A Nonconformist Approach for Dealing with Depression
Depression is a serious medical condition that kills a person from the inside out. If there is anything that could increase the intensity of the depression, it is following a pre-conceived notion of life and norms that regulates our day to day activities. A person following the social dictum of others and society, once in depression, is a sure shot disaster in waiting. Conformity is a sign of slave mentality. It pacifies our brain. It will tell our inner self that everything is gonna be fine, which is not. You need deliberate and concerted effort, often very painful, to get out from the iron grip of depression. Nonconformity as a lifestyle could be one of the several tools, that could be employed, to battle depression
A conformist follows the rules and regulation. In an extreme form, it evolves into something of a military discipline, which is eventually detrimental to the person himself. Conformity is actually a weakness, regardless of depression. A conformist is a happy go-lucky person who flows with the system and processes. He is a yes-person, over eager to please. He often carries no value. In an organization, a conformist, will never grow. He will not show the audacity to lead. He gets bogged down to keep everybody happy. A part of this has to be attributed to the pampered upbringing, without having to face any significant issues in real life. A person grows through challenges and failures. Successful data points are redundant. It doesn’t challenge your assumptions. It will not make you strong. To grow, you need failures, and lessons learned from it. You need to meet people with different perspectives and understanding about various contemporary issues.
A nonconformist is a rebel. A rebel who despises the so-called traditions. A conformist believes that walking through the left side of a road is a sin. A nonconformist abhors such notions. He willfully doesn’t care for others’ opinions. A nonconformist is likely to be an atheist as well as an introvert. For such a person, a lot of common customs and rules may seem boring. He believes in his own version of slightly alternate reality. He plans his goals according to such a rebellious view of life. Steve Jobs believed in a non conformation ideology. He even did drugs to know the mystic experience. A nonconformist generally goes to any extent to fulfill their goal. Their threshold of attainment of happiness is set very high. They don’t get pleasure in very small achievements. If the mental energy of a nonconformist is directed at a lofty goal, they tend to excel tremendously. It is their unreasonable vision and approach that makes society take giant leaps.
If you are battling depression, be a nonconformist, but within the purview of the law. Do indulge in unconventional activities that lift you. Give up on others expectations. Figure out your own alternate reality. Live in it. Take challenges, even if you can’t finish it. Getting involved intensively in something outrageous, is an art. Practice it. It is the unconventional stuff that fires your imagination. If you are a literary person, consider a task like writing a novel. It is a daunting prospect. Get a head start. Develop a story thread. As you begin putting your words, character development would be rapid, and new sparks for different story lines appear. The holes in your story get visibly pronounced. You start working to fill the gap. You put effort into this unconventional activity. At the worst you failed to write a convincing story. But you learned one or two things about writing in general.
A nonconformist lifestyle has many quirks associated with it, but marshaled correctly, it could be a vital tool in dealing with the depression. It could provide you with new perspectives and courage, to paddle out of depression.
