Picking Yourself Up When You're Down

It's easy to feel motivated and inspired when things are going well. During these times you feel inspired to achieve and follow through on all the steps you've meticulously devised to reach your goals. But what happens when you hit a fork in the road? For example:

1) you receive an unexpected bill

2) you experience rejection

3) you notice you've gained weight

4) you fight with a loved one

These negative (unexpected) experiences can really bring you down and throw you off course. Further, if you're not careful, they can quickly cause you to spiral into thoughts of helplessness and hopelessness which often lead to depression.

In order to cope with the struggles life can throw at you - in the moment - it helps to tackle your moods from the physical and then, from the emotional/psychological perspectives.

Taking the first step - tackling the Physical side of your mood:

In the midst of a negative mood, you first need to change your physical body to try to shake off the feeling of hopelessness. Unfortunately this is when many people turn to alcohol and/or medication for a quick-fix solution (later suffering from the side effects). Better options include eating foods that release serotonin - like tuna, having a coffee or going for a walk/run.

The second step - tackling the emotional and psychological side of your mood:

After you've shaken off the physical component, it's important to work through the emotional and psychological components of how you are feeling. This often requires speaking to someone else who can give you a balanced perspective. This is why it's great if therapists can make themselves available to clients in between sessions via text or email (when they are in the midst of a stressful situation or mood, rather than waiting until they have their next scheduled appointment to discuss major issues that arise). That way they can have a quick response to assist them to snap out of their negative state and feel better about moving forward - when it counts most.

The last step is taking control.

Take a moment to step back and review your feelings and the circumstances that led to your emotional and physical reactions - with a more rational and clear mindset. Then take some time to think through any immediate action you could take to get through it. For instance, if you've experiences rejection, take some time to think about your approach to new or current relationships and see whether perhaps any negative emotions such as insecurity and neediness are sabotaging your efforts. Then, take a new course of action to improve these feelings and move forward.

Life will often throw things at you when you least expect it. However, if you cope with the strategies noted above, you will increase your resilience and optimism and live a much happier and fulfilling life.

Depression: Signs and Symptoms

We all feel down at one time or another and being sad on occasion is something that comes with everyday life, but if you find yourself feeling sad all the time, you might be suffering from depression. It is very important that you understand the signs and symptoms of depression if you are going to deal with the problem in an effective manner.

Depression is a problem that affects millions of Americans each year, and in many cases, the symptoms are ignored or pushed aside, which can lead to other problems, such as alcohol and drug abuse, self-harm, and even suicide. Understanding the danger signs can help you realize when to seek help from medical professionals before it's too late.

There are many things that trigger depression-a chemical imbalance, the loss of a loved one, unemployment, a divorce, financial problems, and recently, depression has also been linked to heredity factors as well. Even if you have bounced back from life's setbacks before, if you are especially hard hit by an event, it can trigger an episode of depression, even if you have never had depression problems in the past. In order to recognize whether or not you need help, understanding and recognizing the symptoms are the most important factors in treating the problem.

Some of the major signs of depression are sleeping too much, losing interest in things that you once loved to do, feeling angry, anxious, or aggressive toward others, especially without due cause, a marked decrease in proper hygiene, and drastic changes in appetite. While these symptoms may vary from person to person, they are a common thread when it comes to diagnosing depression, and if these symptoms are ignored, it will only lead to more troublesome and dangerous behavior.

If depression goes untreated, in many cases, it can lead to self-harm and suicide. Suicidal thoughts and actions are the end result of untreated depression, as the problem is a mental slippery slope with degrees of severity.

If you have several of the symptoms mentioned above, the best thing to do is to see a doctor right away before the condition worsens, particularly if there is a history of depression in your family or if you have experienced a traumatic event. Don't ignore the signs and symptoms of depression-get help because the sooner you understand depression and the impact it can have on your life, the sooner you can conquer it and live a happier life.

