Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: An Effective Method to Beat Mental Disorders

A little change in our attitude helps to understand and overcome adverse situations in our life. The way we behave and the way we react to situations largely depends on our own perspective towards life and situations that directly or indirectly influences our lifestyle.

As a psycho-therapeutic approach, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps individuals to learn new skills to deal with dysfunctional behaviors and emotions. This kind of therapy is used both for individuals and groups to train them in recovering from addictions, depressions, panic attacks, anxiety disorders and other phobias. The self-help sessions in such therapy programs helps in understanding and overcoming various disorders and alleviating symptoms. In most of the cases, such CBT is beneficial for patients who suffer from various mental health disorders and depressions as it poses lesser risks than antidepressants and other methods of psychotherapies.

In order to avail the best solutions for any kind of mental disorders through CBT, individuals should feel free to expose their worries, problems or fears. This helps CBT experts in offering better counseling and suggesting the apt therapy or program for long term benefits. They take initiative in comprehending the illness and its severity that may differ from person to person. The therapy focuses on eliminating negative behavior of individuals of different age groups through systematic processes. This therapy has also turned out to be a boon for those suffering from:

• Post traumatic stress disorder
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Eating disorders
• Obsessive compulsive disorders

The concept of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy evolved in early 1960's. A combination of behavioral and cognitive therapy, CBT focuses on the beliefs and thoughts that influence the mood and attitude of an individual. The therapy facilitates one's thinking process to be more healthy and adaptive and tries to change unhealthy behavioral patterns. Any environmental factors or past experiences influence one's perspective of any given situation. Often this view is distorted and that makes them react to situations with an irrational response. The very first step in CBT is to teach people to analyze the trouble situations with complete clarity in order to adopt the right and appropriate reaction. CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy offered by professionals help in providing complete relief to patients from behavioral and emotional responses that leads to disturbing situations. This therapy comes to play when a person consciously analyzes, interprets and manages his/her thoughts. As feelings and thoughts are interwoven, individuals find better control over their emotions. Anyone who wants to control the thought process can apply this technique and reap maximum benefits.

CBT, though a lengthy process is very effective and hence worth all the efforts. Hence it is incredibly popular treatment program that helps people in recovering from a great variety of disorders right from depressions to panic disorder and bulimia. If you are looking for a sure solution to your stress, disorders or depressions, look for such CBT therapy specialists. They can guide you in being more positive in life, relieving you from all sorts of anxieties with ease.

Cogo2 is a USA Based Health related website those provides an online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Application for users with mental health issues.

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Using Personal Strength to Overcome Depression

Because depressive states are considered serious illnesses, sufferers may need special attention to overcome the disease and regain their lives. In learning how to overcome depression, they will want to build an extensive support network of friends and relatives. Even during the days when they feel particularly down, they should try to engage in social activities with people who love them and care for them. In fact, interacting with others is one of the ways in which the worst of the depression symptoms can be lessened. Playing guitar, attending a sporting event, or having a picnic are all low-key activities that can help.

Physical exercise is perhaps one of the best tonics for mild to moderate depressive episodes. Because even just a bit of cardiovascular exercise can release feel-good hormones that will surge out of the brain, this is one way to elevate mood and improve outlook. Men and women who have never exercised much in their lives may find it hard to know where to start. If they fancy any particular activity and have wanted to try it for years, then they should commandeer a friend and start right away. Lovers of the outdoors can hike in the local woods at the first faint blush of dawn. Positive moods should soon follow.

Avoiding unnecessary stress is yet another way to prevent one's depression from spiraling out of control. For example, if individuals have been under undue financial strain for some time, they might want to procure some debt relief assistance. This will help them to improve their financial standing, and they will no longer remain awake at night endlessly replaying their economic problems within their own minds. If the downturn in their mood has been caused by the loss of a loved one, then they might attend counseling sessions. Reputable counselors can suggest specific techniques for avoiding negative thought patterns.

Lastly, medication can also help. Psychiatrists suggest that some people may be incapable of normal thinking without the benefit of certain medicines. These medications can reestablish proper brain chemistry, which will help pull people out of their negative states. As with most medicines, individuals should read the capsule sidebars carefully so that they can identify any potential side effects.

Because depression is a serious illness that can lead to severe mental impairment, sufferers should get help as soon as they can. With the assistance of loved ones, depressed men and women should receive professional care on a range of fronts. Social activity, exercise, and medication can all combat various symptoms of the disease.

The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only and is not, nor is it ever intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice or professional recommendations, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician(s) or other qualified healthcare provider(s).

Author writes about a variety of topics. If you would like to learn more about how to overcome depression and/or depression articles, visit http://www.lifescript.com/health/centers.aspx.

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Grieving: When We Lose Someone We Love

C.S. Lewis, writer of the well known Narnia Chronicles, composed this very genuine line, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear." For anyone who has lost someone they love no thoughts ring truer than these written by Lewis. Sadness, despite the fact that it's generally called a normal process, feels as though we are robbed of our own being.

For people who have lost somebody they love to cancer, regardless of whether these patients underwent the conventional method or seek alternative cancer treatments, there is an emptiness they feel after losing the battle. It could be said that in some way the sickness cancer preps you for death, yet grief is a bottomless well or a sinking pit one can't get out of.

In psychology there are actually 7 stages of grief prior to one can say they are genuinely over it. And although the sadness of losing somebody we love to cancer or to any form of death is something people will carry for the rest of their lives, there will be a point when we can overcome grief.

Shock and Denial
Pretending this is just a dream is the normal first reaction to grief. The shock is of it truly happening brings about disbelief and our mind's initial response is to refute it.

Pain and Guilt
Even though sadness is an emotionally charged sensation, occasionally the pain is simply too deep that it's almost physical. This ache is what causes the depression and the self-destructive ways. It's also the most anguished section of the stages. There's also such a thing as survival's guilt, feeling that we should have perished along with our cherished one.

Anger and Bargaining
For the reason that we can't do anything concerning the situation, we all experience this heavy rage and demonstrate hostility to the world or blame people for the demise. This is where people relieve the bottled sadness they feel within.

Irrationally, we also start to bargain for our dearly departed. We'd query why us or promising God specific things in order to bring him or her back to life.

Depression, Reflection and Loneliness
We then come to a point when we just want to be alone and think about what just transpired and also why this happened to our life. We'd think, we performed every little thing, alternative cancer treatments, good nutrition, the best medical doctors yet still, this is what happened. Often the melancholy is profound in this phase because this is once you comprehend the scale of the loss. People who will try to help you get out of this rut won't succeed.

Upward Turn
This is the stage when we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're not completely out of it but the dark has lightened up a little bit.

