Category Archives: Depression

Beating Depression – Quickly, Easily and Naturally

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Contrary to popular belief, beating depression is something that can be done without the aid of medication or psychological treatment. Depression is not an inherited disease, an imbalance of brain chemicals, or the result of circumstances beyond your control. It’s a condition that comes about when basic physical and emotional needs are not met, and when we interpret events in a certain way. The key to beating depression, then, is to understand and meet those needs, and to learn a more helpful way of interpreting the things that happen to us.

1. Basic Physical Needs

All human beings need good sleep, good nutrition, and adequate amounts of exercise. These things are the absolute essentials for good physical and emotional health. If you’re exhausted, unfit and living on a diet of junk food, caffeine and alcohol, you’re far more likely to suffer from depression.

The first thing you need to do, then, is to review your lifestyle and see where changes can be made. Ensure that you get a good night’s sleep, change to a healthier diet, and look to do some form of exercise at least three times a week. Beating depression is often just a matter of making changes in these basic areas.

2. Basic Emotional Needs

As well as physical needs, all human beings have emotional needs, and it’s just as important that these are adequately met if we’re to avoid depression. The main thing to remember is that we’re social, problem solving animals, and our emotional needs are a result of that. Thus, we all need a sense of connection to other people and to the wider community, a sense of security and safety, and a sense of achievement and healthy challenge. You can go a long way towards beating depression by making a list of these needs, and seeing which ones aren’t being met at the moment. Look at ways in which you could improve your scores in each area. If you’re feeling socially isolated, for example, is there some way that you could increase your contact with other people, perhaps by joining a club or society.

3. Interpreting Events

Of course, bad things do happen from time to time. But depression is always an extra problem on top of that. It’s not so much what happens, as how we explain it to ourselves. A depressed person tends to take bad things very personally. They believe that the bad stuff is going to last forever, and the good stuff is only temporary. Beating depression means taking control of these sorts of thoughts, and challenging them when they happen.

A healthier way to look at things is to maintain your perspective. Remember, nothing lasts forever, not even depression, and the universe is not conspiring against you as an individual. It’s also useful to isolate the bad things, so that they don’t take over your whole life. If you’re having a tough time at work, for instance, it may be that your family life is still going well.

Once you understand the mental, physical and emotional circumstances in which depression breeds, beating depression becomes much simpler and easier to achieve.

Getting Help For Depression

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Nearly 15 million Americans each year are affected by a serious illness called depression. Make no mistake, it is a real disease. Although it is defined as a mental illness this is no reflection on the personal attributes of the inflicted. Anyone can contract depression. There’s no logic to its onset. It will affect the rich as well as the poor. Race or religion aren’t important. The fact that you are suffering from this disease does not mean that you are less a human being. Mental illness comes with stereotypes, ignore them. Without treatment it will get worse. Pretending nothing is wrong won’t chase away this problem. This medical condition will progress until it takes over your whole life unless treated.

Depression is brought on by many factors in our life. This illness is more than just feeling sad and confused for a day or so. The affects of true depression can last for months and years. Depression at its worse can lead one to the act of suicide. Early stages involve feelings of regret. It’s possible that the disease will steal away the enjoyment you used to have for favorite hobbies. You can experience loneliness and despair. A sense of failure and feelings of impending doom in the future often appear. Day by day your personality changes to the point that your friends don’t recognize your actions. Work, school, even your home life will feel the sting. Anxiety grows and sleep patterns change.

As previously stated there are many factors that lead to depression. A major contributor is stress. Stress itself has many causes such as losing a friend or being told you have a serious medical condition. DNA is a factor. It can be caused by abuse rather it be physical, emotional or sexual. Looking at the monthly bills might cause it. There is so much stress in the world today to compete and satisfy those in our society. This disease can become very dangerous. The good news is that there is help for depression if you choose to seek it. Studies have shown that only a third of that 15 million Americans that are affected by depression will ask for help. A loved one or you have to look for the help.

The most common form of treatment for depression is ‘talk therapy’ and ‘anti-depressants’ such as Prozac. This typical form of treatment can be expensive and have side effects including anxiety and even greater depression. Natural alternatives exist that contain hyperforin, known to work as well as anti-depressant medicines. There are support groups that are aimed at assisting those affected by this terrible illness. Whether you want it or someone pushes you to it, there is help around for depression.