Tag Archives: depression

Information, Solution Focused Strategies

Beating Depression with Action

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Depression can come on us at any time of the year. Sometimes, holidays are the worst times for those that feel this down-in-the-dumps fear and worry and things just seem to happen to make us feel gloomy and sad. Note that this feeling happens to all of us at one time or another. How to recognize the feeling and know what to do about it is the purpose of this article which features several steps to help you in beating depression.

No one can or should ignore this feeling. It is universal and the blues are very much ingrained in our world. Music and movies are legendary in handling this subject. If the feeling is too overwhelming, then sometimes professional help is the desired action. We will just talk here about the funk of depression, the knotted thinking that nothing is right and it will only get worse. The following things are suggested to help you in beating depression:

  1. Laughing is the best medicine is an old adage, but so true. It is amazing how when you are depressed, just laughing about something and releasing the stress, can make you feel better. If you are having trouble finding something to laugh about, maybe you can find some people to keep close that cheer you up, that you can call when you feel bad, those who you know will let you apply the “strength in numbers” theory. Invite a few good friends over just to talk and have an appetizer and you will see how much better you feel afterwards. Laughing will help you to move towards your goal of beating depression.
  2. Listening to music is another key to beating depression. If you can just relax and let the type of music you love drift over you and enter your senses, you will find that you calm down and feel better. Even as babies in the womb, we respond to music. Maybe you will find you want to get up and dance and there is nothing wrong with that – even without a partner! Just move to the beat and let all your stress flow out of your fingertips and toes.
  3. Do some work and you will find you feel less depressed. There is something about a clean bathroom, living room, or kitchen that gives most women a sense of pride and order and joy. Men sometimes enjoy doing some of the same work and experiencing the same attitudes. The point is you just need to get out and do something that moves your body. Maybe you can shoot hoops in the driveway, ride a bicycle through the neighborhood and say “HI” to a few of your neighbors. There is something to be said for just watching a sunset and realizing how mighty the world is and how we are just one part of it. That sometimes seems to put our troubles more in perspective and help in beating depression.
  4. While we are on that thought, why not try prayer when you feel depressed? Try helping out someone less fortunate. Think of hospital patients and know that they most likely have things worse than you. Yet, you see happier children and adults in some of the worst settings in the hospital. Count your blessings. Hug someone or maybe go through some old pictures of happy times with your family. Prayer can be used as a premier strategy in beating depression.

Doing productive activities will always perk you up. Think positively about your life and the things you have been given and do not dwell on the problems. Take your dog for a walk and relish in the animal’s unending enjoyment at seeing you and being with you. Sometimes simple undemanding love is all we need to overcome the blue feeling and move towards beating depression for good.

The last suggestion may sound unusual, but here it is. EAT ICE CREAM! Yes, just swirling that cold stuff around on your tongue and all the different flavors can make you feel good! The idea is to eat something that you totally enjoy and see how hard it is to be depressed when you have your favorite food and are enjoying it. The world just seems a little better! Yes – eat ice cream or something you really love – and use your tastes in beating depression.

Of course, all the suggestions given above may not apply to everyone. But give them a try and who knows…maybe they can help just a little. Keep this list handy and the next time you are feeling a little down, find something that triggers the best response to get you to feel happy again. Be aware that when depression creeps in, you need to take action in beatin depression back to the corner – way otu of your life where it belongs.

We all have more important things to do in life than feel blue and depressed. Keep this thought in-mind and may your life be filled with joy.

Information, Solution Focused Strategies

Acknowledge Your Depression

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Depression is an illness and needs to be acknowledged as such. It is not a reason to be ashamed. The reason so many people fail to seek help for their depression is that they are ashamed. Unfortunately, this is one of the feelings associated with depression anyway and makes the illness difficult to acknowledge.

If you are constantly feeling particularly low, well-meaning friends might tell you to “snap out of it” or even start to get irritated by your mood. Your depression will feed off this negativity and you start to wonder why you can’t just “snap out of it”. You then start to feel that there’s something wrong with you because it should be so easy and it’s just “not right” that you feel so bad all the time. Well, it’s not right and there is something wrong with you. You have a medical condition and you deserve treatment in the same way as any other patient. If you had a cold for six months would you ignore it and hope it would pass? No, you would dose yourself up with anything you could find and maybe see a doctor to find out if there’s an underlying reason for it to last so long.

Depression is sadness that lasts too long. Everyone is sad at some point in their lives but depression is more than that. It is a feeling that you can’t bring yourself up from the bottom. In the end you give up trying. People start to avoid you. You feel worse. You need to find external help to treat the problem in the same way as you would if you had a long-lasting cold. You could try herbal remedies – there are some in your pharmacy – or you could see your doctor. There may be an underlying physical cause for your depression.