Reconstruction and Working Through
After seeing that silver lining, we become more functional. We start reflecting on more positive notes like what we should we with our lives, how we could restore our lives, and our utmost concern is to move on.

Acceptance and Hope
This is now the end of the tunnel and all over the sun is out and the world is a gorgeous place to live in again. You've come to acknowledge your sadness, because it isn't totally gone, but you've accepted the circumstance you're in.

It's difficult to lose someone we love, be it cancer or any other form. But as Leo Tolstoy said, "Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them."

Over the last nine years, New Hope Medical Center has used very effective non invasive Cancer Therapies to thousands of patients. Offering Alternative Cancer Treatments with a personal approach to each person based on their body makeup, New Hope Medical Center treats Cancer differently, but definitely better.

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There's No Shame In Depression

"There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds."
~Laurell K. Hamilton

The facts made known to us through the branch of existentialism explain our struggles. We are alive but for a short time, and whilst we lament that we will soon and certainly die, we often lament just as much that we are alive. These are truly dark realities. Those given to depressive episodes - a day, a few months, or indefinitely for some - know these realities intimately, and more. They have borne the brunt of truth (and many vicious non-truths) at full force.

Ever more do the depressed need God, but shame is inappropriate. The trouble is society has become adept at refusing to recognise what is patently in front of it.

And where we find ourselves sharply out of step from the social landscape we belong in, we begin to feel we do not belong. When we are forced to belong in a place we don't feel we belong, our wellbeing turns south. We enter disease.

All this dissonance from within suggests we are at war - with ourselves. And if we explore the protagonists of the war, we may see one of the reasons for the conflict: an irreconcilable shame. It appears irreconcilable.

THE COURAGE INVOLVED IN LIVING DEPRESSED

Not that we propagate feeling depressed, because quite frankly there are far better ways to live, but we can appreciate the courage it takes to live in a depressed state. To live this way, to bear the load, to socialise when it hurts, and to trudge one day at a time; that is courage.

So where does shame fit?

It's a lie of the enemy. This dark and mysterious dog is intentionally invisible. It growls and it snaps, yet we don't really know what it looks like. All we know is how we feel.

There is no shame in being depressed, because it takes more courage to live this way than most think.

There is no shame in being depressed, as much of what depression is comes against us beyond our control. But we can deal with it the best we can, with the help available to us. And I suppose we can be thankful that be have access to much better treatment options than we used to.

There is no shame in being depressed, because if any other person had the personality and experiences we do they would react the same as us. All things being equal we have more in common with others than we ever realise.

There is no shame in being depressed.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Steve Wickham is a Registered Safety Practitioner (BSc, FSIA, RSP[Australia]) and a qualified, unordained Christian minister (GradDipBib&Min). Steve writes at: http://epitemnein-epitomic.blogspot.com.au/ and http://tribework.blogspot.com.au/

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What Is Postpartum Depression? Nutrition And Depression

What Is Postpartum Depression?

Our first clue to what postpartum depression is follows from a study of young boys who have mothers that suffered from the condition. It was found they often display behavioural problems in school. This has usually been attributed to their emotional development being inhibited by mom's condition.

I don't think so. It has been shown quite conclusively that women in the critical early postpartum period of 4 to 6 days, where the blues most often set in, have significantly elevated levels of a brain protein called monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A).

Tested against a control group they were found to have, on average, 43% higher levels of MAO-A. This is significant because neurotransmitters, especially serotonin, are removed by MAO-A. There is little doubt about the role serotonin plays in mood alteration.

A host of very effective antidepressants, like Prozac for example, are designed specifically to boost serotonin levels. This demonstrates that the high risk at this critical time of the onset of a major depressive episode is not psychological.

No, it is biological! The 13% of women who do end up suffering postpartum depression are obviously missing the essential nutrients to boost their serotonin levels. The young boys in the study, who have behavioural problems, almost certainly have basic diets very similar to their mothers.

So, the boys also suffer from a biological, rather than psychological effect. If their mothers' diets are deficient in some essential nutrients it is safe to assume so theirs also. It is very likely that the mothers' deficiencies inhibit full development of their children's nervous systems.

Although there has been a significant amount of research into this phenomena, very little attention has been paid to nutrition.

Nutrition And Depression

This lack of research is unfortunate, but a fact of life. Sophisticated brain imaging techniques to measure levels of proteins and other chemicals, as well as the researchers who conduct them, don't come cheaply. The only ones with the money and the motivation are not in the food industry, they are in the pharmaceutical industry.

Hence, most research is aimed at synthesizing drugs to raise serotonin levels or lower MAO-A levels. Even though research has not been able to uncover why they become abnormal. This is so typical of medical research, find and treat the symptom while ignoring the root cause.

Why this is truly unfortunate is that researchers are now beginning to believe that all depression stems from increases in MAO-A levels, not just postpartum depression. I submit that even without the research we can, not only attribute depression to poor nutrition, but we can take steps based on what we do know, to avoid it.

We do know, for example, that there are certain foods that feed the nervous system. We also know there are toxins in foods that adversely affect the nervous system. Hence, the most logical and healthy way to deal with or avoid depression is to eat the former and avoid the latter.

All of the huge number of different types of proteins are a combination of just 22 amino acids. Amino acids can act as neurotransmitters or precursors to other transmitters like serotonin. The small group of sulphur containing amino acids are especially important for brain function.

These are found mainly in eggs and meat. And remember to always put the juice left in the pot back in with the meat. This is where the highest concentration of sulphur containing amino acids are found. Other foods known for their efficacy in feeding the nervous system include butter and cream as well as shell fish, fish eggs, cod liver oil and liver.

Speaking of pots be sure to avoid aluminium as it is associated with damage to the nervous system. So also are aspartame, the artificial sweetener in many soft drinks, mono sodium glutamate (msg) and amalgam dental filings.

A protocol I use to detox from heavy metals, which are almost unavoidable, especially since I have numerous amalgam filings is very simple. I stir a teaspoon of food grade diatomaceous earth in a glass of water and drink it at bedtime.

I use Perma-Guard as it has been extensively tested and shown to effectively bind with heavy metals and carry them out of the body. I do it before bed so it doesn't bind with all the good minerals that I insure are a part of my daily intake. Cilantro is also a good detox for heavy metals.

In a world where truths about nutrition have been twisted by commercialism gone awry, Jim, our expert writer, has a passion the truth be known. If you would like to read more of his articles they can be found here

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Break the Triad of Depression

Depression affects over 360 million people and some point in their life and right now statistics suggest that worldwide there are over 135 million people suffering from this terrible dis-ease (yes I call it a dis-ease not a disease). As a Life and Personal Development Coach I get so many people ask me how they can escape the grip of depression. Through many years of coaching people and lots of training courses, seminars and audio programs there is one set of constants that cause - and therefore can break and destroy - the grip of depression.

