Why Are You Isolating Yourself? Depression vs. Personal Growth
What’s The Difference?
The difference lies in the focus. When you’re in a depressed state, everything is blue, life feels jaded and everyday is a cloudy day. When was the last time you felt happiness with your day to day life? The funny thing is you might not even recognize you’re in that state until you feel joy again and realize it’s been a while since you’ve had it.
On the other hand, isolating yourself for personal growth may seem from the outside that you’re depressed—less socializing and more sleep—however, the intention is different. This is a personal choice to have peace and quiet, to get away from the noise, to get away from senseless chatter and to really focus and reflect on the changes you’re making. It’s not sadness or lack of care in life like depression. It’s because you’re tired of living the same way and you’re doing internal investigation to make lasting change.
How to Get Through Depression
If you’re not experiencing depression but are focusing on growth, skip to the next section. If you are depressed, then notice that I said “get through” this stage, not to “get out.” The best advice I received from a mentor was that life is a flow of ups and downs. As in there’s highs in life for a season, but then on the other side are downs for a season. Summer, winter, spring, and autumn are all a natural part of life. Even the economy goes through depression. Why would we be the only outlier…
Now, there are ways to still be productive in getting through this down season. Here’s some steps to take to guide you through this season of life:
Stop fighting it: accept your emotions and face them. That might mean getting professional help, or it may be meditating and journaling and healing yourself. Going out excessively to run away from your internal world only delays the healing you’re seeking.
Feel without judgement: allow yourself to experience sadness, cry without feeling guilt to stop, sometimes you need to purge all the emotions you’ve buried so far down beneath the surface. The key is to not get stuck here. No matter what, it’s essential to move on to the next step.
Reflect: understand why and how you got to this point. Even before you seek a professional, you should at least have a starting point in knowing the deeper reasons why you’re depressed.
Release and let go: meditate, journal or seek a professional therapist or counselor if necessary. Find a way to process your emotions in a healthy and productive way.
Let time heal you: healing takes time; be patient and kind with yourself. Everyone’s process is unique so don’t put a definitive time on how long you think it's supposed to take.
How to Reach Your Breakthrough
For those focused on personal growth, this quiet periods allows for detachments from the past and the creation of space for new beginnings. Listen to the voice that wants you to make changes in your life, which happens easily when you let go of the old life you’re chasing back. As you’re going through this quiet period in your life, old seasons of happiness and living your best life—which may be what you see as thriving in your mind—might creep up in your mind. Cherish it, but don’t chase it. This season of silence is a detachment from every old thing that no longer serves you. This is the time to breathe and focus on all the new things that are to come.
This is you creating the space to have more. The silence is there for you to reflect on what you used to tolerate and what you aren’t anymore, to organize your life and to know how to enforce your boundaries. So when your breakthrough comes, you now have wisdom in who is who in your life and where to place them.
Have patience and keep making the changes you need. Listen to that still voice you hear only in silence; and have discipline when all motivation is gone. Breakthroughs aren’t given, they’re earned to by the relentless.
Devotional: God is Preparing You in Your Silent Season to Depend on Him
Conclusion
So, why are you isolating yourself?
That is the question only you can answer. Tune in with your inner world and discover your inner voice to find the truth in your answer and not what others project on you.
Learn to have grace with your progress in healing from depression, and have patience when you discover a new version of yourself. Isolation due to personal growth is an incubation process. The beginning stages are like a baby in a mothers womb, growing quietly before seeing a new world. This is the stage of the caterpillar in a cocoon during it’s metamorphosis. Stay patient and don’t come out of it prematurely.
An underdeveloped quiet season will lead to mistakes in your future of blessings that were supposed to be preventable.
Ready for real transformation through coaching from someone who’s lived through PTSD and has now overcome?
About the Author:
COACH DEE | Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach, CSCS, ACE—CPT
Deborah Park, known as Coach Dee, is the owner of Drip Training LLC and an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach. With a background in architecture and kinesiology from the University of Virginia, she has extensive experience in personal training and athletic coaching in a clinical (physical therapy) setting. Coach Dee combines her scientific knowledge with years of hands-on experience and generational knowledge of food as medicine to create programs that empower clients to regain control over their bodies and minds.
Her journey into personal training was deeply influenced by her personal struggles, including recovering from a life-changing car accident that led to PTSD and pain from scoliosis. This experience gave her a unique understanding of the connection between mental health and physical well-being. Coach Dee is committed to helping clients develop resilience, build strength, and rediscover their confidence—no matter the challenges they face.
