Post Natal Depression - What Are the Baby Bluez?

In 2010 I was diagnosed with postnatal depression after the birth of my second child. My first pregnancy had been relatively easy, with help at hand with my mother a short distance away. At the same time, my first-born was a gem - no sleepless nights, no breastfeeding woes - a happy, contented child. So when my Elizabeth came, it was catastrophic - and now my mum was hundreds of miles away.

Naturally worrying about the progress of any pregnancy is inevitable with most mothers, no matter how many children they have had. My first pregnancy went along without any real problems. However, after the second pregnancy, and with a more difficult child, my anxiety got to the point of excessive worrying, and an inability to relax.

Even after 3 weeks my daughter would not settle into any routine for her feeding and sleeping. She slept most of the day and cried most of the night. I could not control her screaming even though my doctor and maternal child health nurse found no health problems. Everything became an effort. I just could not cope. I was sleep-deprived, appetite-disturbed and exhausted. I felt I was the worst mother in the world.

The decisive and well balanced person of the past had disappeared and in her place was a teary, panicky woman who was a shadow of her former self. In other words, there was something majorly very wrong. Even today I still cannot believe that my darling husband persevered with me.

Society makes it difficult for most women to acknowledge that there is something wrong. Isn't childbirth the time when most women feel joy and bliss? Isn't post natal depression portrayed as negative? Look at how well all the celebrities manage with all their children? And look at me, I felt alone and unable to cope, life was not perfect.

When help finally came, my life changed and my feelings and responses towards my daughter changed. My doctor finally admitted me to hospital where diagnosis of postnatal depression was made and medication begun. He prescribed an antidepressant which corrected the chemical imbalance in the brain which may have been responsible for my depression.

What Causes Postpartum Depression

While there is no known cause for PPD, it is though that it may be triggered by fluctuating oestrogen and progesterone levels that occur following childbirth. Abnormalities in the thyroid hormones have also been listed.

My daughter is now a beautiful 5-year old and I love her to bits and enjoy every minute with her. I thank my family for listening and emotionally supporting me. I have learned to trust my parenting skills and I am no longer embarrassed to admit that I have suffered postnatal depression.

Postnatal Depression Signs and Symptoms

In fact over 20% of pregnant women experience some sort of depression. Symptoms can occur anytime during pregnancy, however, studies indicate that it is more common after birth. Studies also show that if the sufferer has depression symptoms prior to pregnancy, the symptoms are often more serious after the pregnancy.

While most mothers experience: mood swings, insomnia, dependency, crying, restlessness, irritability, and feelings of sadness for a week or two after childbirth, if symptoms last longer, then the diagnosis of postnatal depression is made.

Generally, the primary risk factor is having a family history of depression, although life events such as marital problems, child abuse, unemployment, low education or low socioeconomic status play a part.

It is important to know that postnatal depression is not a sign of personal weakness, failure, or 'all in the mind'. I encourage any other mother who may be going through these same feelings to seek professional help as early as possible. It will help you, your child and your family. The good news is that you will recover. Learn to ask for help. It is never too late. And yes, I am a good mum!

For more advice on this topic as well as panic and anxiety disorders, check out our website: http://www.tipsforpanicattack.com

Any mother suffering from post natal depression needs to seek professional help. Find out more in this article on why PPD is not a weakness, nor is it 'all in the mind'.

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The 11 Symptoms Of Depression

Surely you've heard at least once somebody told an acquaintance that he suffers from depression. With the internet people are more informed and tend to put their own diagnosis of depression.

However, there is a difference between sadness and depression. Mourning the loss of a job, divorce or chronic diseases can lead to behaviors that can be confused with depression.

One of three people suffer from some form of depression and only some of them are treated. It has also been said the most common signs of depression are: loss of form, feeling the blues, morale, and being sad all the time. The main symptoms of bipolar disorder are represented by unpredictable and mood swings.