I call these the Triad of Depression

Physiology

Language Focus

These three things can be used to either grip you tighter in to depression or release you from it. They are the keys to how you can change your state instantly, how you manage your thoughts and feelings and how you can change your life for the better at any given point.

Physiology

Physiology is about how you use and move your body and how it directly affects your 'state' or mood. Changing your physiology can rapidly improve your state and how you are feeling. There are certain things you do with your body when you are happy that are different to what you do when you are happy and joyful.

What do you do with your body when you are depressed? Is your head up or down? Where do your eyes look? Are your shoulders up and straight or forward and slumped? Do you move quickly or slowly? What facial expression do you use? This is the physiology of 'doing' depression!

Now swap all of those around and answer the questions as if you are happy; is your head UP or down? Do your eyes look at the floor or FORWARDS? Are your shoulders slumped or Up Straight? How much quicker do you move? Have you got a big SMILE on your face?

This is the physiology of 'doing' happiness and joy - put yourself into that physiology now and then without changing it try and be depressed... so

• Look up and forwards
• Pull your shoulders up and backwards
• Put a big smile on your face
• Stand like you're happy

You can't feel depressed when you stand like that; can you! All you have to do is change your physiology to change your state in that moment.

Language

For a long term move away from depression you need to also alter the language and your focus.

What language do you use when you are depressed? What questions do you ask yourself? I bet you find you ask yourself really poor questions such as "Why does this always happen to me?" or "What do I do to deserve this?" These are really powerfully negative questions because if you ask a negative question you'll get a negative answer.

It's time to start asking positive questions; "What actions can I take to improve this situation?" "How can I change my life for the better?" These are better questions, more positive questions that will provide more positive answers.

Take time now to sit down and write out as many positive questions you can and start to answer them. Ask 3 different positive questions each day and get the answers and you are well on your way to destroying depression

Focus

The third and final part of the Triad of Depression is focus because what you focus on you get in life. What do you focus on when you are depressed? All of the bad things in life right? Let's be honest here; if you focus on all the bad things in life you are going to make yourself depressed aren't you!

So make the change now to move on to thinking about and focusing on all the good things in life. My suggestion is the have a 'grateful' book; this was suggested to me many years ago and it changed my life. A grateful book is simply a book that each and every day you write down what you are grateful for in life - family, friends, health etc etc - the more you write the more you will think of. Add at least 2 things per day and make sure you right out a new list every day so that you know what you are grateful for.

Conclusion

Improve your physiology, your language and questions and your focus and you will loosen the grip that depression has on you and move towards happiness and joy.

To Your Happiness
Graham

Graham Nicholls has been a Life and Personal Development Coach for over 15 years and has gained invaluable knowledge and experience in the area of helping people to improve their lives.
http://prioritycoachingblog.com

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How To Keep Your Major Depression Symptoms From Increasing

Dealing with depressive disorders will make men and women feel like their planet is finishing. Visiting a psychiatrist or getting prescription medicines might not be alternatives you intend to check out.

Dealing with depression symptoms can be created less difficult by using a assistance class. Having a conversation with others which can be frustrated is helpful. Many people can show you new things in regards to the condition, and assist you to learn to handle your depressive disorders.

Tend not to count on a crutch to eradicate your depressive disorders. Many people select alcoholic drinks to ease depression. Although this may possibly help you feel excellent, it is just subsiding your major depression briefly.

Sometimes receiving sympathy from family and friends can frequently help gas your awful conduct if you make you believe that regardless of what you do those family will invariably forgive you. It's healthier that you can focus on getting optimistic and to stay away from property on the unfavorable issues in your lifetime.

Should your mood is nearing adverse, make sure you consume 3 dishes each day. Depression may cause appetite loss, but heading with out foods can contribute to on-going major depression and less enthusiasm as well as. If you are eating improperly and not getting ample energy daily, it makes it actual difficult for your body to operate appropriately. If you eat regularly, your body receives the electricity it will require to help you feel good physically and mentally.

To defeat major depression, you have to be realistic. Consider the goals and anticipations that you have in your lifetime, and in case they aren't sensible, you need to fine-tune them to ensure they doing this. Wanting things which are not likely to happen, or seeking to obtain the extremely hard, is only going to make you dissatisfied. This may make you come to be further more stressed out.

Diet regime may well be a factor in your signs of depressive disorders. Processed foods could have a depressive impact on considered designs, making you think that you're in a loop with no way out of your signs you're experiencing. Try out avoiding fattening food items to enjoy much more healthfully.

Take into account scheduling a consultation to find out a psychological counselor. Interventions that combine prescription drugs and therapy typically produce achievement in the treatment of major depression. Incorporating these 2 kinds of treatment options is much better than making use of any one 1. Prescription drugs operates by controlling the sudden frame of mind downswings, when therapy really helps to workout your issues that lead to major depression.

Do things step by step. Depression can make it sense extremely hard or overpowering to acquire every thing done all at one time. If you focus on taking little methods and making small changes in your life, it is far from as overwhelming on you, and it will be simpler to perform your desired goals.

An antidepressant is great at rejuvenating the total amount of chemical compounds within the human brain to their optimum levels. Even so, if you would like normalcy reconditioned in your own life, you should also physical exercise and take part in therapy.

Assistance to launch hormones within your head with exercise. Brain hormones can be a stimulant that increases your mood. By merely getting up and relocating, you will probably find your depressive disorders helps in reducing up immensely. A very high vitality exercise routine gives you the best results. The exercise will help alleviate your symptoms and improve your state of health.

Having a record to show your sensation in are often very cathartic. You might feel much better when you express your feelings in a record. Documenting your emotions also permits you to acknowledge achievable styles.

Workout has advantages beyond just your health. One of the main great things about exercising might be to assist cope with depression symptoms. Getting some exercise is a wonderful way to help keep you focused entirely on some thing apart from your major depression. Exercising releases hormones to the method, improving disposition and lowering unwanted pressure. Creating and sticking with a regular exercise regimen will help you to fight depression symptoms on a regular basis.

While you are unemployed, it is possible to sometimes sense depressed. Regardless if you are the sole earner with your family members or simply just the one that adds, reduced earnings can demonstrate nerve-racking and all of-encompassing. The economic problems enhance the anxiety of trying to find a new job and supplying to your loved ones.

While you have experienced within the above ideas, there is lots of information you may attain well before looking for solution for your depression symptoms and it's this knowledge, in addition to assistance from your doctor, that can help enhance your symptoms. Fit everything in you need to to identify a therapy that works for you.

