How to Get Over Depression

Knowing that we are depressed is one of the keys to overcoming depression. Knowing that everything we do involves choice. Everything is choice. Every decision we make, we choose to make it. We decide what we think and we decide what we think is best for us. We can choose again if the result doesn't feel good or feel right. Thoughts are things and there are no thoughts that are neutral, meaning there are no thoughts that have no effect upon your world. Every thought we have has an effect on us because of its power, energy and vibration. No word we put forth from our mouth returns to us void.

Another key is forgiveness. Forgiveness is the key that parts the way of the Red Sea of your life. You can forgive yourself by saying "I forgive myself for what I thought I have done. I was mistaken. I apologize to myself. I love myself."

Forgive another by saying, "I forgive you for what I thought you have done to me. I was mistaken. I apologize to you. I release you to your good. I no longer choose to hold you in my mental prison as responsible." If need to, you can forgive yourself or that person or persons 70 x 7 days until you no longer feel uncomfortable, irritated or depressed.

Another step you might decide or choose is to surrender the struggle, the pain, the anguish, the illness, the hopelessness, the unforgiving nature, and the depression and not claim it as yours anymore. Give it over and up to Infinite Intelligence. We can stop any thought of ours because it is ours, not anyone else's. Only we can think our thoughts and we can stop any oppressive thought. If it doesn't make us feel good, we can upgrade our thoughts one level at a time to that which makes us feel better emotionally.

How do I stop thinking I am unworthy of anyone's love, anyone's companionship or forgiveness. I can do it by deciding "I am worthy." So, that is what I say and own now, "I am worthy." That is what I claim as the truth for myself. The energy of the words that come forth from you in saying, "I am worthy" puts forth the command to the Universe that you desire something better of life. You will be attracting those aspects of life that prove to you, you are worthy of receiving any desire that is best for you. The Universe will agree with anything you say and believe as real. All you need do is trust, receive and accept your new life's energy.

Decide to change one habit a week. If you drink 10 sodas a day, choose to drink maybe 2 a day, or 2 every other day, or 2 once a week until you down to none a day. Soda wears away the enamel of your teeth and irritates the tissue of your colon and intestines. If you are a shopaholic for example, go on your shopping spree. Then return everything you bought that day and get money back for a vacation you've wanted to take. Or use the money to give to a charitable organization that arranges to give clothes to people looking for job interview apparel. Or you could tithe the money saved to an organization that you feel helps your spiritual growth.

Look into changing what you are now eating. See if some of the foods could be depleting your energy. See if caffeine, chocolate, artificial ingredients need to be taken out of your nutritional intake. See if artificial sweeteners could be adding undue stress to your nerves, muscles, etc. If what you are doing is not working, then you must choose to do something differently in order to see something different in your life. Claim a new world by claiming, "I have reasons to be happy. I claim happiness and gratitude." The Universe again, will prove to you that you are correct.

And lastly, be grateful. Be grateful where you are in your consciousness now because it is prompting you to know you are in a place that does not make you feel happy. I was homeless at one time and I would not be where I am today if it were not for my being grateful among other things, for everything, friends, churches, books, who I was, what desires were placed in my heart, my health, etc. Each level of gratitude I embraced, the Universe doubled it, and gave me back more to be grateful for so now my cup "runneth" over.

Tips:
* Believe and trust in yourself.
* Surrender old thought patterns and accept new healthy ones.
* Forgive yourself first and others next.
* Remember thoughts are not neutral.
* The Law of cause and effect is always operating with every thought we have.

This article is not for psychological or medical advice. It is for entertainment and educational purposes only.

http://www.padaran.com

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Beat Depression With Some Common Sense Advice

Depression can be horrible and debilitating. It's so much more than just the blues, and unfortunately, it can last anywhere from weeks to years. Most people find themselves in a battle to beat depression at some point in their lives, so there's a lot of research and information available on the topic. The following is a short list of a few strategies that might help you.

· Consider making an appointment with your primary care doctor.

Even if you're not planning on taking anti-depressants, your doctor may be able to give you some insight as to why you're feeling down. If it's a medical condition that's causing you to feel fatigued and depressed, then there may be a simple solution that could have you feeling like yourself in no time. To beat depression, you need to explore all of your options, so don't be afraid of mixing traditional and alternative therapies (such as meditation methods) to find the right combination for you.

· Find other support.

Talk with close friends, family, religious counsel, a therapist, or other trusted individuals. Human contact is so important, and knowing that others close to you have dealt with similar depressive issues can be reassuring. They can lend an ear to listen, and sometimes give you strategies that have helped them beat depression as well. Try going for a walk/jog with a close friend. That leads to another important coping strategy...

· Exercise.