If your doctor cannot help you they may refer you for counselling. Don’t be embarrassed to go for counselling but do make sure you are comfortable with your counsellor. If not, try another one. Counselling should not be discounted because you don’t feel comfortable with your first choice of practitioner. In everyday life you will naturally find that you get on with some people and clash with others. You cannot afford to have a personality clash with your counsellor. On the other hand you must be sure that it is a personality clash and not just that you don’t agree with what they are saying. A general rule is to go with your instincts. If you like the person and seemed to get on well in the first couple of sessions then stick with it because they might just have touched on the root cause of your problem.

In some cases, acknowledging depression may be difficult because you have lived with it so long that you don’t know whether it is depression or not. If you have grown up with depression it is possible not to realise that you are actually depressed because you have no concept of how normal people should feel. You may feel angry all the time or you may feel like going to the middle of an empty field and simply screaming. You may feel anxious, have trouble sleeping or even sleep too much. You may think that your family would be better off without you (and actually believe that to be true) and may have considered running away or suicide. You may worry about death all the time (yours or someone else’s) and not let yourself be happy just in case…… (or even “I must enjoy this now in case………..”). If you are feeling any or all of the above then you need to consider talking to someone. Even if it is just a friend or family member to start with, they may be able to advise you and encourage you to seek professional help.

Once you have acknowledged that you have depression please remember that it is a medical condition and can be cured. You don’t have to feel this way for ever. Nobody actually thinks of you the way you think they do. Talk to someone. Seek and accept help and you will find that there is a different way of seeing life.

If you need help for depression you can go here to get help now!

Information, Solution Focused Strategies

Food and Feelings

There is a lot of research that links the food we eat to our various feelings. In this case we are talking about both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ feelings. Most people are not concerned about any linkages between food and any good feelings that are triggered when we eat. We are all concerned about the ‘bad’ feelings! Food and feelings – both the good and the bad!

So what are some of those bad feelings? Guilt, shame, helplessness, anxiety, disappointment, confusion, loneliness, depression, sadness… all are implicated and linked to certain foods.

Karen Konig, author of The Food and Feelings Workbook, understands this issue. In her book she gives an extraordinary, powerful connection exists between feeling and feeding that, if damaged, may lead to one relying on food for emotional support, rather than seeking authentic happiness.

Here is an excerpt of what she says.

“Why won’t bad feelings simply go away?”

“The truth is, there’s actually no such thing as a “bad” feeling. By labeling a feeling negatively, what you mean is that it causes you to feel badly (that is, not pleasurably), or that experiencing it makes you feel as if you’re a bad person. Feelings are feelings, just as colors are colors and musical notes are musical notes (and food is food). Think of affects as clouds that have no intrinsic value; whether you welcome them or not is situation-dependent. A cloud blocks out the sun on a scorcher of a day in the middle of a ten-mile hike and you’re overjoyed for the respite. A cloud comes along while you’re sunbathing and you’re momentarily bummed out. How you feel about the clouds is relative, all in your perspective. The same is true of emotions.

If you’re wondering why feelings that generate discomfort-what you might call “bad” feelings-won’t go and stay away, that’s another question entirely and makes me wonder what you believe about emotions. If you believe you’re always supposed to feel good, then feeling bad is sure to upset your apple cart. You’re not supposed to feel good all the time; it’s simply not possible. You-we all-have a range of emotions that come and go and that’s the way life is supposed to work. If your colleague blames you for something that’s not your fault, you’ll probably feel misunderstood. If you’ve been ignoring your brother for months, you may feel ashamed or guilty; if your best friend steals your girlfriend, you’ll likely feel betrayed; if you didn’t get the job you thought was a shoo-in, there’s a good chance you’ll feel disappointed. In all of these instances, you’ll feel badly. But these feelings do eventually go away. Of course, the problem is that they’ll come back again in another circumstance because that’s the way the emotional ball bounces. We only brush away our feelings if we don’t understand their function and value their purpose-if we forget that they exist, for the most part, to instruct us.

This unique workbook on food and feelings takes on the seven emotions that plague problem eaters — guilt, shame, helplessness, anxiety, disappointment, confusion, and loneliness — and shows readers how to embrace and learn from their feelings. Written with honesty and humor, the food and feelings book explains how to identify and label a specific emotion, the function of that emotion, and why the emotion drives food and eating problems.

Each chapter of The Food and Feelings Workbook has two sets of exercises: experiential exercises that relate to emotions and eating, and questionnaires that provoke thinking about and understanding feelings and their purpose. Supplemental pages help readers identify emotions and chart emotional development.