Need even more great tips stop by how to get rid of depression site for several more information articles and ideas to help you get rid of symptoms of depression.

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Get Out of Depression - Ask the Right Questions

With over 135 million people in depression at any one time it is important to understand why so that we can help those caught up in this terrible dis-ease.

As Anthony Robbins says - to be depressed you have to be completely focussed on yourself and all the bad things that are happening to you! This leaves you asking really poor questions about your life and circumstances and it is those questions that hold you in depression.

The tendency of most people when they are depressed is to ask really poor questions; these can include things like:

• Why does this always happen to me?
• What do I do to deserve this?
• What am I doing wrong?
• What's wrong with me?

What sort of answers do these questions bring? That's right, they bring negative ones! Ask yourself one of those questions now and I guarantee you it will be a negative answer. So it's better to ask yourself more positive questions; questions that provide answers that will take you forward and not drag you down!

• What actions can I take to improve my situation?
• Who can help me through this and back to happiness?
• What do I want my future to really look and feel like?
• How do I make my future full of joy and happiness?
• My life is worth more than this, how do I make it special?

Now, what sort of answers do you get to those questions? Different, more positive answers yes? You see with these questions you are pre-supposing that you can improve your situation; that you can be full of joy and happiness and that you can take the actions to get you there.

Here's a quick exercise for you:

What are the 'better' more positive questions you can ask yourself right now? I encourage you to write those questions down right now and start to answer them. Write out 5 positive questions and then write down a couple of sentences for each answer. Then walk away for a while and come back and read your answers; you can then add more to them.

Our minds are predisposed to answer questions, it is how we work. In fact your mind cannot help nut answer a question can it?

I know you will have answered that question straight away if only in your head, you can't help it. Our subconscious mind is set up to answer questions but it doesn't distinguish between negative and positive questions so give it a negative question and you'll get a negative answer and vice versa.

If you come up with answers like "I can't" and "I don't know" then you need to work harder as they are just blocks on your system. Ask yourself what if I could? Or What if I did know? What would your answer be?

Asking yourself positive question is the start to breaking through depression.

To Your Happiness
Graham

Graham Nicholls has been a Life and Personal Development Coach for over 15 years and has gained invaluable knowledge and experience in the area of helping people to improve their lives.
http://prioritycoachingblog.com

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Five Important Facts About Depression: The Silent Killer

Ever felt down in the dumps for a prolonged period of time? Feeling sinking farther and farther into the murky blues, like weighed down by a tremendous anchor? Feeling like nothing in the world can keep you afloat? Or that you are the world class good-for-nothing bum and an absolute waste of space? Well then I reckon it's the time to read this article and analyze yourself, for you exhibit the classic symptoms of depression.

In layman's terms, depression is a deep sinking feeling commonly associated with sadness. People suffering from depression define it as sadness, hopelessness and dejection. The feeling of despondency refuses to fade away and often cannot be attributed to a triggering factor. Depression manifests itself in a wide range of symptoms which commonly includes sleep disturbances (commonly referred to as hypo-somnia or insomnia), appetite disturbances, low mood, hopelessness and lethargy; none of which can be discarded simply at will. These symptoms persist for the minimum period of two weeks at length. You might associate it with the normal 'healthy' depression that you experience as a result of a distressing experience but once this bone-chilling sadness begins to interfere recurrently with your normal routine or diversely influences your psycho-motor skills, well it's time to be serious and face the reality: you have depression.

The first fact you need to realize is that depression is a real illness, a full-blown disorder. Simply put, our brain contains chemicals that are responsible for our moods. Depression disorder is caused by their unprompted imbalance in the brain. Sometimes a person may suffer due to a severe loss but clinical depression is simply a spontaneous malfunctioning in the brain. Thus a person is helpless in respect to this disorder, so you should not conclude that you are somehow responsible for it.

Secondly depression does not only affect the brain but often displays itself physically. It creates and augments all sorts of body aches and pains. These include chronic joint pain, limb pain, back pain, chest pain and headaches. The person feels inexplicable fatigue and weakness and droopy self esteem. Because these symptoms crop up with many conditions, many people never get help, because very few people are able to identify that these are symptoms of depression.

Thirdly, depression deranges your ability to concentrate, analyze and think. Thus people find it hard to focus or make a decision. Their cognitive functions are severely disturbed and they might find it hard to learn or recall events or details.

Fourthly, depression causes a persistent irritability and peevishness and consequently, social impairment. The patient is easily inflamed by the slightest provocation from the family or friends, or can be very touchy about trifling matters. Thus he suddenly finds himself wishing to isolate himself from everybody or hiding his inner feelings from the others. However this self-imposed isolation is the most dangerous of all.

This self imposed isolation is dangerous because the patient often entertains self-destructive thoughts, which leads us to the last truth: suicide. This is the biggest damage depression can cause. The patient has recurrent ideas, thoughts or even daydreams about death, as his life seems to stretch hopeless before him regardless of the fact that he is reasonably well-settled. He thinks about suicide, including the suicide plan, the attempt and the life after. The fact remains that he does not conjure this up by himself; these thoughts are generated by themselves. Thus if the patient shows the slightest indication towards suicide, he should be taken to a hospital and treated by a professional at once, as well monitored vigilantly.

Depression may conceal itself tenfold and strike very subtly, thus one needs to be heedful. Hope this article helps you protect you and your loved ones from this devious killer.

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How To Manage SAD Or Winter Depression With Simple Lifestyle Changes and Self Help

Are you are one of those many people who just want to curl up in a duvet as soon as winter hits?

As the days get shorter if you find yourself feeling moody and tired you might be suffering from SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. There are some things you should be doing to help combat these depressed feelings so that you can manage better even though it's dark and cold outside. You will be pleased to know that self help is actually very important in keeping yourself well. You can make some simple lifestyle changes that will help you to lift your mood naturally.

Are you suffering from stress or do you worry too much?

Try to find ways to reduce any stress and anxiety in your life. If there are things happening in your life you can't control or perhaps a situation that you can't change then you need to strengthen the way that you cope with that stress. You could try relaxation which could mean taking some time out to have a warm bath or perhaps listening to a relaxation or self hypnosis CD. Even if you can only manage to sit down with your eyes closed for 10 minuites. Taking simple measures like this and making some positive changes in your routine can help you to cope better with the stress in your life.

Do you get enough exercise?

Making more time for exercise is healthy, not just in the gym but walking in daylight outside just for 30 minutes, can help to boost your vitamin D and also your mood to stop you from feeling down. You might not always feel like it at first but afterwards you will hopefully notice a more positive feeling. A mindful walk in the park can be enough to change your outlook whilst also giving you a change of environment.