Make sure you get regular cardiovascular exercise. There will probably be days that you don't even feel like getting out of bed. Been there, done that. Combat those days by telling yourself to just go for a 3-5 minute walk. Set a small goal so that you will just get out of bed. More than likely after 3-5 minutes you will feel better and want to continue. There are many forms of cardio exercise. However, walking is something most everyone can do because it doesn't require equipment or special skill. So get out there and walk, and soak up some vitamin D from the sun's rays (weather permitting).

· Evaluate Your Diet.

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin for mental and physical health. However, it's not the only nutritional requirement to ward off depression. Just as the old saying goes, "you are what you eat." There are foods to avoid to beat depression, such as fatty foods, for instance. Then, there are other foods, like fruits and veggies, to eat more of. Make small changes to your diet, a little at a time. Don't tell yourself you are going to give up all sweets, for example. Set small, achievable goals so that you will develop healthier eating habits over time rather than becoming frustrated and giving up altogether.

· Use Mindful Meditation Methods.

Find a quiet room, sit, and focus on your breathing. Try to do this daily. This trains you to you observe, rather than react to, emotions. Practice these meditation methods regularly, and you should find that your mood improves.

Remember, depression is not a constant. It will come and go. As you learn to cope with and eventually beat depression you may incorporate all or some of the above strategies, as well as come up with some strategies of your own.

Check out http://www.clearyourstress.com/beat-depression/ for more tips and great information on how to beat depression.

You'll also find many guided exercises and meditation methods to connect with your inner wisdom, and enjoy a balanced lifestyle >> http://www.clearyourstress.com/meditation-methods/.

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Beat Back Depression When You Say Goodbye to Others' Expectations

Throughout history people have recognized the power of words spoken as a curse. They are words that eat at the mind, words that attack a person's will to the point that they cause real physical harm. In our modern world we believe we have grown beyond such things. Yet we still say words, especially to or in front of children, which have the same end result.

We say things like, "too bad she'll never be pretty," or "you'll never be as good an athlete as your brother," or "has she always been fat?". And if you are trying to beat depression, you know these words never go away.

I brought home a report card once that said "not living up to her potential." I was seven years old. Now how much potential a seven year old is supposed to have was never explained to me. Or what kind of potential it was. The grown-ups shook their heads sadly. I might as well have worn a sign, like David Copperfield, only mine would have read "failure." And I never forgot.

What kind of signs do you wear? If you are depressed, chances are that you carry a heavy load of labels people gave you as a child. Plus, when we feel we are a disappointment, we heap ourselves with guilt as well, for letting down the people we love.

Say goodbye to your parents' or family's expectations. Everyone has to face this at some point, even if they are not depressed. But our level of depression is influenced by how much power we gave those expectations, and the people who voiced them.

Talk it out with your parents if you can. If your family relationships are good overall, let them know how you feel. You may find that they gave absolutely no credence to some busy-body's opinion, which you have hung on to for years. You may also learn that your parents never had half the expectations you thought they did, and they are just proud of who you are.

If communicating with your family is difficult, gently let them know that your life choices are your own. You may apologize for their sense of disappointment without taking any responsibility for it.

Sometimes we have to accept that other people will never be happy. When we hear criticism, we don't always know that the person speaking criticizes everything and everybody. If you are just one more imperfect face in their eternally unhappy line of sight, let it go. Send thoughts of kindness to the person speaking the harsh words, and acknowledge how awful it must be to see no good in the world.

Speak words of acceptance to yourself. When you are trying to beat depression you may find it hard to believe good things about yourself. Think back to moments when you made someone else happy, or achieved some goal that mattered to you. Write them down if you need to, and add to the list as you remember more.

Give yourself credit for trying to beat depression, and be thankful. You only need one real fan. Make that person you.

For more tips and great information on how to beat depression, check out ClearYourStress.com. You'll also find many guided exercises and meditation methods to ClearYourStress.com, connect with your inner wisdom, and enjoy a balanced lifestyle. Visit ClearYourStress.com now to get started.

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Facing Your Feelings to Tackle Depression

Discerning Helpful Negative Emotions

Helpful negative emotions are less trouble than unhelpful ones and part of the human experience. Feeling sad, disappointed, embarrassed, annoyed, remorseful, jealous, and so on is part of life. These emotions are useful in helping you discover how to deal with experiences and how you fit in with other people.

Example

I'm 30 minutes late meeting my brother, and he's disappointed. He believes, however, that I wasn't intentionally late and is flexible enough to understand that life happens. The fact that I was late doesn't mean that I don't care about him but instead that I was simply stuck in traffic. Here, disappointment is a helpful negative emotion that brings about a discussion and develops an understanding, which helps people to trust each other better. This understanding leads in turn to feeling accepted and supported

Even a negative emotion such as anger can be helpful, too. To understand this, you need to accept that you can experience such a thing as justified anger, which can help you to recognise injustice, abuse, mistreatment, and so on, and motivate you to take action to prevent or stop it happening. So, in these circumstances, anger would be helpful

Identifying Unhelpful Negative Emotions

Unhelpful negative emotions play a big part in depression. They can feel overwhelming and are certainly more problematic than helpful negative emotions. Using the same scenario as in the preceding section, the following example illustrates the unhelpful emotion of hurt.

