What is Depression? we all get fed up to varying degrees from time to time about some events in our lives but depression is much more intense than that. if you, or someone you know, are suffering from a number of the symptoms from the list below, then it is likely that it has become depression. Any negative- event in our lives has the potential to kick-start a downward spiral into depression if left unchecked or unresolved. Most of us, with support, will manage to work through things over time, but a loss in one area of our lives can cause us to be less motivated about other things until that too becomes a loss and lessens our resolve to keep going.
Each loss or withdrawal from any of the important areas in our lives will decrease the level of Serotonin in our systems and subsequently life becomes progressively harder. the chemical Serotonin produced by our brain is responsible for our mood factor and our level of motivation, and under normal circumstances if we are living a fairly satisfying lifestyle, this level is healthily maintained. a satisfying lifestyle doesn't necessarily mean having lots of fun but this could be doing anything that gives us a feeling of satisfaction, such as getting a sense of purpose through our jobs, being a parent, being in a loving relationship that is supportive, a fun or satisfying sport or pastime. if your lifestyle includes a level of exercise and a fairly healthy and balanced diet then it is very unlikely that depression will take hold, but anyone of us could be vulnerable when unexpected events take place in our lives. it is easy to see how it could become a vicious circle, with each loss in our lives reducing our Serotonin levels, and with reduced levels this lowers our mood factor even more, and consequently diminishing our motivation still further.
Some of the common symptoms connected to depression
- Always grumpy, never seeing any good in anything
- Complaining of regular headaches or other pains
- Cannot make a decision Constantly feeling sad
- Constantly feeling fed up
- Constantly feeling life is pointless
- Feeling restless
- Feeling that nothing really matters anymore
- Feeling worthless
- Frequent thoughts of suicide
- Interrupted and unsatisfying sleeping pattern
- Lack of any hope that things will improve
- Loss of energy
- Loss interest in doing things that were fun
- Loss of appetite or overeating
- Loss of energy
- Loss of sexual appetite
- Low self esteem
- Nothing seems to be fun anymore
- Pointless physical movements such as pacing up and down, rocking in chair, tapping fingers
- Regularly feeling irritable
*Struggling to concentrate or remember things
My theory while depression is on the increase in modern life. Sadly depression has become a very widespread result of modern life. in the first half of the last century families tended to live in close proximity to each other and provided a supportive network. Regardless of the problem there would be someone in the family who could help resolve it. Some men used to mock the women of the day, curlers in their hair and scarves on their heads chatting over the garden fence to their neighbours but this provided a healthy outlet for things on their mind. When expressing their woes and getting a sympathetic response the tension was lessened, making counsellors largely unnecessary. an important point to make is that although a natural desire for the finer things in life was there, expectations of owning their homes and fancy consumer goods was realistically matched to what was affordable.
In contrast to today where we are constantly bombarded with things that we just can't live without and really ought to have. Homes, cars, holidays, TV, audio units, computers, time saving or fun gadgets, social life etc. Although on one level most of us are very aware of advertising hype and its lure, we nevertheless still get caught up in it and try to stretch our finances and often put immense pressure on our selves. we are bought up to believe that everyone ought to own their own home despite the average price of a small house costing something like a quarter of million pounds. That price represents something like 13 years work for the average person without paying for anything else at all during that period. so with greater expectations for owning consumer goods and having an extravagant life style to live up to and other factors such as increased pressure to perform in our jobs, to become better qualified and to enjoy a rich social life the increased pressure is immense and it is no wonder that we end believing that somehow we are just not good enough and a failure.
Is the cure Medicine or Counselling?
Personally I believe that the two together are ideal if depression has taken a deep hold or if caught in the early stages then counselling alone can easily do the job. the reason I believe that is when in the grip of depression, the modern anti-depressants can take the edge off it sufficiently to allow the victims to engage in the therapy. For people who are very anti-pills then it is entirely possible to be healed without them but maybe more difficult to get started. Although it is my experience that clients who are against medication are generally more motivated to get better and therefore it is not a problem.
The point of counselling for depression is to get a person's life back on track by helping them get motivated to go forward and to find the necessary resources to prevent it happening again in the future. Once the client's life is back on track, or moving forward in a different direction and they are gaining a sense of satisfaction, then the brain will restore the Serotonin balance naturally.