The final part of the Food and Feelings Workbook focuses on strategies for disconnecting feeling from food, discovering emotional triggers, and using one’s feelings to get what one wants out of life.

       

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Depression and Sleep

Depression and sleep may be related!

If counting sheep is not working for you, here are some facts you may want to sleep on-chronic sleep deprivation can do more than make you tired. It can significantly affect your health, safety, performance, and lifestyle.

Most people are surprised to learn that sleeping less than six or seven hours a night can increase their mortality risk more than smoking, high blood pressure or heart disease. There is also some evidence that depression and sleep may be related!

Losing as little as one and a half hours of sleep for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32 percent. This loss can impair memory and the ability to think and process information effectively.

Decreased alertness can also affect your life by limiting your participation in activities that require sustained attention, such as reading a book or watching your favorite TV show. And the risk of receiving an occupational injury more than doubles when a person is sleepy.

Car accidents are another problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving is responsible for at least 100,000 automobiles crashed, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities.

As many as 70 million Americans have sleep disturbances-which include taking a long time to get to sleep, sleeping less and waking up frequently.

Sleep disturbances may in fact be a symptom of a much larger problem, especially if they are associated with irritability and mood swings. Emotional stress, racing thoughts and restlessness can be signs of something more serious, such as bipolar disorder. Yes… depression and sleep seems to be related in some ways.

“If someone is experiencing restlessness and irritability, along with sadness or emotional ups and downs for more than two weeks,” said Dr. Ellen Frank, professor of psychiatry and psychology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, “they should seek medical attention from a specialist who is trained to diagnose or perhaps just rule out depression or bipolar disorder.”

As a result of the relationship between depression and sleep, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) has launched a new Web site which offers educational resources that provide screening for sleeplessness, information on when to see a doctor and a questionnaire to determine when sleeplessness might be symptomatic of a more serious illness.

[amazon_image id=”B000SIULP8″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn’t Teach You and Medication Can’t Give You[/amazon_image]

 

Information, Resources

Are You Depressed?

Are you depressed? Here is a critically important article from Hufinton today.  Anything that is within (brackets) are my additions or explanations. If you prefer, you can read it here in its original form. This is not only an article for those who are depressed, but for all of us who may experience moments of sadness, times of grief or just a ‘normal’ feeling of ‘being down’. So are you depressed?

 

Are You Depressed?

By Ira Is rael

Since the time of Hamlet — “But two months dead, nay, not so much, not two” — our culture has deemed that the bereavement period should last approximately two months. After that time, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, eight of the nine symptoms that characterize bereavement now characterize people who are depressed.

On my DVD “Mindfulness for Urban Depression,” I make a temporal distinction that helps me differentiate pain, grief, and depression: Pain is immediate and often overwhelming. It informs you that there is a precise situation that demands attention. For example, a broken nose or arm is painful because it needs to be addressed urgently.

Grief is the period of time it takes to process a loss, any loss, irrespective of whether it is your mother, your son, your job, your 401K, your home, your car keys, or your favorite pen — anything that is a part of your life is something that you may have to learn to live without.

And then I ponder the putative distinction(s) between grief and depression according to the DSM (Diagnostical and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This manual helps professionals diagnose people who are depressed).

For are we not continuously processing losses? Doesn’t change — and thus simply being alive, since everything is constantly changing — inherently imply loss? Lost hopes, lost dreams, lost aspirations, lost expectations, lost friendships, lost loved ones… (being depressed)!

So then, what exactly does it mean to be diagnosed with depression and why are there 100 million prescriptions for antidepressants written every year in America (and elsewhere in the world)?

(Read Ira’s book or watch the DVD now!)

I would like to explore the possibility that our scientific and capitalistic paradigm has an aversion to heightened emotions – crying, screaming, etc. – and doesn’t allow sufficient bereavement time because grieving can hinder productivity, busyness and business.

Babies cry because they are not getting their immediate needs met. (They are not depressed when they cry.) They cannot articulate which need isn’t being met — food, safety, cleanliness, or affection — and the situation requires a caretaker to interpret what the non-specific cry refers to. Adults need the same basic things as babies need to survive, but to thrive in our advanced society an adult also needs a sense of self, a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, a sense of accomplishment, the space to process emotions, some means of attaining whatever peace of mind he or she can muster… and maybe a little sex, although I would argue that it is far easier to live without sex than it is to live without affection. Maslow adds “self-actualization” to the top his hierarchy of needs, but I feel that this ability to overcome and transcend oneself is problematic for spiritual reasons that I am not going to address here.

Let’s explore for a moment the possibility that the symptoms the DSM identifies as constituting depression are analogous to the non-specific crying of babies, that depression is a blunt tool people subconsciously learn to use in order to try to get their needs met. Crying does not solve the baby’s problem, but it does draw other people’s attention to the situation. Similarly, depression doesn’t solve any problems although there could be secondary gains such as avoiding work; viewed as a tool, depression is obviously maladaptive, but it does draw attention to a potentially problematic situation.