Natural Ways to Deal With Depression

Exercising

Exercising is one way of reducing the anxiety level and is a solution to mild depression. The existing research supports this claiming that through exercises, some sort of satisfaction chemicals referred to as endorphins are released into the brain. A study conducted in Maryland University found out that engaging in exercises led to a reduction in depression amongst students. This can be either a temporary solution or long term depending on an individual. By engaging in regular exercises, the brain is conditioned to refocus on positive things shunning the issues that caused the depression and anxiety in the first place. You do not have to run marathons to achieve this rather just a few walks can do the trick. Other recommended exercises include aerobics, yoga and weightlifting amongst others.

Interacting with people

Depression indeed abhors company. Being alone is one of the key ingredients fuelling anxiety and worsening the depression. People suffering from depression feel the urge to be alone and undisturbed hoping they will work out the problems alone. As much as this may seem to be the most tenable solution all it does is exacerbate the feeling of helplessness. The perfect antidote for this is to socialize with people that are trustworthy and that make you feel good. It is advisable to at this time shun people who make you feel unworthy and downtrodden and rather stick to those who radiate positivity. Happiness is contagious and interacting with happy people will indeed give you a refreshed outlook in life.

Try to sleep it off

Experts recommend sleep as one of the best remedies to mild and moderate forms of depression. They refer it to be similar to a system reboot and there is a likelihood you will wake up feeling more refreshed and with more positive thoughts. Depression often leads to self-loathing and other negative thoughts about oneself and life in general. Sleep can be a natural cure to this if it is long, deep and uninterrupted. When suffering from depression it is common to have insomnia. Other people demonstrate the urge to sleep and may do so for hours. For those that have sleeping problems, taking sedatives or relaxants has been found to work laying credence to the fact that sleep is indeed an effective remedy. The problem with lack of sleep is that it presents mood complexities during the day a fact that can worsen the depression.

Breaking the routine

When the initial symptoms of depression start to stream in it is good to change the routine and opt for more refreshing tasks and responsibilities. There are tens of issues that can trigger depression; it can be the death of a close relative or friend, loss of a job, money problems, being jilted by a lover or other earthshaking issues. When faced by any such situations it is always advisable to change the routine and instead focus on activities that reduce interaction with what triggered the depression in the first place. Following the same routine that you have followed for ages can indeed lead to monotony which further fuels anxiety. It could be taking a day off from work, going out with friends in the evening, travelling to ease your mind or just taking an evening walk. This break from tradition will indeed give you something new to look forward to and will in the end make you happier.

A healthy diet

People usually take depression in varied ways. There are those who resort to sleeping, eating or not eating at all. Depression has been recognized as both a major cause of obesity and anorexia. There are people who turn to junk foodstuffs and sugary food when depressed and if this progresses for long their weight mushrooms beyond expectations. Others however find the idea of food disgusting and have low appetites. For these there is usually a large slump in weight that might result to adverse health problems. To alleviate this experts advise sticking to a good and healthy diet. A healthy diet boosts the release of feel good endorphin chemicals. This indeed provides a remedy to depressive feelings. Eating healthy foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and those rich in folic acids such as salmon and avocado respectively can indeed ease your anxiety.

Change of surroundings

When depressed there is a general likelihood of feeling uncomfortable with the present environment. There are those who blame their current woes on their environment feeling that they would want to move away from their homes. Although the blame game is not highly recommended change of scenery is indeed a healthy option. Sometimes the present environment might keep reminding you of your problems further fuelling your anxieties. This however does not mean that you should move away forever but rather is taking a small vacation until the bad feelings are reduced. It is important that this change not be radical lest it leads to additional problems. If one cannot afford a vacation, changing the house set up can also help alleviate the feeling. It could be undertaking a thorough cleaning, getting rid of some old junks in the house to create more room or just adding more natural lighting.

Other natural remedies include group therapy, where people share their problems, positive thinking where you try and analyze your successes and also taking supplements with the assistance of your doctor. The remedies to depression are indeed many and they should not be taken in isolation rather a combination of two or three will do the trick. It is always advisable to seek the attention of a physician should the situation exacerbate further.

