Do you feel depressed, anxious, worried about relationship issues or suicidal?
Well…..We’re here to help..!!!
Life provides us with plenty of reasons to feel sad. Feeling sad is appropriate at such times. The need to mourn, to feel sadness, is an essential part of what it means to be human.
Depression offers no solace. It brutally assaults us and promotes hopelessness. This is because depression is not a pure feeling but an effort to ward off a complex mix of unwanted ones. Common psychic defenses against painful feelings include ignoring feelings, transferring feelings onto others, binge eating, attempting to fill the emptiness we feel inside.
Unfortunately, as long as the true causes of our depression remain unaddressed, it will return again and again.
Therapy, medication, self-help?
Depression can drain your energy, leaving you feeling empty and fatigued. This can make it difficult to muster the strength or desire to seek treatment. When you’re depressed, it can feel like you’ll never get out from under a dark shadow. However, even the most severe depression is treatable. So, if your depression is keeping you from living the life you want to, don’t hesitate to seek help.
From therapy to medication to healthy lifestyle changes, there are many different treatment options available to overcome depression, feel happy and hopeful again, and reclaim your life.
Symptoms of Depression
A major depressive episode is defined as experiencing five or more of the following symptoms every day for two weeks or more:
- Depressed or irritable mood
- Sleep problems (i.e., sleeping too much or too little; sleeping mainly during the day).
- Change in interests or low motivation.
- Excessive guilt or unrealistically low self-image.
- Significantly low energy or change in self-care.
- Significantly worse concentration.
- Changes in appetite.
- Agitation or severe anxiety attacks.
- Suicidal thoughts, plans or behavior – including self-harm.
Small steps, big impact
OK, I’m feeling depressed… so now what?
Now that you know the symptoms of depression, some positive coping skills can be useful. Lifestyle changes are an essential part of depression treatment. Lifestyle changes are simple but powerful tools in the treatment of depression.
Get in a routine
If you’re depressed, you need a routine. Depression can strip away the structure from your life. One day melts into the next. Setting a gentle daily schedule can help you get back on track.
Set goals
When you’re depressed, you may feel like you can’t accomplish anything. That makes you feel worse about yourself. To push back, set daily goals for yourself. As you start to feel better, you can add more challenging daily goals.
“Start with very small, make your goal something that you can succeed at, like doing the dishes every other day.”
Exercise
Exercise is medicine … It enhances brain function as powerfully as any medication.
It temporarily boosts feel-good chemicals called endorphins. It may also have long-term benefits for people with depression. Regular exercise seems to encourage the brain to rewire itself in positive ways. You don’t need to run marathons to get a benefit. Just walking a few times a week can help.
Eat healthy
There is no magic diet that fixes depression. It’s a good idea to watch what you eat, though. If depression tends to make you overeat, getting in control of your eating will help you feel better.
Although nothing is definitive, there’s evidence that foods with omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon and tuna and folic acid such as spinach and avocado could help ease depression.
Get enough sleep
Disrupted sleep is one of the most potent triggers of depression, and there’s evidence that most episodes of mood disorder are preceded by at least several weeks of sub-par slumber. Aim for eight hours of sleep per night. Try to get into a healthy sleeping routine.
Depression can make it hard to get enough shut-eye, and too little sleep can make depression worse. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Take all the distractions out of your bedroom, no computer and no TV.
Take on responsibilities
When you’re depressed, you may want to pull back from life and give up your responsibilities at home and at work. Don’t do that… Staying involved and having daily responsibilities can help you maintain a lifestyle that can help counter depression.
Challenge negative thoughts
In your fight against depression, a lot of the work is mental, changing how you think. When you’re depressed, you leap to the worst possible conclusions. You might feel like no one likes you, but is there real evidence for that?
You might feel like the most worthless person on the planet, but is that really likely? It takes practice, but in time you can beat back those negative thoughts before they get out of control.
Check with your doctor before using supplements
There’s promising evidence for certain supplements for depression. Those include fish oil, folic acid, and SAMe. But more research needs to be done before we’ll know for sure. Always check with your doctor before starting any supplement, especially if you’re already taking medications.
Do something new
The Depression Epidemic: Our Stone Age Brains
There is an undeniable connection between lifestyle and depression. Our Stone Age brains just weren’t designed to handle the sedentary, isolated, indoor, sleep-deprived, fast-food-laden, stressed-out pace of twenty-first-century life.
Our brains are beautifully crafted to support Stone Age bodies that live Stone Age lives. When Stone Age brains are forced to live a modern lifestyle, the effect can be devastating. The brain and the body become depleted of the very things that have been fuelling them for thousands of years before now.
Can Depression Kill You?
Everyone has good and bad days. But some people have more bad days than good.
Suicides and mental health problems such as depression are becoming common among celebrities today while taking the unfortunate example of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The Kedarnath actor reportedly committed suicide at his Bandra residence in Mumbai. As per sources, it was confirmed that he was battling depression. The 34-year-old was found hanging from the ceiling in his home. Following the sudden demise of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the issue of mental health has become a hot topic of debate.
Depression, also known as clinical depression, is often a silent killer, yet, many people who suffer from mental health disorder never seek help during their entire lives. In recent years, many stars, including Deepika Padukone and Sophie Turner, have opened up about their battles with mental illness.
The whole nation is still grieving as a result of Sushant’s suicide, several reactions keep pouring in from the ones who knew him from the film industry as well as the Indian cricket fraternity. Sushant’s popularity had increased among the Indian cricketers following his flawless portrayal of MS Dhoni in his biopic, MS Dhoni: The untold story.
When money can’t buy happiness
Depression and suicides are inextricably entwined. Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has hauled depression into sharper focus again. Thousands take their lives after losing the battle with depression. It takes a celebrity suicide for us to perk up and ponder.
Why do people take their lives? Surely, money can’t be the reason. Celebrities live in the lap of luxury, in the full glare of fame. Unhappiness and loneliness can stem from a range of reasons, including trauma and substance abuse.
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide this month has brought the focus sharply back to the importance of mental health in this day and age of constant scrutiny.
If you experience a period of two weeks or longer where you feel sad or lose interest in activities you used to enjoy, and you have trouble functioning in your daily life, you may be experiencing depression.
If you’re experiencing any signs of depression, it’s important that you see your doctor right away to receive treatment. Depression can make you feel like it’s not worth investing in yourself for treatment. But it’s important to remember that the faster you start treatment, the sooner you’ll be able to manage your symptoms.
