it’s chemical. Seeing a professional can help you identify which you’re dealing with so you can learn ways to deal with injustice without depression.
It’s one thing to work toward a better world, but it’s another to let it ruin your world right now. Focus on doing what you can as an individual, but also focus on the here and now so that you can live a satisfying life even though things aren’t fair yet. If you look at the world historically, you will know for sure that the world really is becoming a more inclusive and fairer world that puts justice first. It’s just happening slowly.