The difference between sadness and depression is that the first is an emotion, and the second is a disease. Clinical depression has two main components: intensity (strong symptoms interfere with daily life) and duration (symptoms are present most of the time, and the last half lasts more than two weeks continuously).

I present below 11 symptoms that may indicate that a person is not experiencing normal emotions of sadness and fleeting, but with clinical depression. It is important to know that symptoms vary from individual to individual and should not be present all the 11 symptoms at the same time.

Severity is also variable: can be mild or major depression. If found that the presence of these symptoms I recommend you seek psychotherapeutic help. Depending on the severity of depression I would recommend a psychotherapeutic intervention or a combination of psychotherapy and medication.

The 11 symptoms are:

1. Sadness, anxiety, and feeling emotionally empty persisting;

2. Feelings as hopelessness, worthlessness or helplessness;

3. Agitation and restlessness cup;

4. Frequent episodes of crying;

5. Fatigue and lack of energy;

6. Loss of interest in activities that previously created to pleasure;

7. Difficulty concentrating, remembering details and making of their decisions;

8. Sleep disorders - sleep excess / insufficient sleep;

9. Lack of appetite / eating excessively;

10. Thoughts of death or suicide;

11. Persistent pain, headache, muscle cramps or digestive problems that do not go after treatment.

Depression is a serious condition that requires support from loved ones. I know many think it's just lack of will, but in reality is much more complex and difficult. Those who suffer from depression need to be encouraged, understood, listened to and not criticized, minimized or pointing fingers. This disease has grown very large because we live in a society that focuses on competition and the desire to be perfect.

William Moore is the Founder and Webmaster of Depression Symptoms Solutions.

To learn more about Depression Symptoms Solutions and the types of depression, their symptoms, and treatments, please go to http://www.depressionmagic.com/

If you or somebody you care about has or thinks they have a problem with depression, You will definitely want to browse this website for the great information shared here at http://www.depressionmagic.com

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Is Medication Always The Answer?

Students are more commonly depressed these days than people even imagine. Some will say society is to blame, that students lives are much more complex and challenging than they used to be, while others will turn the blame onto doctors saying they just give medication away.

The argument that children's lives are more complex and challenging these days holds up better than accusing the doctors. In certain situations it very well may be a doctor is looking to promote a certain drug, or may just be careless in who and why they give medication out to. But more often than not these days doctors do not want to prescribe medication, especially to children. Depending on the severity of the child's problem, maybe medication is not the answer. There are many ways a student can channel their anger or sadness, such as joining a team or club, or finding other healthy interests to occupy their time with. Some things can be more effective than a drug, because what do most drugs do to a child anyway? Mask the problem. Parents, along with the help from other outside resources, need to find what the root of their child's problem is in order to help them instead of just sweeping it under the rug.

Sometimes parents are the ones partially to blame for their child's depression, because they don't want to deal with it. As a parent it is easier to pretend the problem isn't there, or to have someone else deal with it because it is easier, or the parent is too stressed or busy. But often times it could be something so simple. If we just take the time to talk to our students or children to find out exactly how they feel and what is bothering them we can find a way to deal with it together, and not have to mask them with medications to put them at ease. Some other alternatives could be signing them up for a sports team so they can be apart of something, helping them find a club at school that catches their interest, taking them to talk to a therapist without prescription medications. It could be something as simple as the child just needs to talk. Getting them involved with other kids their own age could be a positive spin to their lives. If they have someone they can relate and talk to that may ease some of their own stress and pressure.

There are just so many different outlets available for kids these days, I think it is a bad decision to automatically jump to medications to fix their problems. Whether we want to face the facts or not, children's lives are more difficult these days, coming out of divorced homes, only having one parent in their lives, parents that work too much which forces the oldest child to raise their siblings, drugs, alcohol; so many stressors around their lives daily that they don't have any control over. But, we need to teach them, they do have control over themselves, and there are ways to be positive that don't involve medications. They just need the proper help and guidance from loved ones surrounding them to show the healthy way.