How about trying a daylight SAD lightbox?

There are many types of daylight boxes or lamps that people find helpful. They are thought to help lift the depressive effects of winter and dark nights. You can put these in a place you use the most such as on the table, by the computer or next to your bed. You could even use it whilst reading so that you are relaxing at the same time. If you have to be up early in the morning you could try using a sunrise alarm clock that imitates a natural sunrise by gradually getting lighter and helping you to wake up slowly.

Hypnotherapy can also be helpful for reducing SAD symptoms.

Lisa Smith is a Registered Clinical Hypnotherapist and Life Coach at Cheshire Hypnotherapy Est 12yrs in Altrincham near Manchester.

I am a member of the National Council for hypnotherapy. I often help clients with psychological issues such as stress and anxiety. I also help clients with Phobias, IBS, Insomnia, Bulimia and childbirth. Hypnotherapy is also great for stopping smoking and weight loss.

Please visit http://cheshirehypnotherapy.co.uk for more information about hypnotherapy and health issues.

My blog is http://www.cheshirehypnotherapy.blogspot.com

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Natural Ways to Deal With Depression

Exercising

Exercising is one way of reducing the anxiety level and is a solution to mild depression. The existing research supports this claiming that through exercises, some sort of satisfaction chemicals referred to as endorphins are released into the brain. A study conducted in Maryland University found out that engaging in exercises led to a reduction in depression amongst students. This can be either a temporary solution or long term depending on an individual. By engaging in regular exercises, the brain is conditioned to refocus on positive things shunning the issues that caused the depression and anxiety in the first place. You do not have to run marathons to achieve this rather just a few walks can do the trick. Other recommended exercises include aerobics, yoga and weightlifting amongst others.

Interacting with people

Depression indeed abhors company. Being alone is one of the key ingredients fuelling anxiety and worsening the depression. People suffering from depression feel the urge to be alone and undisturbed hoping they will work out the problems alone. As much as this may seem to be the most tenable solution all it does is exacerbate the feeling of helplessness. The perfect antidote for this is to socialize with people that are trustworthy and that make you feel good. It is advisable to at this time shun people who make you feel unworthy and downtrodden and rather stick to those who radiate positivity. Happiness is contagious and interacting with happy people will indeed give you a refreshed outlook in life.

Try to sleep it off

Experts recommend sleep as one of the best remedies to mild and moderate forms of depression. They refer it to be similar to a system reboot and there is a likelihood you will wake up feeling more refreshed and with more positive thoughts. Depression often leads to self-loathing and other negative thoughts about oneself and life in general. Sleep can be a natural cure to this if it is long, deep and uninterrupted. When suffering from depression it is common to have insomnia. Other people demonstrate the urge to sleep and may do so for hours. For those that have sleeping problems, taking sedatives or relaxants has been found to work laying credence to the fact that sleep is indeed an effective remedy. The problem with lack of sleep is that it presents mood complexities during the day a fact that can worsen the depression.

Breaking the routine

When the initial symptoms of depression start to stream in it is good to change the routine and opt for more refreshing tasks and responsibilities. There are tens of issues that can trigger depression; it can be the death of a close relative or friend, loss of a job, money problems, being jilted by a lover or other earthshaking issues. When faced by any such situations it is always advisable to change the routine and instead focus on activities that reduce interaction with what triggered the depression in the first place. Following the same routine that you have followed for ages can indeed lead to monotony which further fuels anxiety. It could be taking a day off from work, going out with friends in the evening, travelling to ease your mind or just taking an evening walk. This break from tradition will indeed give you something new to look forward to and will in the end make you happier.

A healthy diet

People usually take depression in varied ways. There are those who resort to sleeping, eating or not eating at all. Depression has been recognized as both a major cause of obesity and anorexia. There are people who turn to junk foodstuffs and sugary food when depressed and if this progresses for long their weight mushrooms beyond expectations. Others however find the idea of food disgusting and have low appetites. For these there is usually a large slump in weight that might result to adverse health problems. To alleviate this experts advise sticking to a good and healthy diet. A healthy diet boosts the release of feel good endorphin chemicals. This indeed provides a remedy to depressive feelings. Eating healthy foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and those rich in folic acids such as salmon and avocado respectively can indeed ease your anxiety.

Change of surroundings

When depressed there is a general likelihood of feeling uncomfortable with the present environment. There are those who blame their current woes on their environment feeling that they would want to move away from their homes. Although the blame game is not highly recommended change of scenery is indeed a healthy option. Sometimes the present environment might keep reminding you of your problems further fuelling your anxieties. This however does not mean that you should move away forever but rather is taking a small vacation until the bad feelings are reduced. It is important that this change not be radical lest it leads to additional problems. If one cannot afford a vacation, changing the house set up can also help alleviate the feeling. It could be undertaking a thorough cleaning, getting rid of some old junks in the house to create more room or just adding more natural lighting.

Other natural remedies include group therapy, where people share their problems, positive thinking where you try and analyze your successes and also taking supplements with the assistance of your doctor. The remedies to depression are indeed many and they should not be taken in isolation rather a combination of two or three will do the trick. It is always advisable to seek the attention of a physician should the situation exacerbate further.

Qossay is the author of PalScience.com. My blog delivers the latest breaking news and information on the latest top stories, Health and Medicine, Technology and Science.

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Why Failure Is Good!

Most fear is developed because of an absence of trust in yourself. You don't believe you can do the thing you want to do. In Western culture you can get programmed that if you're not a success at absolutely everything - the first time you do it - you are a failure as a person. A lot of fear could be neutralized if you wouldn't be frightened of failure.

Just because something doesn't go right, the first, second, or twentieth time you attempt it, doesn't make you or the process a failure. Your problem isn't that you fail, it's that you're not failing enough. Apollo 11, the rocket that carried the first astronauts to the moon, was off course 97% of the time! They failed their way to the moon.

They were constantly compensating and over-compensating for the hundreds of variables of space travel. They didn't see that they were constantly off course and then quit 10 miles up. They were continually getting feedback and correcting for it. Correct and continue, all the way to the moon.

They landed at their chosen destination AND returned to earth, even though they only had a 3% success rate. Do you realize how liberating that is? You can be on course only 3% of the time and still reach your dream! Rarely is there triumph without complications. If you're not getting where you want to go, step up your fail rate.

You see all successful people fail. In fact they fail a lot, they just don't take it personally. If they're not failing they know they are not doing the hard, difficult things they need to be doing to move forward and grow even more successful. If you're not moving ahead in life it's quite possible it's because you're not failing enough. Fail twice as much as you are now, just keep going, and don't look for what is going wrong. Look for what's going right and do more of that.