Example

I'm 30 minutes late to meet my brother, and he's hurt because he thinks I intended to be late. He attributes this belief to past hurts and begins to dwell on them. This unhelpful negative emotion spirals out of your feelings, often in one word such as hurt, angry, happy, sad, and so on. People often misunderstand negative emotions and say they feel irritable when they're really anxious or feel angry when they're actually really hurt, so correctly naming your emotions is a great start in discovering how to respond to them appropriately

As soon as you become aware of a negative feeling, asking yourself what was going through your mind that explains why you're feeling negative (in other words, you're looking for the thought/feeling connection) can help you recognise what you're really thinking

The meaning that you attach to events is what causes your emotional response to that event:

• You can place a positive meaning on the event, which leads to happiness and contentment
• You can attach a negative meaning to an event, which leads to unhelpful negative emotions and self- defeating behaviour

In turn, many emotions carry with them an urge to respond by acting in a certain way (the feeling/ behaviour connection). For example:

• You feel scared, you run away
• You feel hungry, you eat
• You feel upset, you cry
• You feel tired, you sleep

In depression, relevant examples may be:

• You feel hopeless, you give up trying
• You feel stuck, you do nothing
• You feel fatigued, you lie around
• You feel unwanted and/or unappreciated, you withdraw and avoid people

Remember

Unfortunately, following these behavioural urges when you're depressed only makes things worse because the feeling/behaviour connection becomes a trap that keeps you depressed and maintains your negative feelings

Changing Your Attitude

The good news is that when you become aware of the thought/feeling and feeling/behaviour connections, you can use this knowledge to change your attitude and response to negative emotions. In this way you begin to tackle your depression and start to lift your mood. This awareness and ability to take conscious decisions about your response to negative emotions is called emotional intelligence. I describe emotional intelligence in more detail in the later section 'Managing Your Emotions,' but as an illustration, take a look at the following example of Joe's journey of self-control and causes him to sulk - a self-defeating behaviour leading to isolation and withdrawal. No discussion takes place of the event, and the result is a troubling distance in our relationship

To look at another emotion used in the preceding section in another light, anger can be an unhelpful negative emotion, too. Unhelpful anger is usually unjustified, occurring when you find yourself feeling anger that is out of proportion to the circumstances. Unhelpful anger is usually based on unhealthy sensitivities based on previous experiences. For example if, you experienced ridicule or bullying at school you may develop a sensitivity to this and scan for signs that people are about to ridicule you. You may engage in mind reading or misinterpret innocent banter as bullying, and get inappropriately angry

Seeing the Value In Some Negative Emotions

Recognising that some negative emotions can be helpful and contain positive benefits is important, because when you're depressed you tend to see all negative emotions as unhelpful. As you come to see that helpful negative emotions are normal and natural, you can accept and tolerate them better and use them productively. For example, feeling guilty can be really useful if you employ it to motivate yourself to respond differently the next time you find yourself in a similar situation

Appreciating the Thought/Feeling and Feeling/Behaviour Connections

You may not be able to turn frogs into princes or everyday metals into gold, but you do something equally amazing: You can turn mere feelings into actual behaviours at the drop of a hat, usually without even knowing it. Thoughts and feelings are intimately linked, and the same applies to feelings and behaviour. Understanding these connections is vitally important when combating depression. You don't have to be at their mercy, and following the suggestions that I provide in this section (such as altering your attitude) allows you to find a way out of what can seem like (but certainly doesn't have to be) a vicious circle

Remember

You don't feel anything without thinking something to make you feel that way (the thought/feeling connection). This truth helps you to recognise and name discovery, from unhelpful anger, via helpful annoyance, toward some contentment

Example

Joe is queuing up at a bank cash machine, and someone pushes in front of him in the queue. Joe thinks that the other man has deliberately been rude and dismissive toward him. He believes that if he's walked over, he's an idiot. He's not going to allow other people to see him being treated like an idiot or else they'll think that he's weak and useless (not a real man). These thoughts cause Joe to feel angry and threatened (the thought/feeling connection) and he experiences an urge to react. This feeling/behaviour connection leads to an urge to attack

If Joe acts on his feelings, he may get into an argument or even a fight with the man, causing him further problems and perhaps negative emotions such as guilt or regret. If he doesn't act on these urges, however, because he's depressed he's likely to interpret his non-action negatively, feeling he's a failure and telling himself that he's a wimp who lets people walk all over him

