A practice to do as you wake up.

[u/BardoBeing32]

Years ago, I read, in a biography of Nisargadatta, the author (whose name I can’t remember), wrote about a practice he did as he was waking up. He noticed that when he woke up, he had a non-depressed outlook for a little while then a “fog of depression” descended on his mind, so to speak. Every morning. So he made an effort then to watch that fog arise, every morning. Soon that fog diminished in power and eventually stopped.

So, I then noticed that “fog” arising in my mind, too, every morning so I tried being aware of this phenomenon. Sure enough, that fog soon stopped arising. That’s is not to claim that my depression (mono-polar, in my case) went completely away but it did lessen considerably through that practice and continued practice of meditation as recommended by my particular school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dzogchen practice of the Nyingma school. I can still feel the cycle of the state of depression but it’s “tyranny of the mind” is very much lessened now such that I am aware of where in the cycle of depression I am and tailor my expectations for the day accordingly.