You have a number of things clear in your mind that you wish to attract into your life. You’ve heard people talk about manifesting, so you want to create your perfect life with your ideal house, car, romance, and bank balance.
However, there is one slight issue. You suffer from depression.
You may have heard a common myth that is often shared by people who use the Law of Attraction: you cannot manifest when you have depression.
Well, I want to totally dispute that myth! It’s not true!
These people talk about the Law of Attraction like it’s a private club that you can only join if you’re already vibrating on a positive, high frequency. It’s a form of spiritual gaslighting that you should not pay any attention to.
And you can guarantee that the people who say it have never been through clinical depression so have no awareness of dealing with a chemical imbalance in the brain.
But the truth of the matter is that you can attract everything you want, despite suffering from depression. I did it myself, so let me explain how.
When I was in my early 20’s, I developed severe anxiety. And, as is the case with lots of people, this led to depression. It was so acute that I felt confined to my house. I didn’t have any friends, and there was no way I could go out to work – I couldn’t even go to the store.
At the time, I lived with my parents, and I could tell that they had almost given up on me.
The desperation was immense. It felt like my life was on a downward spiral, and there was never going to be a way to stop it or climb back up. I had lost all hope and felt trapped.
I could never imagine feeling happy again, and I could not see a solution.
Fortunately, something happened where I was introduced to the Law of Attraction.
This might be your turning point. Maybe the fact that you have come across my words today means that this is also your time to change.
The Law of Attraction taught me many things. It wasn’t just about manifesting things into my life; it actually helped me retrain my brain to overcome my depression. It taught me to understand and change what was going on for me at a subconscious level that kept me trapped in a depressive state.
So, I’m not just trying to cheer you up by saying that you can manifest things into your life if you have depression: I’m living proof that it can be done!
I survived a paralyzing depression. There were times when I honestly did not think I would live to tell the tale, and at times, I didn’t even care. But I did, and I want to share a bit more with you about what I learned from that experience.
Debunking the “high vibration” myth.
One of the first things that I noticed as I started to learn more about the Law of Attraction was the concept that you need to be vibrating on a high energy level to manifest things into your life.
The theory is that if your energy is on a low vibrational frequency, the emotions you put out into the world are depression, anxiety, and need.
The Law of Attraction states that you get back what you put out into the Universe. So if you emit negative energy, you attract into your reality situations and things that will generate more negativity.
However, if you vibrate with a high frequency, you will give off positive emotions such as love, happiness, and gratitude. This means that you will manifest things that bring you more joy, happiness, etc. Like attracts like.
The bottom line of this concept is that you have to be feeling super happy and content with your life in the first place to manifest anything positive.
As you can imagine, this was quite demoralizing for me at that time in my life. Even when I had previously had good days, I’d never been someone who was full of such positive emotions.
It did make some sense, but I couldn’t help but feel that the Law of Attraction had to be a bit more complicated than that. The idea of ‘high vibration’ versus ‘low vibration’ seemed a bit black and white to me.
What about the shades of gray? We’re all unique, aren’t we? My ‘high vibration’ might be totally different from yours.
Who decides what classes as high and low?
We’re not as simple as lab rats, where you can put us in a cage and expect identical results if you put us through the same tests. We’re much more complicated than that, and our lives, experiences, thoughts, and feelings are not the same.
Plus, the process of manifestation is even more individual because it comes from such a personal, private, internal place.
The way our emotions fluctuate is unique, so the key to successfully manifesting when you have depression is first to measure your baseline.
Think of a scale from 1 to 10. 1 equals the most depressed you have ever felt, and 10 is the happiest.
On average, what score would you currently give as your happiness rating?
If you say 3, for example, that is your baseline figure.
So on a day when you feel like a 4 or 5, that would class as a higher frequency vibration for you!
It doesn’t have to be up at 8 or 9. Whatever you score is right for you, and it’s all relative.
Many people simply don’t understand what it means to have a chemical imbalance and suffer from depression.
But you don’t need to compare yourself to other people. You are your own measure of good days and bad days. Even if you feel unable to achieve the same stability that other people seem to have, you can recognize your own fluctuations.
For example, if it’s a horrible battle to get out of bed most mornings, but one day you’re able to get up, take a shower and make your bed without too much effort, that’s definitely a good day!
You’re vibrating on a much higher level that day – and it’s important to recognize that because it’s those days that are the best ones for doing your manifestations.
Stating your desires.
When you’ve established and are aware of your emotional baseline, you’re in a much better place to recognize the best time to state the things you wish to manifest.
The optimum time is when you are experiencing a higher vibrational frequency than your baseline.
The higher, the better, but remember that it’s totally ok if your ‘high vibe’ isn’t quite as high as the next person.
We have to play the game with the hand we’ve been dealt.
There are several ways you can state your desires to the Universe when you feel above your baseline. As like attracts like, it’s important to use positive wording (affirmations) and form your wish as if you already have it. You need to be specific about what you wish to manifest in your life and layout your desires from a position of positivity rather than lack.
For example, “Money comes easily to me,” or “I have a job that I love. Every day that I work, I feel challenged and satisfied”.
You can write out your manifestation desires in a journal, you can say them out loud, you can record them as voice notes, or you can repeat them in your own head.
I do have to say that it’s not the best idea to try and manifest your goals when you’re feeling at your baseline or lower. It’s a bit of a futile exercise and will probably only make you feel worse when it doesn’t work!
Don’t put any additional stress on yourself, and just wait until you’re feeling over your baseline. It’s not worth forcing it, especially if you’re having a bad time anyway.
Give yourself some space and time, and do it when you’re in the best mindset for it to work. It’s worth the wait!
What’s the best thing to do when feeling low?