Mythbuster

This 'dammed if I do dammed if I don't' scenario is called a double-bind situation and is very common in depression. It can cause a sense of hopelessness and thoughts of 'I can't win.' But you don't need to think that way and you can find a way out of this apparent impasse. Being aware of the problem gives you the choice of changing your attitude about it, as the following revised scenario of Joe's problem illustrates

Example

Joe is queuing up at the cash machine, and again someone pushes in front. Joe reminds the individual that he has jumped the queue, hoping that the man listens and moves to his correct position. But he doesn't. Joe thinks to himself, 'This is a misguided individual, but the fact that he chooses not to listen to me doesn't mean I'm a doormat and the event has no relevance to my self-esteem'

This change of attitude and use of emotional intelligence leads to a change in emotions and an altered behavioural urge

CBT in the City Clinics. The founder of the clinics is Matt Broadway-Horner and he has associates who offer expert services to all on on an individual or group basis. The CBT Clinics offers the following approaches like Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Imagery, Reprocessing and Re Scripting Therapy (IRRT), Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), Compassion focused CT, Behavioural Activation (BA) and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP). These are approaches are all within the CBT Tradition. Visit my website: http://www.cbtinthecity.com

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Disease of Your Environment: Depression

Is depression a disease of your environment? Yes, it is indeed a phenomenon which is present because of the external, surrounding factors. There may be many other factors involved but the immediate atmosphere plays a major role. One of the other known reasons for depression is the genetic factor. Even in the genetic case, there has to be some external trigger which leads to the symptoms of depression manifesting. Though depression is a serious mental problem it must not be considered as a personal weakness since it is medically curable.

So is depression a byproduct of our surroundings? The answer to this too is yes because the chance of a person getting low and down in the dumps is extremely high if the individual stays in an environment of negativity. Many studies have proven that if a person wants to be mentally fit and healthy, the environment plays the most important role. A person may become totally negative if they are continuously exposed to a bad environment since their mind will be totally inclined to the negativity and the bad factors. Researchers have shown that anxiety and problems of depression affect a person mainly because of environmental factors. This anxiety can further lead to psychological problems and affect the normal brain functions.

Is Depression a Byproduct of Stress?

Let us examine the various factors which underlie the environmental causes of making a person feel depressed. Today, man's life is completely swamped with various causes of stress and trauma. These play a vital role in making a person feel sick with the disease of depression. While stress has always been known as a cause of indirect depression, the co-relation between stress and depression seems to be extremely complicated. In simple terms, when an individual is exposed to constant stress and pressure, it leads to depression in the long term. The human mind can thrive in an environment of stress to a certain time but after that it starts showing signs of depression. In the case of genetically transmitted depression, stress acts merely as the triggering factor. One can conclude that if a person is living in an environment full of tensions and anxieties, the person will have a natural inclination towards getting afflicted with depression.

Is Depression a Byproduct of Trauma?

Another important factor which needs to be discussed when we speak of depression as a disease is trauma. It is observed that individuals who go through any unfortunate incident of trauma can get depressed. This can also be termed as clinical depression since it is embedded into that persons mind and feelings. We can easily understand that the painful experiences of life are never easy to forget or to let go. The person experiencing trauma always tries to compare or relate everything that happens to the incident which has left such a great impact on his life. In this manner, the individual always keeps remembering by 'association' the pain and anguish suffered and ultimately goes into depression. The trauma factor is extremely dangerous for such individuals since if they are in the recovery process, they can dive deep into trauma even by a single occasion of remembrance or smallest possible associated incident. Therefore, environment again plays an extremely important role as one of the causes behind making a person depressed.

Childhood History's Role in Inducing Depression

The third important environmental factor is related to the patient's childhood. If the person has had a disturbing environment in childhood, he/she is more likely to be affected by the disease of depression. The effect the childhood environment can have on the adulthood of the person is not understood as yet even by psychologists. Some factors involved in childhood which might have negatively impacted the emotional development of the person include being neglected by parents, separation from parents, and child abuse and something that is entirely overlooked by most practitioners is birth trauma. Forceps delivery can have a devastating impact on the baby's skull causing the cranial sutures to lockup. This is an area that requires further research. Kinesiology is a modality that can unlock the cranial sutures that allow free flow of neural energy between the brain hemispheres via in-breath and out-breath flow. These various factors definitely help us conclude that depression is indeed a disease of our environment.

Patrick Mounter
Kinesiology Consultant
http://overcomingdepressionguide.com/

As a Kinesiology Consultant I specialize in the release of emotional, mental, physical depression and trauma in people of all ages, gender and race. This is a non-medication form of therapy re-establishing your energy flow on a neural reflex level integrating left and right hemisphere of your brain to your meridian energy flow. End result, 'Inner Peace', 'Self Confidence'.

Go online now and make an appointment: http://tinyurl.com/lhybxdy

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