It is supreme irony, if you devote sufficient thought to it. Before I decided to compose this thread, I took some measures to calm myself, to place my mind in the closest thing to serenity available to me right now in order to facilitate maximum coherency. I ensured that I was properly nourished, hydrated, and—to make my environment as calm-inducing as possible—activated a Windows Media playlist that I find soothing. The first song on that roster was Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight.”

The urban legend surrounding that song is that Collins watched another man stand by and allow a perfect stranger to drown. Because he was unable to swim himself, Collins could do nothing but spectate as the victim was submerged by a combination of his own flailing and the irresistible pull of gravity. I suppose it is only fitting then that, right now, I feel closer to that unfortunate man than I ever believed possible. The irony referenced to above is found in the fact that I, too, am drowning.

Struggles that you and I face on a day to day basis (financial woes, pursuit of education, etc, family dissonance) in combination with my own shortcomings and personal issues (my perpetual lack of confidence stemming from a notably low self-esteem, emotional vampires that I can’t seem to push out of my life, the “blues” that follow dashed hopes) are presently overwhelming. I’m being pulled under by the very same opponents that I successfully fought against in the past. Worse still is the fact that my ability to cope—my ability to analyze the situation and respond with appropriate strategy—is becoming compromised. My thought processes, I feel, are more sluggish, less sound than they once were. Victims of depression label that condition as “cognitive deficiency” which is a prominent symptom of their affliction. I don’t think I’ve reached that state just yet, but without assistance I fear that it is only a matter of time.

A great many people in my social sphere, when faced with situations such as this, turn to their faiths. I am not a religious man by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have my own spirituality to turn to as well as the practices associated with it. So, I’m asking you all…are there any magickal remedies to what I’m going through? Any sort of meditation to calm my mind in times of immense mental stress…anything to cease the cycle that leads to my debilitating mental effects…anything at all to bolster my confidence and sense of esteem so that I may help myself out of this situation in due time?