Advice For When You're Feeling Depressed | Q&A With Mister Brown
Feeling depressed? Learn more about Mister Brown and The Choose Well Program and get his perspective on depression. Check out this podcast episode where Stephanie Feagin interviews, Mister Brown.
Where Is Mister Brown From?
[1:30] I am originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I also lived in Missouri for quite some time. I do like the Bucks, but I do not like the cold or snow. Snow is great to play in for a while, but I do not like driving in it.
How Did The Choose Well Program Begin?
[2:48] Years ago, I started teaching abstinence education in schools. I really enjoyed it because I was able to help Junior High and High School students make better choices about sex. I appreciated the opportunity to be open and honest with youth about the potential consequences of their choices in life.
The truth is, students already know about sex and other things from social media and their peers. Caring adults need to make space for open conversations. Students have questions and they will get answers wherever they find them, even if the answers aren’t good ones.
Through this experience I realized that students need help with more than sex education. Students don’t always realize it, but they want to make better choices. The Choose Well Program was born from me wanting to speak to students about all kinds of topics that are important to their lives.
Advice For When You're Feeling Depressed
[4:06] Yes, I get discouraged. I’m a normal human being with problems and stress. In fact, I remember a specific instance of feeling depressed years ago. At the time, I was living alone in my “no bedroom” apartment (a.k.a studio apartment).
One Saturday afternoon, I realized that I had not spoken to single person all day. This was before cell phones, so I didn’t even have any text messages. I started to feel really down and depressed. I talked myself into going to the local community center on my day off. I played basketball with kids and hung out. I chose to spend some time investing in others instead of centering on myself. Giving to others helped me get out of the depression that was coming on.
I often tell students to look for the good. I have to remind myself of this too. It’s easy to get mired down with all that is wrong in our world. Comparing ourselves to others and feeling bad about what we don’t have can also get us down. We need to stop and take time to be grateful for what we have and say to ourselves, “I can only be me.”
Being a single parent, Stephanie had times of loneliness as well. When her only daughter left for college, she found herself alone a lot. As a teacher, Stephanie found her calling to impact kids’ lives. Being able to focus on her students instead of feeling bad, helps turn something negative into a positive for Stephanie.
Every day is a gift. Though things won’t always go as planned, looking for the good and giving to others around us can bring us back from the brink of depression and self-doubt.
I would love to know what you do to get out of a funk. Have you tried looking for the good or do you have some other tips that you can share? Let me know.