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Is St John's Wort Safe?

St. John's wort is a plant topographically found in various regions of the world including, but not limited to regions of Asia, regions of Europe, regions of Africa and certain regions in North America. The plant is used widely in herbal medicine and almost all of the aerial parts are used to prepare medicine for herbal therapeutics.

Flower, bark and leaves of the plant are homogenized usually to prepare the medicines which contain a lot of diet supplements along with pharmacologically active ingredients. Active ingredients of the mixture may vary depending upon the preparation techniques used in various regions of the world, time of harvesting the plant and the type of land soil where the plant was grown.

When comes to talk about depression, it is not only an annoying disease, but also it triggers a lot of other general health problems which compromise the life of a person. Depression is a central nervous system disorder with a number of variants in various population groups of the world as well as within the same population groups. It may be accompanied by a lot of other disorders and have been identified to have a number of manifestations.

Depression is a triggering factor for heart, liver and kidney diseases most of the time. Our body has two strikingly different systems known as sympathetic and parasympathetic system, their balance being disturbed in stress and depression affecting all vital systems of the body.

St John's wort can be successfully used to treat depression, anxiety, stress and other related symptoms. This herb has many active ingredients that help human body fight against depression and anxiety. St John's wort can be used in various forms to treat these conditions and other CNS disorders. Mostly it is used in the form of pills which are prepared with a 300 mg dosing in America.

Some of the manufacturers feature it in the form of oil which can be used by patients. Also, it can be found in powdered form. In the regions of Asia it is a common practice to use St John's wort by making tea using its leaves especially if the weather is not very hot.

However, there are certain conditions when you must not choose to use St John's wort including pregnancy, breast feeding and if you are allergic to any of the contents of St John's wort. Also, you may experience an increased blood pressure, fatigue, stomach upsets, and increased sensitivity to the sun.

Before taking this herb you must ask yourself if St John's wort works. You can find more about what is St John's wort, side effects and dosage on http://www.stjohnswortanxiety.com

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Depression - It Gets To All Of Us

Depression. Every person has been 'depressed' at one point in their lives, or another. I genetically inherited depression from my mother. Mixed along with living in a depressing environment has caused me to have felt depressed for over five years now. Most of the Earth's population has depression. As we all know, depression can lead to many things such as causing others to feel depressed, causing violence, and the worst - suicide. I, myself, have contemplated suicide many times, but then I think back to my friends and family and I just can not do it. I feel like every person on this Planet deserves the right to live their life to the fullest as long as they can, so here I have decided to publish a blog entry about how to fight depression and five ways to distract yourself from it.

Friends
Friends are the number one thing to help distract you from depression. If you have amazing friends, they can make you happy all day long. You'll be too busy laughing, having fun, and catching up that you wont have any time to be depressed! Trust me, spend more time with your friends: invite them over for lunch, or go to the beach, or go snow boarding or skiing. No matter what you do, spending time with your friends is a great way to fight depression.

Journal/ Diary
Journals or diaries, depending on who you are, are another fantastic way to distract you from being depressed. Take a few minutes every day and just write down your feelings, what happened that day, and think deep into the back of your brain and write down what you think. This will help you to not be as stressed and you will feel like a bunch of pressure is lifted off your chest every day. Journals and diaries are cheap! Go buy one at the dollar store or something, all you need is something with pages and lines inside and you are set! I strongly recommend this to everyone who thinks or knows they have depression.

Be Positive
Tell yourself positive things. Say things like "I look really nice today!", or "Today is going to be an amazing day". Life is what you make it really want to not be depressed, you have to make yourself happy. If you catch yourself saying negative things, stop and then say something positive. This tip really helps a lot because it trains your brain to think positively all the time.

Hygiene
When you first start becoming depressed, you stop taking care of yourself. You start wearing the same clothes over and over, you resist to brush your teeth or hair, and you start showering less. Your body becomes exhausted almost every day because you are so stressed. By the end of the day you have no energy to keep yourself healthy. Keeping up with taking care of yourself is very important for you and the people around you!