The philosopher Thomas Troward once said, "The law of flotation was not discovered by the contemplation of the sinking of things." The changes you wish to see in your Life will not come about through the contemplation of everything that is going wrong in your world. Look, you're not a failure because something goes wrong. Failing is only a form of feedback. You fail because you let that stop you. You fail because you don't get up again when you fall.

You fail because you sit and meditate on how nothing goes right in your Life. Successful people fail ALL THE TIME! They just get up again and say, "Next!" You will not reach your goals and dreams unless you take some action and look at the feedback. Then, if necessary, you correct your next step due to the feedback you received.

Have you ever watched one of those behind-the-scenes documentaries on how they made a movie? You know that clapperboard they use to signal take 1, take 2, when they're filming a scene? They do take after take, because something inevitably goes wrong. The lights aren't working, a prop is missing, a special effect doesn't fire, the actors mess up their lines, any number of things can go wrong, and no one gets upset because it's only a mis-take. They filmed a scene, they didn't get what they wanted, so they did another take. It's only a mistake. It's just feedback.

Every time you do something you get a result. You name it "good" or "bad." In reality all it is feedback. You took some action and you got some feedback. If the feedback tells you you're off course, then you take some actions to get back on track.

Results are just feedback. Results are a guide showing what you need to work on next. When you step on the bathroom scale, that's feedback. When you look at your bank statement, that's feedback. It's when you take that feedback personally that you start losing your self-worth.

Don't spend your time contemplating your "failures." Look at and study your successes if you want to see positive change in your Life. Understand that mis-takes are just part of the process for achieving your dreams. It's just feedback.

For a FREE audio course featuring The 4 Real Causes Of Depression and Do Antidepressants Cause Depression, Violence & Suicide? go to http://www.Depression180.com. This is information that either doctors don't know, or more frightening, are keeping from you...

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Depression: Signs and Symptoms

We all feel down at one time or another and being sad on occasion is something that comes with everyday life, but if you find yourself feeling sad all the time, you might be suffering from depression. It is very important that you understand the signs and symptoms of depression if you are going to deal with the problem in an effective manner.

Depression is a problem that affects millions of Americans each year, and in many cases, the symptoms are ignored or pushed aside, which can lead to other problems, such as alcohol and drug abuse, self-harm, and even suicide. Understanding the danger signs can help you realize when to seek help from medical professionals before it's too late.

There are many things that trigger depression-a chemical imbalance, the loss of a loved one, unemployment, a divorce, financial problems, and recently, depression has also been linked to heredity factors as well. Even if you have bounced back from life's setbacks before, if you are especially hard hit by an event, it can trigger an episode of depression, even if you have never had depression problems in the past. In order to recognize whether or not you need help, understanding and recognizing the symptoms are the most important factors in treating the problem.

Some of the major signs of depression are sleeping too much, losing interest in things that you once loved to do, feeling angry, anxious, or aggressive toward others, especially without due cause, a marked decrease in proper hygiene, and drastic changes in appetite. While these symptoms may vary from person to person, they are a common thread when it comes to diagnosing depression, and if these symptoms are ignored, it will only lead to more troublesome and dangerous behavior.

If depression goes untreated, in many cases, it can lead to self-harm and suicide. Suicidal thoughts and actions are the end result of untreated depression, as the problem is a mental slippery slope with degrees of severity.

If you have several of the symptoms mentioned above, the best thing to do is to see a doctor right away before the condition worsens, particularly if there is a history of depression in your family or if you have experienced a traumatic event. Don't ignore the signs and symptoms of depression-get help because the sooner you understand depression and the impact it can have on your life, the sooner you can conquer it and live a happier life.

For more information on depression, how it can be treated and how to spot the symptoms, visit http://www.patient.co.uk/health/depression

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Picking Yourself Up When You're Down

It's easy to feel motivated and inspired when things are going well. During these times you feel inspired to achieve and follow through on all the steps you've meticulously devised to reach your goals. But what happens when you hit a fork in the road? For example:

1) you receive an unexpected bill

2) you experience rejection

3) you notice you've gained weight

4) you fight with a loved one

These negative (unexpected) experiences can really bring you down and throw you off course. Further, if you're not careful, they can quickly cause you to spiral into thoughts of helplessness and hopelessness which often lead to depression.

In order to cope with the struggles life can throw at you - in the moment - it helps to tackle your moods from the physical and then, from the emotional/psychological perspectives.

Taking the first step - tackling the Physical side of your mood:

In the midst of a negative mood, you first need to change your physical body to try to shake off the feeling of hopelessness. Unfortunately this is when many people turn to alcohol and/or medication for a quick-fix solution (later suffering from the side effects). Better options include eating foods that release serotonin - like tuna, having a coffee or going for a walk/run.

The second step - tackling the emotional and psychological side of your mood:

After you've shaken off the physical component, it's important to work through the emotional and psychological components of how you are feeling. This often requires speaking to someone else who can give you a balanced perspective. This is why it's great if therapists can make themselves available to clients in between sessions via text or email (when they are in the midst of a stressful situation or mood, rather than waiting until they have their next scheduled appointment to discuss major issues that arise). That way they can have a quick response to assist them to snap out of their negative state and feel better about moving forward - when it counts most.

The last step is taking control.

Take a moment to step back and review your feelings and the circumstances that led to your emotional and physical reactions - with a more rational and clear mindset. Then take some time to think through any immediate action you could take to get through it. For instance, if you've experiences rejection, take some time to think about your approach to new or current relationships and see whether perhaps any negative emotions such as insecurity and neediness are sabotaging your efforts. Then, take a new course of action to improve these feelings and move forward.

Life will often throw things at you when you least expect it. However, if you cope with the strategies noted above, you will increase your resilience and optimism and live a much happier and fulfilling life.

To speak to a professional life coach or counsellor, visit Happy Life at http://www.happylife.net.au/lifecoaching&counselling.html

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More Confident

I think a very good method to raise self-esteem is working out /exercising. Nothing makes you feel better about yourself than a good workout. Also doing other things for yourself helps, like buying new clothes, getting a haircut and other stuff like that. Also going out with friends or going out on dates makes you feel great.

Working out has been a very good influence in these couple of weeks. Thus far I am rehearsing my ability to step out of my comfort zone and do new things. Courage really helps in creating self esteem and basically enlarges the psychological boarders of the freedom to choose.

For those thinking about working out in the means of running or cycling there is a really great app on the market called "Run Keeper." It offers a lot of functionality and different stats. By GPS it tracks your distance and time, besides that it shows the calories you have burned. You can add certain goals to it that you want to work on and there actually is also the possibility to join a community by making a street team. The amount of offered service is very high. The free version is more than enough for me anyway and it can give a lot of pride and feelings of accomplishment when looking at the results and posting runs onto Facebook or twitter.