Why Failure Is Good!

Most fear is developed because of an absence of trust in yourself. You don't believe you can do the thing you want to do. In Western culture you can get programmed that if you're not a success at absolutely everything - the first time you do it - you are a failure as a person. A lot of fear could be neutralized if you wouldn't be frightened of failure.

Just because something doesn't go right, the first, second, or twentieth time you attempt it, doesn't make you or the process a failure. Your problem isn't that you fail, it's that you're not failing enough. Apollo 11, the rocket that carried the first astronauts to the moon, was off course 97% of the time! They failed their way to the moon.

They were constantly compensating and over-compensating for the hundreds of variables of space travel. They didn't see that they were constantly off course and then quit 10 miles up. They were continually getting feedback and correcting for it. Correct and continue, all the way to the moon.

They landed at their chosen destination AND returned to earth, even though they only had a 3% success rate. Do you realize how liberating that is? You can be on course only 3% of the time and still reach your dream! Rarely is there triumph without complications. If you're not getting where you want to go, step up your fail rate.

You see all successful people fail. In fact they fail a lot, they just don't take it personally. If they're not failing they know they are not doing the hard, difficult things they need to be doing to move forward and grow even more successful. If you're not moving ahead in life it's quite possible it's because you're not failing enough. Fail twice as much as you are now, just keep going, and don't look for what is going wrong. Look for what's going right and do more of that.

The philosopher Thomas Troward once said, "The law of flotation was not discovered by the contemplation of the sinking of things." The changes you wish to see in your Life will not come about through the contemplation of everything that is going wrong in your world. Look, you're not a failure because something goes wrong. Failing is only a form of feedback. You fail because you let that stop you. You fail because you don't get up again when you fall.

You fail because you sit and meditate on how nothing goes right in your Life. Successful people fail ALL THE TIME! They just get up again and say, "Next!" You will not reach your goals and dreams unless you take some action and look at the feedback. Then, if necessary, you correct your next step due to the feedback you received.

Have you ever watched one of those behind-the-scenes documentaries on how they made a movie? You know that clapperboard they use to signal take 1, take 2, when they're filming a scene? They do take after take, because something inevitably goes wrong. The lights aren't working, a prop is missing, a special effect doesn't fire, the actors mess up their lines, any number of things can go wrong, and no one gets upset because it's only a mis-take. They filmed a scene, they didn't get what they wanted, so they did another take. It's only a mistake. It's just feedback.

Every time you do something you get a result. You name it "good" or "bad." In reality all it is feedback. You took some action and you got some feedback. If the feedback tells you you're off course, then you take some actions to get back on track.

Results are just feedback. Results are a guide showing what you need to work on next. When you step on the bathroom scale, that's feedback. When you look at your bank statement, that's feedback. It's when you take that feedback personally that you start losing your self-worth.

Don't spend your time contemplating your "failures." Look at and study your successes if you want to see positive change in your Life. Understand that mis-takes are just part of the process for achieving your dreams. It's just feedback.

How To Manage SAD Or Winter Depression With Simple Lifestyle Changes and Self Help

Are you are one of those many people who just want to curl up in a duvet as soon as winter hits?

As the days get shorter if you find yourself feeling moody and tired you might be suffering from SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. There are some things you should be doing to help combat these depressed feelings so that you can manage better even though it's dark and cold outside. You will be pleased to know that self help is actually very important in keeping yourself well. You can make some simple lifestyle changes that will help you to lift your mood naturally.

Are you suffering from stress or do you worry too much?

Try to find ways to reduce any stress and anxiety in your life. If there are things happening in your life you can't control or perhaps a situation that you can't change then you need to strengthen the way that you cope with that stress. You could try relaxation which could mean taking some time out to have a warm bath or perhaps listening to a relaxation or self hypnosis CD. Even if you can only manage to sit down with your eyes closed for 10 minuites. Taking simple measures like this and making some positive changes in your routine can help you to cope better with the stress in your life.