Music
I don't know about my readers, but music is my entire life. Without music I would be a whole entirely different person and I know a lot of people who feel the same way. Music can assist any mood in changing. If your feeling depressed, listen to music that makes you happy. Whatever music you like will change your mood from depressed to ecstatic in just half a song, but I would recommend staying away from metal/screamo music. Singing along to the music makes me happy because singing is something I love to do. I wait till I am alone, then I pump up 'Sublime' on my computer and start singing! Music does help, just try it!

I really hope these five tips help whoever is reading them. If you really want to put a stop to your depression, these tips will help you if you are willing to keep up with them. Suicide is not the answer. Ever. Please, always remember, depression is not something that is bad or something to be embarrassed about, it's just human nature.

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Natural Health Remedies for Depression

Herbs for depression have been known to work wonders and many people turn to them as an alternative natural remedy for helping with depression.

Herbal remedies for depression are natural and help to restore better health. They are natural to the environment, unlike synthetic drugs or man-made prescription antidepressants. But before you start taking any kind of natural depression remedies it is always worthwhile to get a physical medical check to see if your body has any organs or functions that are causing your depression.

There are many different herbal or home remedies that help with depression as well as homeopathic treatments. There are literally thousands of nature's remedies with all sorts of mixtures that can help someone who is depressed. It is a good idea to search for the best depression remedy that suits the individual.

Below are a few remedies to help reduce or ease the symptoms of depression naturally.

Herbs for Depression

St. John's Wort herbal help for depression

The herb St. John's Wort has been known to help in cases of depression and has been researched extensively in trials and shown to have significant effects similar to prescription anti-depressants but without the dangerous side effects.

Take one 300 mg capsule, three times daily, of a standard extract that contains 0.3 percent hypericin and 5 percent hyperforin which are the main active compounds.

Allow 6 weeks for the herb to start working.

Caution: Do not take St. John's Wort during pregnancy or with other medicines without first consulting your doctor.

Herbs Remedies for Anxiety and Stress

Chamomile and catnip herbal tea

Chamomile has been long used in herbal medicine for its relaxing and calming effects and catnip also produces a mild tranquillizing effect that can help with anxiety and stress. You need will need:

250 ml of boiling water

1 teaspoon of dried chamomile

1 teaspoon of dried catnip

Pour the boiling water over the herbs. Cover and steep (soak) for ten minutes and strain. You can sweeten the tea with honey if you like and have three cups per day.

Improve stress resistance with ginseng

Siberian ginseng is a herb used for stimulating and is excellent for strengthening the adrenal glands - the glands that help the body cope with stress.

Chronic stress impairs the adrenals causing them to be tired or burned out and can lead to a weakened immune system. A weak immune system causes health problems such as chronic fatigue and lethargy as well as other physical problems, so it's always worth getting a physical examination to check your adrenal glands are functioning properly.

Ginseng helps the body adjust more easily to physical and emotional stress. Buy an extract that has been standardized for eleutheroside (the main active compound in ginseng), and take approx 250 mg twice a day. It is safe to take for up to six weeks.

Caution: If you have high blood pressure, consult your doctor before taking any type of ginseng.

Health Article: Natural Remedies for Depression

Theta Health http://www.thetahealth.co.za is a health and wellness website supplying vitamin supplements and health products in South Africa and is dedicated to helping people improve their health and wellbeing.

Our goal is "Making People Healthy and Happy!"

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Changing Negative Thoughts - Happiness For People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking

Changing Negative Thoughts

If you have failed to realise your potential, have not set goals and strived for them, lost faith and taken your eyes off the prize or maybe you want to help someone close to you to come to their senses, then you must learn to challenge negative thinking.

But what if you could be slightly happier and get a bit more done. Authentic happiness not cheap self help!