HOW TO STOP DEPRESSION QUICKLY.
HOW CAN I HELP MYSELF? if you can't afford some brief therapy or can't face the thought of that right now, what can you do to help yourself?. the solution is partly physical and partly emotional. in order to help yourself you need to understand the difference between being fed up and clinical depression. see first section of article headed What is Depression and also Common symptoms
First Learn to relax That might seem a strange thing to suggest when a depressed person feels unable to do very much anyway. however doing nothing is not the same as relaxing. When in a depressed mode, most people don't feel like moving a muscle but they are not relaxing, instead they are living in a high state of tension. this just adds to their constant tiredness. it is so important to be able to relax properly to give our bodies a chance to recover and find more energy to devote to recovery. Part of that energy can be devoted to doing some exercise; the benefits are huge even if you only do it in robotic mode at first. it is quite possible for a depressed person to sleep 12 hours and wake up tired. one of the ways in which our brain maintains our sanity is to defuse our unresolved emotions by playing them out in our dreams at night. this is what happens, but we are not always aware of them and may not remember them. in a depressed person, the problem with this is that the number of unresolved emotions can be so many it disrupts the natural sleep pattern and leaves them exhausted regardless of however many hours they sleep. the answer is to reduce the number of negative thoughts that are lingered upon whilst awake. Easier said than done and you have to realise that nobody can stop negative thoughts entering into our mind but we do have a choice whether we stay with them or not. we can benefit more from our time asleep by reducing the time that we stay with those repetitive negative thoughts and replacing them with more realistic and positive ones.
Take exercise Although a depressed person has very little motivation to do anything, and the very thought of exercise would be a million miles from making sense to them; the benefits are life changing as part of a recovery plan. Even if the victim of depression could be persuaded to engage in some form of exercise in a robotic fashion then two very important chemicals will be released into the body, Dopamine and Serotonin. these two chemicals positively affect the mood and our motivational levels Initially it doesn't have to be wildly strenuous, even just taking a walk, if you'll pardon the pun is a step in the right direction. the added benefits of doing the exercise in the open are a change of scenery, fresh air and exposure to sun or daylight, which is scientifically known to boost the body's regenerating system. Important Don't wait for the motivation to come because whilst in the grip of depression it never will, just make up your mind to do it anyway and the motivation will catch up with you.
Take control Obviously if the cause of the depression is life changing in some way then a natural period of time needs to be allowed for grieving and readjusting to the new reality. try to take control of your life by recognising that depression is not a physical disease, (although there are physical reactions to anything that upsets the mind) but depression is definitely a frame of mind. a persons frame of mind can be altered, and often by just simply making different choices. Obviously counselling and hypnotherapy does this all the time for people but we do it ourselves throughout our lifetime. How many habits are different now from the time you were younger or as a child? Not long after implementing your new behaviours they seemed perfectly natural to you Important Once again do in robotic mode if you have to, but make those decisions to take control intellectually, and then, one by one enact them slowly, and they will soon become a natural part of you. I remind you not to wait for the motivation to come, because whilst in the grip of depression it never will, you have to encourage it.
Can Anti-depressants help? yes they can act as a temporary lifting of the mood giving you the opportunity to begin to sort things out and find solutions to getting their life back on track. in my experience, many clients only come for therapy after taking the pills for a while, because they then feel motivated enough to get some serious help. Important When the anti-depressants begin to make you feel better, use the time wisely to make changes to your life, otherwise after coming off them you may just revert back to not being able to cope again. it is obvious really but pills cannot fix your circumstances, only mask them for a while.
Eat Healthily There is so much information available today about nutrition that most people are aware that by eating a healthy balanced diet you can only improve your energy levels and vitality. Unhealthy eating puts on weight and makes the body even more lethargic.
Avoid drink and recreational drugs it is probably quite obvious that drink and drugs can never resolve any problem but can actually make things worse. Alcohol for instance is a depressant so it will only exaggerate any negative feelings you have. As for recreational drugs, they are a one-way road to poverty and the grave.
Understanding What Depression Is - And How to Stop It Quickly
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