Do you get enough exercise?

Making more time for exercise is healthy, not just in the gym but walking in daylight outside just for 30 minutes, can help to boost your vitamin D and also your mood to stop you from feeling down. You might not always feel like it at first but afterwards you will hopefully notice a more positive feeling. A mindful walk in the park can be enough to change your outlook whilst also giving you a change of environment.

How about trying a daylight SAD lightbox?

There are many types of daylight boxes or lamps that people find helpful. They are thought to help lift the depressive effects of winter and dark nights. You can put these in a place you use the most such as on the table, by the computer or next to your bed. You could even use it whilst reading so that you are relaxing at the same time. If you have to be up early in the morning you could try using a sunrise alarm clock that imitates a natural sunrise by gradually getting lighter and helping you to wake up slowly.

Hypnotherapy can also be helpful for reducing SAD symptoms.

How Are Panic Attacks Caused?

When there is a sudden increase in anxiety levels accompanied by inexplicable fear, then the person is said to be having a panic attack. Usually, this condition accompanied by increased heart beat, difficulty in breathing, and a lot of sweating. Despite the various advancements in medical science, experts having been unable to figure the exact cause for this disorder. However, there are several factors which may play an important role and some of the major ones have been discussed below.

Experts believe that genes might have a role to play in panic disorder. For instance, eye color or hair color are dependent upon the genes which you inherit. Similarly, panic disorders are known to be passed down from one generation to another. There have been many patients who have had a family member suffer from this disorder or depression in the past.

The manner in which certain parts of your brain function can also result in panic disorders. Researchers have revealed that psychotic conditions like post traumatic stress attacks and schizophrenia are often accompanied with panic disorders. It is possible that psychotic disorder may trigger fear attacks as well. Also, studies have shown that natural defense mechanism of the body may be responsible for fear attacks. When you are faced with a threatening situation, your body automatically increases the heart rate and breathing rate to alert you. But in case of panic attacks, these responses are triggered without any reason.

Separation or death of a loved one can also lead to a stress attack. In highly stressful situations, your natural resistance to face problems becomes a lot less. As a result, the physical predisposition can trigger the attack. When someone is trying to come out of certain medication or substance abuse, it is possible that the person suffers from a panic attack. This is an environmental reason for an attack. In some scenarios, biological factors can combine with environmental factors to induce this condition.

Symptoms of this disorder occur without any warning, however sometimes patients induce panic on themselves by misinterpreting certain symptoms. For instance, increased heart beat may be the side effect of a particular medication. But, the person can misinterpret it as a symptom of an attack. The fear of having another attack is yet another cause that induces an attack. As there is no single established cure for this disorder, patients are advised to try different therapies to get a control on their condition.

Tackling Panic Attacks

Dizziness, difficulty in breathing, and muscle tension are some of the symptoms associated with panic attacks. Even though they might not appear to be very serious, they leave the sufferer in a mentally exhausted state. The irrational fear induced during an attack can only be understood by the person suffering from the attack. Sometimes, they are aware of the fact that the fear is irrational and this worsens the situation. After the attack is over, they feel embarrassed about how something irrational has affected their lives so deeply. In fact, certain people feel so embarrassed that they do not even seek help.

The exact cause for this disorder is not known and as a result, there is no single medication available for treating it. However for most people, amalgamation of behavioral and cognitive therapies works the best. In some cases, the patient can get a lot of control over their condition by simply understanding what a panic disorder is. A cognitive therapy helps the person in realizing that the increased heart rate or the shortness in breath is not going to harm them. In essence, cognitive therapies replace the negative thoughts from a patients mind with positive and more realistic thoughts.

In case of behavioral therapies, patients are exposed to conditions which they face during an actual attack. People are not actually afraid of the experience during an attack, they are afraid about the onset of the attack. For example, people are not afraid of the crowd in a social gathering, but they are afraid of having an attack in a social gathering. As a part of behavioral therapy, patients are exposed to symptoms of this disorder to make them understand that hot flashes or increased heart rate do not always lead to a panic attack.