And when we interpret these situations, when we “read” the symptoms, we often find that the depressed person does not feel as if he or she has the space or time to process losses and disappointments, and/or he or she doesn’t have the loving and trustworthy connections that would facilitate the sympathy and empathy needed to work through the natural traumas of being alive and experiencing perpetual change.

I doubt you ever heard anyone say, “I feel completely lovable, and I feel loved, supported, and appreciated by my family, friends and colleagues, and I’m depressed.”

All of us will experience terrible traumas and tragedies. It is those of us with real community who will be able to process our resentments and negative emotions and move forward in a positive light (rather than being depressed).

I guess it comes as no surprise then when we learn of recent studies demonstrating that placebos, exercise, and meditation are more effective than antidepressants in the long run.

Which is a more empowering position, to believe that you have a certain gene or brain chemistry that causes a disease as defined by a book that changes every 15-20 years, or to analyze your way of being, your relationships, your needs and your tools for getting them met, and then make adjustments that bode more favorably for your overall well-being and happiness (rather than being depressed)?

(Read Ira’s book or watch the DVD now!)

If it will help you decide, just read Lisa Cosgrove and Sheldon Krimsky’s article from the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, wherein they state, “The revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders … has created a firestorm of controversy because of questions about undue pharmaceutical industry influence.”

It is clear that as a society we are tolerant of a relatively thin bandwidth of human emotions. Curing the supposed depression epidemic is not contingent upon altering brain chemistry with billions of dollars of pharmaceuticals. Treating this dis-ease would first entail reframing our cultural paradigm and changing our priorities to create the time and space needed for people to express and process a wider range of emotions. Secondly, it would entail teaching people skills for cultivating loving relationships and community so that they don’t feel alienated, isolated, and disconnected. Thirdly, it would entail providing people with healthy tools like meditation and yoga that are specifically designed to help cultivate personal equanimity, peace of mind, and ease.

So… are you depressed?

(Read Ira’s book or watch the DVD now!)

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Information, Solution Focused Strategies

Depression Relief

Hint: No… it’s not another wonder drug, not a miracle patch or a new intrusive surgery procedure. And… Yes! It Works!


Do Any Of These Experiences Sound Familiar To You?

  • Do you find yourself suffering from a persistent empty feeling over a long period of time?

  • Have you struggled with guilt and worthlessness that will not stop?

  • On a daily basis you struggle without getting any depression relief?

  • Do you ever fear the past and have constant bleak thoughts about the future?

  • Do you ever feel nervous and afraid you might lose control or go insane?

  • Do you feel utter hopelessness and believe that everything you do will turn into a failure?

  • Thinking about cutting yourself and believe that it will relieve the stress and pressure?

  • Have a difficult time making decisions and feeling irritated over the slightest things?

  • Loss of interest in activities that used to bring joy, including sex?

It’s okay. It’s not your fault. You may even suffer physical symptoms like drastic changes in your sleeping and eating patterns, constant restlessness and lacking the power to concentrate. I feel your pain as I had been a depression sufferer for over 8 years and I can confidently say it is not your fault. I can also guarantee that you can if you follow my recommendations closely you can get depression relief!

Let me tell you why you are here. You are here because you know that being clinically depressed is not the way you want to live your life. You know that by hook or by crook, there is a way for you to overcome it. Yet that solution eludes you simply because you did not experience this process of overcoming depression one step at a time. I know from personal experience that you can get depression relief with the right strategies and techniques.

You may have spent years looking for me, but I have spent the better part of my entire life looking for you to tell you this– You are “stucked” in your depression because ineffective anti-depressants and mundane psychotherapy has allowed depression to take control of your life. Depression has been your experience so long that you have begun to believe it is what you are. But it is something you have- just as for example, one has “liver disease”. But do not despair because you can get depression relief and I will show you how.

Like a liver disease, depression is perceived by many to be fueled by complex and interrelated factors: genetic, biochemical, environmental. No matter what the root cause is (in which we will discuss shortly), we have unwittingly become good at depression. We have learnt how to hide it and work around it.

We may have even achieve great things, but with constant struggle rather than satisfaction.  Relying on these methods to make it through everyday, we deprive ourselves of true recovery, of deep joy and healthy emotion, or the feeling of being alive in this world. And ultimately, things will only get worse if the root cause is not treated.

Read the rest of this article here and  Get Guaranteed Fast, Permanent, Safe Depression Relief Now!

Read about real people who have found real, lasting solutions with Depression Relief.