Beat Your Depression

Most of us suffer from being depressed from time to time. However, there is a difference between being depressed and having depression. Being depressed is normal just like being happy or angry or sad etc. No one is “happy” all the time. The problem comes when one of these emotions or states of mind tend to dominate our lives to an extreme.

Being depressed can be any low mood, which may be relatively short-lived and perhaps due to something of even a minor nature, even though it may seem to be much greater at the time.

With the exception of bereavement, which can last for quite some time, many of the causal factors such as being overlooked for promotion, a relationship break up, a loss of money, or an unfair slight on your character, will often soon fade away. Even a rainy day can promote depression in some individuals. An illness, such as a bout of influenza, often brings about a state of depression, especially during its onset. The old adage that “Time cures all ills” is often very true.

This differs from Clinical Depression which is a “state of mind” disease that manifests itself in a condition of intense sadness, or despair that impinges on an individual’s activities and daily living. Clinical Depression is generally more serious than normal depressed feelings and can be the result of many factors; either individual factors, or a conglomeration of factors that can have a tendency to snowball.

Some of these factors are low self-esteem, constant negative thinking, pessimistic views of life, and sometimes substance abuse. In many cases an imbalance of certain hormones and vitamins in the body is linked to the condition. The medical profession tends to treat the problem in most cases by rectifying the imbalance.

Some diseases such as Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Schizophrenia tend to be accompanied by clinical depression.

Extreme depression can result in sufferers inflicting self-harm, or attempting or committing suicide.
Find out how to distinguish between “the blues” and a real episode of depression – to overcome depression it is vital that you be able to identify it as soon as possible when it strikes!

Hi! I am John and part of the beatyourdepression.com team

WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF BEAT YOUR DEPRESSION!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

First of all, I’d like to thank you all for visiting this site and I hope that you can gain some valuable insights, or share some with other visitors.

You may be suffering from depression personally, think that you may be suffering from depression, or have a friend or relative that may be suffering from depression and you are trying to understand how you can help them or yourself. In any case I’m going to do my best to provide you with the most informative articles, facts, and tips in each issue of Beat Your Depression.

Why would I do this, you may ask?

The answer is that I, too, have had this affliction for most of my life and know how debilitating it can be, especially if others do not understand the problems that you are facing.

The good thing is that I finally realized that I was,indeed, suffering from depression and took steps to control it. Until then, I thought that I was just a moody person who could sometimes be the life of the party, and on other occasions a pain in the butt. Often I had so many negative thoughts that tended to snow ball that I would think that life was pointless and hopeless, and I can understand how some people would wish to harm themselves.

The bad thing is that it was not until I was in my early sixties that I finally realized my problem, even though I can remember times in my early teens when, for no apparent reason, I felt depressed or glum.

When I finally realized that my condition was causing awkward problems for friends and family, especially for my long-suffering wife, I decided to seek advice from my medical practitioner. She provided me with some basic information about depression, in the form of pamphlets, took some blood tests that showed that I was low in a particular chemical and a vitamin, and put me on a course of pills and a series of injections of vitamins to counter my fatigue and lack of motivation.

I am pleased to say that I had a remarkable turn around in my life and quickly regained a zest for living. However, I attributed much of this to the fact that, at the time, I was also reading various self help books and listening to certain relaxation/self hypnosis audios.

In fact, I was so pleased that I wanted to cease the medication as I felt that I was cured. This alarmed my doctor, and probably my wife, and so I agreed to continue taking the minimum dosage of medication until I was weaned from it after the recommended nine months. I did not wish to cause my lovely wife any more grief.

I have had several more bouts of depression since then but now I can recognize it and generally nip it in the bud without the need for medication. It is not always easy though and this is one reason for establishing this blog. I believe that I may be able to contribute to others overcoming their depression or understanding how to assist their loved ones, who may be suffering.

In later posts I will share with you some of my thoughts that most literature on the subject either fails to address, or brushes over.

I may even record and share with you a two verse ditty that I sing to myself in front of the mirror in the mornings to prepare me for the coming day. It is something that I learnt about fifty five years ago.

So my memory is not too bad.

Nobody is immune and there should be no stigma attached to this condition as many famous people also suffered from depression in one of the several forms. Abraham Lincoln called his sad spells, “the shadow of madness” and Winston Churchill referred to his depression as, “the black dog.” [Learn more about some of these famous people here]

I welcome anybody to use this blog to share their experiences, insights, or knowledge so that we all may benefit and enjoy life to the full as we deserve.

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I contribute my speedy recovery to reading self-help books such as Overcoming and Curing Depression and a package entitled Total Success Library, containing eight e-books, a ten minute audio MP3 that I copied to a CD and listen to frequently, and a software package that streams positive affirmations across my computer screen in accordance with Dr Anthony’s Power of Intention e-book. This package represents true value-for-money and I have no hesitation about referring it to anybody.  It assisted me to revive my sense of humor that staved off depression on many occasions.

Welcome to the first post of beatyourdepression.com . Depression plays a major part of the lives of many people and if it is not understood and controlled, then it can cause stressful lives to yourself, friends and family.

The first thing that we suggest you do is get an idea of some of the well known people who have suffered from depression. There is a 5 part mini ecourse available at the top right hand side of the blog. This gives a good lead into the ebook “Understanding and Curing Depression”.

Feel free to make comments on these blog entries. We would love to hear about your depression related stories.