These therapies also make the patient go through actions they are scared of, in small steps. So, if patients are afraid of going to social gatherings, the first step is to make them get into a car because most of them start thinking about the gathering as soon as they get in the car, which leads them to an attack. This also helps them in understanding that being in a car will not lead to an attack.

Apart from these therapies, several medications which reduce the severity of the attacks or suppress the symptoms are available. Even relaxation techniques like breathing and positive visualization can be very helpful in controlling panic attacks.

Benefits of Using Herbs To Fight Depression

Depression is a serious illness which affects the overall health and wellbeing of a person. It affects them mentally and physically. Mental depression symptoms can cause them to feel sad, lonely, and be unable to cope with daily events. It can affect them physically in that it can cause them to overeat, be unable to concentrate, be angry, have a lack of energy and experience mood swings.

Herbs have been used successfully for thousands of years to treat depression and a host of other problems. Many people want alternatives to prescribed antidepressants either because they don't respond well to the drugs or drugs they are taking are not effective for their condition. Some experience very unpleasant side effects or they fail to get any benefit of the drugs. Some herbs can work wonders for depression. One of the primary benefits of using herbs for depression as opposed to prescription drugs is that they are cheaper, safer and rarely cause side effects.

Camu Camu is a very unique tropical rainforest plant which helps depression as well as many other things. It is an adaptogenic plant which means it provides a variety of benefits to the body. Camu Camu bears small red/purple berries which are naturally tangy and somewhat sweet. Camu Camu provides so many benefits for the body that it is often referred to as a superfood. It is known for having the highest amount of vitamin C than any other plant. One of the benefits of vitamin C is that it protects the nervous system. The nervous system includes all the nerves running throughout your body which control multiple functions. The significant amount of vitamin C plus the other compounds of this berry nourishes and protects the brain providing help for those dealing with depression.

Rhodiola Rosea Root is a herb native to Asia, Europe and other area of the Northern Hemisphere. It is an adaptogenic plant which has been safely used for centuries to treat stress, anxiety and depression among other things. Rhodiola Rosea Root is very effective in treating mild to moderate depression. It has been shown to improve mood and help one be able to effectively deal with challenging circumstances. It also helps the body become more resistant to stress.

St. John's Wort is a powerful herb which is often used for treating mild to moderate depression. Multiple studies have confirmed that St. John's Wort is often more successful than prescription drugs. It helps to promote relaxation and improve overall mental health. Many people get fast results once they begin using it.

Herbs are readily available and are very inexpensive compared to the cost of prescription drugs. They can be taken safely and effectively by most people. However, each person is different. Some people may experience unpleasant side effects. Be sure to check with your health practitioner to make sure the herbs you desire to take are safe for you do to so. They will need to make sure that the herbs don't negatively affect any health condition you may have and to make sure they don't interfere with any other medications you might be taking.

Depression Treatment - Ways to Get to the Root of the Problem

Depression treatment is not something to take lightly. Unfortunately, too often it is. Most people in the world have probably had the feelings of being depressed at least once. It is a part of being human to have these feelings. Stress, health problems, and just the way one thinks can bring on a depressed state. Therefore, the treatments used to combat it can vary just as widely.

There are a variety of ways people go about depression treatment. Some people meditate and do yoga, others pray; some go to counseling, while others go through hypnosis and/or are medicated. Even the definition of depression has changed over the years-- sometimes this type of progress is good, and sometimes it is not.

Many people take anti-depressants today, because of the ease with which doctors prescribe them. Sometimes they are truly necessary, especially for someone who is severely depressed. However, anti-depressants treat symptoms more than anything else, so they are not really addressing the underlying problem. Something that may help to reach that root cause is to reach out to a friend or trained counselor for therapy. Some general counsel on how to change your way of thinking may be helpful.

Many people simply use anti-depressants to cover the symptoms. However, the power of the mind and the way you think is significant. Depending on your personal situation, you maybe be able to overcome depression without drugs by simply changing your overall outlook.