Have you taken the First Step towards Positive Thinking?

The ABC Model & Recognising Negative Thinking may have been like splashing cold water on your face in the morning. For others perhaps you are unable to escape the root of all evil, negative thinking, and believe there is no such antidote to negativity.

These principles are simplistic, practical truths that are so obvious that we can miss them or bypass them in the rush of our everyday lives. Learning to question your negative thoughts and designing your own personal check list for challenging negative thoughts can give you the power & ability to control them.

For the stop thinking and start living type of person to detoxify your mind making you wiser, humbler or happier this straight forward advice may help you stop worrying.

3 Steps to Change Your Thoughts

1. Catch the negative thoughts as early as possible, before you get too upset, and respond badly to the event or situation. Learn how to stop negative thoughts before they become a poison. Think about what you are thinking about to break your train of thought.

If you are tired of repeating the event over and over in your head. For lasting results choose to forgive yourself or others. This does not necessarily mean you should repeat that situation or be best friends with the person who has hurt you, but it is a decision to stop drinking your own poison and having bad feelings or being upset.

2. Stop Yourself. Break your chain of thought. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Think about a recent event (nothing too serious) that led to bad feelings or upset. Remember the event in as much detail as possible. Consider the negative thoughts that led to the bad feelings, repeat the negative thoughts to yourself until you start to feel upset again. Pause for a few seconds and then make a loud noise, clap or shout stop, even if this is in your head this will break your concentration.

3.Challenge the negative thoughts and replace them with positive, reasonable thinking. It is possible to challenge your own negative thinking. When you find yourself thinking in a negative way, ask yourself some of the following questions to check if your thoughts are reasonable:

Is the problem a thought or is it a fact?
What is the evidence?
Am I jumping to conclusions?
How appropriate is blame?
What alternative views are there?
What can I do about the outcome of this situation?
How perfect can I be?
Have I got double standards?
Is there only a downside
Is everything really likely to be a disaster?
Am I getting things out of proportion?

Thinking about the downers, the inevitability of death, the inescapability of suffering or impossibility of security is more likely to make the realities of life less scary. To become the master of your own thoughts and take control of your life, perhaps the art of successful living is to acknowledge and consider negative thinking getting more comfortable with it.

If you would like to read more about changing you thoughts you can can find more information at http://www.trans-formation.org.uk/blog

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10 Top Tips - Coping With Christmas Emotions

10 TOP TIPS

Coping with Christmas Emotions

Depression is a common illness. It will affect one in five people during their lifetime. Feelings of hopelessness, tiredness, low self-esteem, sleeping problems and physical aches and pains are just some of the symptoms associated with depression. For many, Christmas can be a depressing time, and can be difficult to cope with for many reasons.

With the festive season already fast approaching, some will be out celebrating with friends and families and preparing for Christmas, but others will be starting to feel the added stresses associated with it. These may include financial strains, unrealistic demands placed on you by others and feelings of sadness associated with those dark nights. Memories of loved ones and times gone by are evoked, and feelings of loss can become magnified.

If you are worried about how Christmas might affect you, it can help to be prepared.

1. Plan ahead

If you are worried about being alone, find out what is going on in your area. Are there any drop-in centres, support groups or other community resources available over Christmas? Perhaps a Christmas craft class or local community walk? Check local newspapers or the internet for inspiration. Try to find out as early as possible what's out there. Also, see whether there is a good day or time for you to visit friends or relatives. Reconnect with people you haven't seen for a while.

If, on the other hand, you are worried about being overwhelmed at family events, think ahead about which you feel you could go to, and which you will be able to make your apologies for. It is OK to say 'no'. People understand how busy the Christmas period can be, and if they don't like your decision, then it is their problem to deal with, not yours. They will get over it. If you really feel obliged to attend something and can't manage a 'get out', just go for a short time, wish everyone a merry Christmas and then leave early.