Let’s go back to looking at emotional baselines. If you have clinical depression, there are probably many times when you experience really low mood.
You’re suffering from a chemical imbalance in the brain and with it comes extremely negative feelings, including desperation, stress, anxiety, grief, and hopelessness.
It’s hard enough to do simple, everyday things when you’re feeling at your lowest, never mind thinking about creating vision boards or writing manifestation affirmations. You would only be wasting your time and precious energy if you did it in a low spell anyway.
Alternatively, when your rating drops below your baseline, don’t beat yourself up or pressure yourself to get through it quicker. Just let your body tell you what it needs and go with it.
If that means staying in bed, then stay in bed. If you need to binge on Netflix all day with the biggest tub of ice cream you can find, then let yourself do it.
Your body, mind, and energies need time to regenerate a little and rise back up to baseline.
If you are experiencing an intense depressive episode now, the most important thing to manifest and focus on right now is to look after yourself.
Don’t force anything. There’s no rush. Take things slowly and, bit by bit, when you feel up to it, encourage yourself to do things that will lift your vibration frequency. This could be taking a shower, making breakfast, having a coffee with a friend, or going for a walk.
These small yet significant acts are signs that you are coming out of your depressive episode and that your vibration is lifting, slowly but surely. Take it steady and let things happen at their own pace.
What happens if my mood drops?
Another common myth that you might come across is that, even if you declare your manifestation desire when you have a high frequency, if your mood changes and your vibration drops afterward, the Law of Attraction won’t work.
This is such an alarming idea that puts far too much pressure on people!
After all, we’re only human, and we all have good and bad days! It’s impossible to be firing on all cylinders and incredibly happy and positive 24/7. If we were never to experience dissatisfaction with at least some areas of our life, we wouldn’t ever be motivated to change them for the better.
When you have stated your desire to the Universe and started the manifestation process, your depression will not cancel this out. It might mean that the manifestation takes a little longer as it slows down a bit, but it never totally stops.
So please ignore this idea and don’t worry that it’s never going to happen because you’re not feeling as positive as you were when you stated your desires to the Universe. It’s not true and is a limiting belief that will only put you under more pressure.
Leave the big job to the Universe and simply concentrate on getting through each day. Process and pass through each emotion as you need to, allowing yourself however much time you need.
Manifestation tips for when you have depression
There are loads of manifestation techniques that you can use. As I mentioned before, you can write positive affirmations, which you can say out loud or record, make a vision board, do guided meditation, etc. To name but a few. I’m sure you’re already familiar with at least some of these, if not more.
But I want to end this article with several tips that are particularly aimed at people who want to manifest but have depression. You can use these points in conjunction with any of the other techniques you choose, and it won’t be long before you find it much easier to manifest everything you want.
1.) Accept your unhappiness.
In reality, rather than being a negative thing, feeling dissatisfied can be a fantastic catalyst to manifesting something new in your life.
As I said before, if we’re never unhappy, how can we ever know that we need to change something and strive for something better?
Just ignore the blogs and articles where the “experts” try to persuade you that low mood will leave the manifestation process ineffective. It’s totally untrue!
It’s a completely natural human emotion that we all experience at different times and to different extents. When we harness it properly and use it to guide us, unhappiness can be a constructive feeling.
The first thing to do is to look at why you feel unhappy. This needs to be done at quite a deep level, so do it when you’re feeling up to it. You can start to write a journal and do some introspection to access your shadow side. Initially, you might not be aware of what makes you unhappy, but by raising your self-awareness, this will become clearer.
What needs to change in your life to help you feel happier? When you know the answer to this question, this is your starting point for writing your affirmations and statements of what you desire from the Universe.
2.) Start small
If manifesting large changes in your life seems difficult at the moment due to your depression, then start small and simple and later build yourself up.
For example, you could start with manifesting a parking space somewhere where you know it’s usually difficult to park, or a drink with a friend.
Once you notice that you’ve been able to manifest these things, you will become more confident in your ability to create things, so you can set your sights higher. When you manifest something, even a free coffee, the positivity you feel will begin to raise your vibration and make it easier to manifest larger things with more success.
It gathers momentum, and rather than walking slowly, you will soon feel that you are jogging, then running, and then sprinting towards your manifestation destiny!
3.) Cherish the little things
You’re probably already perfectly aware that feeling thankful for things is a great way to lift your vibrational frequency and give a boost to your manifestation power. But I know from experience that it’s a lot easier said than done when you are clinically depressed.
It sometimes feels impossible to generate a sense of gratitude when you’re in a low mood, so here’s the best piece of advice I can give you.
Don’t try to feel grateful on a huge scale. Instead, focus on the little things and appreciate them.
For example, when you’re having a bad day and want to stay in bed, feel thankful for your pillow and comfortable bed. If it’s a Netflix and ice cream kind of day, appreciate Netflix, your internet connection, and your favorite flavor. You can just concentrate on the here and now and the little things that make the moment more bearable.
You might even want to feel gratitude for your depression.
I know that may sound a bit strange, but your experience of depression is teaching you many things that other people will never discover about themselves and life.
Of course, clinical depression is a demanding and complex illness. There’s no denying that. But you are in control of how you handle it and look at it.
If you alter your perspective, you may discover that you were given this challenge because you were strong enough to overcome it and grow from it.
Byron Katie said, “Everything happens for you, not to you.” We might not like our lives all the time, but we can choose how we react to what happens in them and learn from the obstacles we are faced with.
The most important thing for all of us is just to keep moving forwards. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. It doesn’t matter about the speed; it’s all still part of the journey towards feeling better.
Accept yourself and your feelings every step of the way. Never consider that you have a disadvantage because you also have the power to manifest what you want into your reality.
Depression cannot take that power away from you!
As Buddha said:
“Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”