Your most significant depression treatment lies in your own thinking. Getting the right counselor to help you may be one of the keys to helping you live a fulfilling life. Because there are so many views on this subject, there is no one answer that can be given here, but seeking the counsel of someone who seems to know how to control their thinking might be the first step for you.

If you are depressed, do not hold in the struggles and continue to mull them over in your mind. Stop your worries in their tracks, think about the positives in a situation, and then seek counsel to help you continue to overcome this problem. You will not regret seeking help in getting to the root of the problem. Sometimes the issue may be a medical one; if so, you might need a medical doctor as well as a counselor. Talk to those who love you, and ask them to help you as you try to take the next steps to overcome this problem.

Why Do You Always Feel Anxious? Is It Inherited?

You live in the African countryside, or bush. You've been working all day down in one of the fields. It's only about a quarter of a mile from the house. The Sun sinks lower and lower - quickly in Africa. So, you call it a day. Up to the house you go, but suddenly remember you've left a pair of cutters down on the tractor.

You must have those, so the only thing for it is to go down again and bring them back. The tractor's parked beneath a rain tree, a whacking great thing, and all's fine until you actually reach for your cutters.

Then you hear it.

The low, menacing cough of a leopard.

It's close - too darn close, but you can't pinpoint it. It's pitch dark and no moon.

Scenarios spin through your mind at lightning speed. You know that the most likely action from the leopard is to leap on you from a tree, in this case almost certainly the rain tree.

Your mind's shut down, but you know you either reach for your cutters and walk back, or simply stay where you are all night. So your hand snakes out, you grip your cutters, turn, and as though mesmerized, walk back up the road to the house - where you either burst into tears or have an enormous Scotch!

All right, but you're a pretty steady sort of chap and under normal circumstances, even if you are under a bit of stress or threat, you react coolley and calmly.

But supposing you're the opposite. As they used to say years ago; "I suffer from my nerves."

You worry. Constantly. Indeed, sometimes quite literally over nothing at all. This could become very old very quickly and take all the joy out of your life.

Now, jump into my time machine and we'll go back 20,000 years. Yes, you ask, but why does it happen to us these days? We're light years from our ancestors of 20,000 years ago.

Ah, but you see, we aren't any different. We're nothing like as strong, and we don't have cell phones, but apart from that, we're exactly the same as we were all those years ago. What has changed, radically, are the predators. Traumas, that last from one day to the next, horrible bosses, stimulants, 95% of which we don't need, bad food, or rather wrong food. A work load that'd kill a horse and why is that?

Sorry, chaps, but it's greed.

With all these electronics that, if you know how to use them, can make you money with three clicks of a mouse, well, my word, let's try another three clicks and double what we made originally, and before you know it, money's controlling you. Then the bottom drops out of the market, and terrible worry sets into your mind.

So you haven't changed one bit, but your predators have.

The Nature Cure for Depression - Understanding the Cause and Effect

In nature there are depressions every day. Low pressure zones. You hear it on the news - "there's a depression over the Australian Bite" causing high winds and storms to the East.

So, nature has depressions too. And exactly as the Universal Laws of nature predict, depressions are caused by elations. (high pressure zones)

You can't have a depression without an elation.. and the cause of depression is therefore an elation (false expectation) - and in many cases, a false memory or picture of something.

When we meet people do we meet them in love (read here pure balance) or do we most often see either their good side or their bad side? It's usually the latter... we see people as we hope they are... so depression is simply the realisation that people aren't who we thought they were.

It's not the person's fault - they just acted out our fantasy.. just like we act out other people's fantasy.

We all meet, even in a relationship, in a contract of exchange... you be who I want, I'll be who you want. And we'll live in this delusion for as long as we can sustain it. So, at some level, we're all "sacred prostitutes."

We call this elation... I'll be the good things in human life that you find good - You be all the good things in human life that I find good. And with this fantasy.. we get libido. We get aroused when we meet our fantasy.