2.Set financial boundaries

This can be regarding spending money on gifts or social occasions. Make sure you set yourself a budget and try your best to stick to it. Make cut backs on the people you buy for. If you feel as though some presents you buy have just become a habit, why not approach the person and suggest a mutual break in buying each other a present this year as you are trying to cut back, and you may find that they feel relieved about this and both of you feel happier. Take some pressure off yourself and let people know in advance that you will not be spending much this year.

3. Acknowledge your feelings

Whether they be worry, sadness, isolation, stress or pressure and you will be able to deal with them in a more pro-active way. By denying your feelings, you may push the problems away, but you won't make them disappear. By recognising and acknowledging your feelings, these problems won't bubble underneath the surface, and suddenly strike when you least expect them to.

4. Don't surrender to the 'perfect Christmas' pressure

Do Christmas your own way, make it your own, not how expensive marketing campaigns think you should, or how other family members or friends do it. The pressure to do things as others expect is unrealistic. TV ads and glossy mags can make you feel guilty and such a failure if you don't buy their new and expensive products that will make your Christmas 'perfect'. You can't please everyone, it is impossible to keep everyone else happy so don't burden yourself with that responsibility.

5. Embrace the cold

There are many excuses you can use not to get outside and exercise; it's too cold, you are too full of Christmas food, you just don't feel like it, etc. But there are many more reasons to just do it. Going for a walk in the fresh air gives you a boost, clears your head, makes you feel better in yourself, gets you vitamin D from the sun, gets you some exercise and above all, boosts your endorphin levels, the body's natural antidepressants. Do something for yourself that doesn't cost anything.

6. Help others less fortunate

Volunteer to help someone. Help deliver presents for your local Santa or help at a homeless shelter. Altruism and volunteerism make you feel better about yourself, but they also get you out of your rut, home and isolation. This is a time of year where the spirit of helping and compassion is right there, and if you can tap into it by helping others, then you will also be helping yourself.

7. Remember and reflect

It can be a time of intense emotional struggle at this time of year for anyone who has suffered a bereavement either recently or in the past. There is no right or wrong about how you should be feeling or what you should be doing. Whatever feels right for you is OK. Acknowledge the fact it is going to be a difficult time. Maybe hang an ornament in memory of a loved one, mount a photo of them in a Christmas frame. Allow yourself time to reflect and to cry when you feel sad, but then also allow moments of joy to creep in. Look after yourself.

8. Try to think positive

Remember to try to be grateful for the things you do have in life, rather than focussing on the things you don't have. This can be very difficult if you do feel depressed, but it can help if you just try to see the positive side to things, no matter how small and insignificant they may seem.

9. Keep a journal

Some find that writing about their feelings in diary form can help. If you decide to do this, don't be afraid to really 'go there'. People who write about their deepest feelings when they are upset or emotional are less depressed, less anxious and more positive about people who write mundane everyday things.

10. Access help and support.

Don't be afraid to get help. This may be a friend or family member, a counsellor or perhaps your GP. You may be feeling sad and tired, but you probably still look the same to those around you. Unless you tell someone how you feel, they might not understand what is wrong. A listening ear is an important treatment for depression. Use this time as an opportunity to really look at what is going on for you, so that in the future, you will be able to deal with things more effectively when this time of year comes around again.

Counselling can be as short or long term as you need. It can provide you with that extra bit of emotional support that could just be all you need to help you get through the darker months. Allow yourself some time to take stock of how you are feeling in order that you cope with Christmas in the best way you can.

Kathrine Jones

Dip. Couns. MBACP

New Balance Counselling,

Darlington, UK

Are you stressed, depressed, anxious or worried? Maybe you are confused about something in your life. Perhaps you just feel as though something is not quite right and you'd like to try and work out what it might be. I can help.

If you would like to access my support and you live in the Darlington area of the UK please call me on 07805 600825 and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. I offer confidential one-to-one counselling sessions with a supportive, accepting and down to earth approach. Your first session is free of charge with no obligation to continue counselling.

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