Beat Your Depression

Symptoms are the things that a person feels. For example a person may feel pain from a burn or may feel dejected because of a bad experience.

Signs are what others observe. Examples of these are when one person observes another person exhibiting the signs of apparently being in pain for some reason, or when they notice that somebody is not being their usually bright self with a positive outlook on life.

If you feel that you may be suffering from depression then you will need to check out your feelings as well as your actions.

If you are concerned that a loved one may be depressed, you will need to observe their behavior and make judgments about how they may be feeling. It may even be advisable to ask the person how they are feeling. However, you may get a vague response and even a sharp retort. Your ability to use tact may be put to the test.

Before we proceed, we need to realize that short term feelings of “the blues” are quite common and do not necessarily constitute a state of depression. Things such as, the death of a loved one, a failed relationship, the loss of a job, or the disappointment of missing out on a promotion, etc., can make us feel sad for quite a while. However, time tends to heal most wounds and we generally pick ourselves up and get on with life again. It is when a reasonable amount of time has passed, and the condition has not improved, that we need to consider the possibility of depression.

Let us look at the symptoms of depression:-

• Low self esteem.
• Inability to sleep well at night. Managing to get to sleep well but often waking in the early hours and unable to return to sleep.
• Oversleeping or wanting to sleep during the day.
• Constant feelings of fatigue.
• Being unable to enjoy life as well as you used to. [Chronic low grade depression].
• Not being able to function to the best of your capabilities.

The symptoms mentioned above are typical of the depression condition known as dysthymia, or as the ancient Greeks called it, ill humor. It usually has a slow onset and persists for two years or more.

With more severe cases of depression [clinical, or major, depression] some of the following symptoms will also be noted:-

• Change of mood from being ill humored at the beginning of the day to being much better at the end of the day.
• A change in appetite. Appetite may decrease and result in weight loss in many cases, especially in older people. In other cases binge eating may occur and weight may increase.
• A lack of interest in hobbies and other interests. You just cannot be bothered doing what you used to enjoy in the past.
• A loss of libido. Sexual activities diminish or cease.
• Feeling sad or crying for no apparent reason.
• Having feelings of shame, guilt and/or worthlessness.
• Feeling vulnerable or anxious.
• Feeling overwhelmed, or that you are lost in a fog or in a deep chasm.
• Inability to make decisions or to concentrate on a subject.
• Becoming withdrawn from society, including family and friends. Wanting to be alone and then often feeling rejected when you are left alone.
• Being easily agitated and angry.
• Failing to look after yourself [appearances, hygiene, well being etc.].
• Considering, or causing, self harm. This can culminate in suicide in severe cases. Statistics suggest that 80% of suicides relate to people who were suffering from depression.

The above sets of conditions are known as unipolar conditions.

When a person experiences extreme mood swings from being “on top of the world” to being “down in the dumps” this is known as bipolar condition and was previously called “manic depression”.

Depression can be cured, and because suicide is a real possibility you need to seek help very soon if you are suffering from it. Talk to somebody about your feelings because a problem shared is a problem halved. I am sure that you will find a sympathetic ear without too much trouble.

Make sure that one such person is a doctor. One factor associated with depression is often an imbalance of chemicals within the body. Doctors can provide quick relief with the modern medications that are available nowadays. More on this, and causes of the imbalance, will be in future articles.

If you have a loved one whom you consider to be in need of help, you will have to use a lot of tact and discretion when broaching the subject. Perhaps drawing their attention to this article may be useful.

The first step to recovery is to acknowledge that help is needed and that it is readily available. Remember that when a person has reached the bottom of a pit the only direction left to go is up.

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Check out the Recommended Resources section for more detailed information.

This is a response that I wrote to a young woman who disliked her appearance. Actually, she hated it.

The reason that I have posted it is because it tells my thoughts on how a person should speak to oneself and the dangers associated with negative self talk.

I should have told the young woman to go to a hospital and see people who really have cause to complain. There are so many people in the world who would LOVE to swap places with a healthy person, even if they did not look as good as they would like.

This reminds me of the quote, “I was upset because I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet.”

Anyhow, here is the excerpt. I hope that you gleen something from it. I plan to discuss these matters in more depth later.

“You are so young and should make the most of your youth.

There is a saying that, “The problem with youth is that it is wasted on the young”. One day you will laugh at your present thoughts.

Beauty is more than good looks. It also has to do with your personality and attitude. If you look at beauty competitions you will notice that judges check these features out in addition to looks.

We cannot always help our physical features, unless we neglect to bathe and groom ourselves etc., but we can work on our personality.

I am sure that your friends are sincere with their comments and you should accept them in good faith. Rejecting their comments would be a “slap in the face” to your friends and you may eventually lose them. Be grateful that you have friends.

Life is a matter of choices. You can choose to be miserable or you can choose to be happy. It takes the same amount of effort. It appears that you have chosen the former SO FAR.

I am a GREAT believer in the power of the subconscious mind. It is like a computer and if you feed garbage in you will get garbage out. Therefore I suggest that you carefully consider what you say and think. You are the only person who has control over these two things. Even if somebody did make an adverse comment about you, you do not have to accept it. How do they know the real you?

Eleanor Roosevelt, the President’s wife, was quoted as saying, “Nobody can say anything to hurt me unless I give them permission to do so.”

Look at what you have written. There is so much self-directed negativity there. viz:-

My life sucks. i feel like im just crushing everything, i feel ugly, my friends are just saying that to make me feel better, i feel like no one completely understands me .

Do not dwell on this sort of speech or thoughts. Your subconscious mind does not want to let you down and will do all in its power to make these statements true. You will become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

It would be better for you to say and think things such as:-

I am grateful that I am so young and I am enjoying my youth whilst I still have it.

I am fortunate to be in good health and have an active, enquiring mind.

I love myself.

When “Mister Right” comes along, he will appreciate me for my intellect and attractive personality as well as my good looks.

I am pleased and fortunate to have so many true friends.

If you engage in this sort of self talk or affirmations, your subconscious mind will work on them equally as hard as they do on your negative self talk. I know, as I have been in a similar situation to you and suffered severe depression. Do not let this happen to you.

When you are in the bathroom look in the mirror, smile, and tell yourself out loud that you love yourself. You will be surprised how much of a “pick me up” this can be.

Be careful not to use any negatives such as you did when you wrote, “im not crazy”. The subconscious tends to over look the “not” and focuses on “im crazy”.

To demonstrate this, if you did not want to think about lions, say to yourself, ” I am not thinking about lions”. What happens? Immediately an image of a lion or lions appears on your mental screen. Doesn’t it?

It would be better to say, “I am thinking about cuddly kittens,” or similar.

Try saying, “The dog is not chasing the cat.” Immediately a picture of a dog chasing a cat comes to mind. Better to say, ” The dog and cat are sleeping peacefully on the mat.”

Do you get the picture? [Pun intended]

I hope that this will help you to brighten your outlook on life.

All the best for now!”

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You can learn much more about programming your mind and adjusting your outlook on life, as I did, from the Rapid Manifestation package.  Check out his truly value-for-money package here.

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.