Here are a few things to think about to make you feel better!

Positive environment, people, sunlight, music.

Positive thoughts, optimistic, sunny, bubbly

Acting in a confident way, walking taller, dressing smarter, smiling

Acting can lead to the feeling can lead to the thinking

Achieving something, accomplishing a goal however small

Environment is such an important factor, being aware of this is really half of the thing I do believe. Did you know that your physiology (the way you carry yourself) has a direct impact on your mood? When someone is feeling bad they automatically take a certain posture and breathing rate that's typical for that state. Yet when feeling bad and training yourself to remind yourself to keep a straight posture and keep breathing deeply can really improve how you feel. Partly because of this reason I think that practicing of yoga, meditation, mindfulness or actually also sports is so important. Things that have a positive impact on body and breathing awareness really help to stimulate on conscious competence and promote better feelings overall without much direct effort in the moment.

Listen to self-hypnosis tracks first thing in the morning (before I kick start the day) which is basically a guided daydreaming experience. That way I make sure I start my day with some positive fantasizing exercise. I really believe in the power of visualizing and day dreaming, and as a teenager, unaware of their positive effects, I would fantasize about my ideal future just before falling asleep, but these days, with the load of work and responsibility adulthood brings with it, it is quite difficult for it to happen on its own, so I found that, even if I don't get to do any day dreaming during the day, the small dose in the morning is enough to motivate me.

Self reflection. Always have a pen and notepad on me, and I jot down self-reflecting thoughts that come to my head, so I always make time for my inner philosopher.

Self-reflection at night time is also always the way to end your day on a high note. Even if you have felt horrible through out the day, just before it comes to an end, you turn things round and make something positive out of it, i. e. you learn from the day.

Also I find that weekly challenges that put your courage to test can be an excellent confidence booster.

According to science the amount of self esteem is linked to the amount of courage someone is willing to invest. Every unit of courage spent will pay back in self esteem.

Jack Canfield summed it up very nicely. It's like a stack of poker chips. When you would be playing at a table and your stack would be high, then you would be willing to take more risks and participate. The real deal is to raise your stacks of confidence to participate in life more.

Meditation is a very good way to develop confidence and self esteem. It's far from a quick-fix method, but the daily investment someone would be willing to make could sum up to a tenfold return over time.

Meditation promotes non judgement, calmness and patience. This creates space for new ideas and more room for self examination in a more eased way. With time someone can really understand himself through this process and instead of be acted upon by external events, just choose his response in a detached and emotionally more stable way. Why I also think this is so important is because the quality of thoughts determine the quality of our lives. The quality of our decisions ultimately make our future.

I hope this helps some people!

Please if you found this interesting please visit my site and grab my free gift "How to make this year the YEAR! at [http://www.newlifegreatyear.com]

Kind regards Gary Theobald

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Externalising Depression and Anxiety

It's depressing enough that we may have an issue with depression or anxiety, but such a state is made worse simply because we begin to believe these conditions are to be forever part of us.

Internalising the nature of our mental and emotional health problems is central to the problem. It's as if the depression or anxiety becomes part of our identity, and it quickly attaches itself such that we cannot let it go easily. Externalising these problems, for they need not be intrinsically part of us, is of great benefit.

Our opportunity, then, is to focus on seeing any of the mental health issues we may have as being more a response-of-resistance to the issues we are dealing with.

Perhaps we can see that the conditions we struggle with are not necessarily part of us at all - that they are simply the circumstances of mind, body, and soul that emanate from our environmental climate.

GAINING SPACE THROUGH EXTERNALISATION

It's a relatively simple task to begin to see ourselves apart from the condition - the feelings of depression or anxiety. This may not ease our felt complaints, but it sure does allow for the recognition of identity that sits apart from these dilemmas of the mind.

Gaining space through externalisation, which is seeing ourselves as people who are potentially depression-free or anxiety-free, in this case, is managed through seeing ourselves as identified in bigger terms than the problematic state of mind itself.

COVETING A SURE SENSE OF IDENTITY

It's a very good thing for anyone to covet a sure sense of identity. By doing so, in externalising ourselves from our problems, so that we might not label or categorise ourselves unnecessarily, we open up the terrain of our identities. We conceive a bigger place for our identities on the map of life.

When we refuse to be limited by the small matters of category that the world often wants to pigeonhole us into, we enlarge the reality of our self-esteem. When we do this we are coveting a sure sense of identity. This is a very healthy thing to do.

By not internalising the depression or anxiety, because they are not truly part of us, we are free to nurture this sure sense of identity. Of course, the surest sense of identity is that found in God.

***

We are not defined by our depressions and anxieties. Our identities are broader than that. Because we can overcome many of our mental ills, these self-same mental ills do not limit or define us. And whilst they stay for a while, or come intermittently, we have great hope when we can externalise from our depression and anxiety.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Steve Wickham is a Registered Safety Practitioner (BSc, FSIA, RSP[Australia]) and a qualified, unordained Christian minister (GradDipBib&Min). Steve writes at: http://epitemnein-epitomic.blogspot.com.au/ and http://tribework.blogspot.com.au/

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How To Beat Depression Through The Law Of Suggestion

This is a very important article if you are suffering from depression. What do I mean by the law of suggestion? What I mean by suggestion is that you basically have two parts of your mind. You have your conscious mind and your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind does not know the difference between truth and a lie.

How your subconscious mind works is that you form beliefs about yourself, about the world, about things around you, and your subconscious mind acts upon these beliefs. There is a great expression in personal development which is so true as it is a law of the world."As within so without" which means whatever beliefs and thoughts that you have within (your mind), you will experience those on the outside (your results).

Therefore if you didn't have concrete beliefs about yourself and if somebody in the past suggested to you a negative suggestion such as, "You can't do this, or you'll never amount to anything in your life, or you're not intelligent, etc" and if you didn't have concrete beliefs about who you were in whatever area, definitely those negative suggestions could have become limited beliefs.

That suggestion that another person gave you becomes a new belief and this is how a lot of people enter depression. They let outside remarks, suggestions and criticisms affect them and they start to believe that they are true which hurdles them into a downward spiral of negativity. If you believe that you can't do something or you're not good at something, you will show these limited beliefs on the outside as they will show up as negative results in your life.

There is a great line in the New Testament. In the Bible it says, "As you believe, so shall it be done unto you," which basically means whatever you believe on the inside in your subconscious mind, you will attain on the outside in the world.

So what's the purpose of this article? If you're suffering from depression, there may have been a trigger in your past that initiated your depression. It could have been when somebody said something negative to you which was merely a negative suggestion and it stuck and became a prominent belief in your mind. So the purpose of this article is helping you to change that belief.

The strongest people in the world mentally, they do not care what people say to them. The strongest people mentally in our society know exactly who they are and what beliefs they have. They don't entertain any negativity. They just dismiss it because they have already formed their beliefs about who they are. So what we need to do with you is we need to change your belief structure. We need to change your identity. We need to change your self-image (how you see yourself), etc.

This in a two-step process. Unfortunately most people suffering from depression think negatively about themselves but whatever you think is wrong with you or whatever you think your deficiency or your disadvantage is can most definitely be cured. So start working to improve in the area you think you are weak in, this is step 1. The second step is daily positive affirmations.You say to yourself in the present tense, "I am improving in X," in whatever area it is, "I'm improving in X, or I'm getting better in X."

So with this two-step process through the process of action and the process of positive affirmations and positive words, your mind will take that as being true with your subconscious because you are actually doing something to rectify the supposed problem. As you keep on repeating that "I am good in this area or I'm improving in this area," your subconscious mind will eventually form this belief.

The great thing about this method is when another negative person gives you a negative suggestion, because you have a positive belief formed in this area, it will not affect you. It will not affect you one bit because your belief is already formed.

So do this two-step process. Think about why you are suffering from depression and what do you think you are bad at? To change that belief, you need to start working and improving in that area and doing something practical every day and also you need to repeat, "I am good in this area. I'm getting better in this area. I'm improving in this area." You need to repeat positive affirmations multiple times daily. Repetition is the mother of all skill. Your subconscious mind will take this eventually as a positive belief that you are good in this area and then your outer world will start to change confirming your new positive belief.

Go Here Now To get Your Free Gift on Fighting Depression & more great information about Overcoming Depression

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Integrative Medicine Remedies for Depression

I am a firm follower of Dr. Andrew Weil. He was on NPR yesterday with quite a few tips on beating depression.

1. Exercise: Walking, bicycling, swimming, and running all boost levels of inflammation and keep the brain and mood levels healthy and sustainable. Dr. Weil recommends at least four days of thirty minutes of exercise per week.

2. Maintain a diet that is low in inflammatory foods and high in antioxidants. The king of inflammatory foods is sugar followed by high amounts of dairy. Recent studies have pointed to high levels on inflammation having the most debilitating effects on mood. Low serotonin levels were thought to be the greatest cause of depression. Now there is a shift to inflammation being the culprit. To be on the safe side, maintain intake of mainly vegetables and small amounts of fruit and non-processed protein.

3. Establish a habit of keeping a gratitude journal. Mood is bound to improve with keeping a daily record of our blessings. This is the best time of year to start that routine.

4. Be sure the diet includes ample levels of fish oil and Omega three acids.

5. The healthiest diet is one that excludes all processed foods, with the Mediterranean diet being at the top of the list. Sticking with the vegetable bin at the grocery store is the best bet.

6. Of all the therapies for depression, cognitive therapy has proven to be far more effective than older styles of therapy.an excellent resource is Dr. David Burns' book and workbook, "Feeling Good."
I have taken the liberty of adding a few of my own ideas to the list.

1. Consult with your doctor to see if thyroid hormones are low. A hypothyroid condition can produce depression, inability to concentrate, and brain fog.
2. Consult with your doctor to see if the addition of T3, a thyroid hormone, might be helpful. Two doses of five milligrams of T3 per day have really helped me. T3 supplies the brain with vital nutrients.
3. Try pet therapy. My two cats bring a lot of happiness into my life. Blossom and Oreo give a great deal of joy and unconditional love.
4. Give the gifts of compassion and empathy. They both go a long way to alleviate depression.
5. Get involved with volunteer projects. Community connections are vital to a productive, happy life.
6. Establish a firm spiritual connection. Church, synagogue, or temple involvement all provide chances to connect in a healthy manner.

Dear readers: Please feel free to add your ideas and input.

Nationally acclaimed author and speaker Barbara Altman is the author of Recovering from Depression, Anxiety, and Psychosis. Altman does presentations on depression recovery, ACA issues, and Addiction issues. You may contact her at 314-962-5314 or at http://WWW.depressiontorecovery.com

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Living With Depression

If you are uncertain about whether you are living with depression or not, here are a few things to look for.
You just don't care
You sleep a lot
You either eat too much or not at all
You may cry for no reason
You're not happy, ever
Mood swings
You ace all over
There are many many more

Living with depression is like living on a roller coaster to me. I am happy one day and down another. I could be happy one minute and unhappy another. Your emotions are all over the grid. If that is not enough I could be talking to someone and tears will start running down my face. There are days I just don't want to get out of bed. If you feel like me, you are most likely depressed. Even though I am on anti depressives, I still go through these bouts of depression if I stop taking or forget my medication for even one day. Being depressed is nothing to laugh at. It is nothing that you did wrong or that someone did to you.

Depression comes from a chemical imbalance that can be caused by many many things, some of which the doctors don't even know. In a case like that they will treat your symptoms of your depression. If they are able to determine a possible cause of the depression, they will still treat the depression but may also treat the underlying cause.

In abling to function day to day, it is important to try and change your life, if even just a small amount. Below are just some of the changes I have made in my life that help.

Diet - Sure everyone says that but it is true. I was and still am over weight. I try everyday to make healthier choices when eating. If you fail at one meal or one day, just try again the next meal or day. Don't get depressed for the failure.

Focus - Focus on the positive, not the negative. There is nothing you can do about something that has already happened. Look ahead and think about the next minutes. Keep you focus on what you are able to do to make the next min, hour or day go better. It is not important what you do, just doing is a big step. Don't let big projects get you down either. Break them down into smaller projects and rejoice over each step completed. You will be surprised how much better you feel.

Exercise - I know another one of those things that every gives as an overall fix for all that ails you. Again I have to say that even if you can get out in the fresh air and walk around your yard, up and down the street or walk around the mall your mood will lift and you will feel better. Any amount of movement and exercise will help you feel better. I know it is difficult at first but it does get better and easier to motivate yourself.

See a Dr., any one will do, see them regularly and take your medication as prescribed. This is not an option this is a must.

I know these are not easy any of them especially when all you want to do is lay there on the couch or in bed. There are days when I just want to give up, even after all these years. If these days

continue to increase see your Dr. right away. Don't wait!

To summarize, it is not easy to live with depression, take it from me, I have been living with it for over 20 years. There are other things you can do to help yourself but it will take work. Try each of the items above one at a time if you need to. Do as many as you can. Push yourself to take the first steps, to care about your mind, body and spirit enough to see a Dr. and get help. Then continue to focus and work toward your next positive goal. Good Luck!

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