How long does it take to shatter that fantasy and find out that you've been duped? People talk about "universal " forces but really, it's just their mind playing tricks and justifying their own corruption in selling their soul and becoming whatever they need to become to get what they want.

This is not a corruption. Nature has elation (fantasy of high pressure) and depression (fantasy of low pressure) and so there's attraction (storms and hurricanes) in which it feels like the earth is changing and life has moved to a new and wonderful place..But at the end of it the illusion get's shattered. The high (elation) becomes depression (the low - in the case of Nature) evaporates)

However, human nature has one small chink that nature doesn't have to deal with. It is called free will.. the freedom to hold ideas in our mind. Nature doesn't have that gift or that curse. Nature moves with the energy and forces of the universal laws. Human nature does too but because of free will, the freedom to think that we have a choice, we can fight nature.

In depression we are fighting. All nature is saying is "that high that you put that person on a pedestal - well it's time to learn the truth... they are just a balance of character" the illusion would be shattered, we'd learn more love instead of infatuation and things would move on - we'd once again be attracted to a fantasy, (not the same one as before unless we've jumped without realisation, and on it goes.

Depression is in nature a balance of elations. Elations are just fantasies we have about things.. beliefs or hopes that, say, we're going to meet a person who would never lie, never cheat, never hurt us... and yet, the fact that we have such a high expectation of another human makes them store their truth, store their honesty, store their mischief until one day, they reveal it. They reveal they are part of nature, they are a whole human, they are both good and bad, high and low, corrupt and honest. Suddenly the illusion (pedestal) we placed them on crashes to earth. And that's depression.

The faster we learn to love that person (which until this moment we defined as elation and infatuation which means we didn't really know them at all or didn't want to know them) - the faster the depression goes away.

It takes a hammer and chisel to crack through those half stories, those false expectations about people because those hopes of meeting a half person form our identity. We want to be a "good" person and don't always embrace our own fraudulent side. We don't wrap ourselves in self love, so we can't wrap others in it too.

Each situation that we face in a day can knock down pedestals or build up pits. (the opposite to depression is elation and sometimes we put people down and then wake up to the fact that they weren't so bad) which equally can cause depression by throwing them up onto a pedestal after having put them down for a long time.

So, you see, depression can't be avoided. You can choose however, whether you have it daily, monthly, yearly, or one big chunk every five to seven years... It's all about your daily practices. Ignore the daily discipline of the Innerwealth process and depression is going to get chunky. Simply, the pleasure of living in ignorance is offset by the pain of a big wake up call down the road. Or the pain of daily routine in love, is balanced by the daily depression that every human has every trait.

Symptoms and Prevalence of Depression

Been a little down lately? Having trouble motivating yourself to get out of bed? Is the scale going up because you have been spending a little too much of your time curled up in front of the TV with that bag of chips or feeling the need for chocolate all day? Or is the scale dropping, not because you have been enthusiastically been working on your health, but because you just have no interest in food. What about sleep? Do you lay awake for hours, unable to drift off or are you at the opposite end of the scale? Do you feel like sleeping all the time? Do the things that used to excite and interest you just simply hold no pleasure for you? If you are noticing several of these symptoms, you may be suffering from depression.

If so, you are certainly not alone. Our culture seems to be drowning in depression. Most people will suffer from depression at least one time during their lifetime. Statistics on depression are growing for all age groups, even young children. The numbers are alarming. So why are the rates of depression so high?

This society, this era, has more material goods than probably any other. While economic times are more difficult right now than they have been in the previous few years, the average person in this country is wealthy when compared to most of the world's population. Even those on the bottom of the economic scale have access to more resources than not only those in other nations but those in other periods of history. It should be obvious that material goods in themselves are not the answer. Some of the wealthiest people are the most dysfunctional and depressed.

Why are we so depressed? I think there are many answers to that question, but here I will express just a few of those that I think are prevalent.

The first one is that our society is endlessly seeking an easy, problem free life. The media promotes the idea of "having it all". Women should be thin, beautiful, and be sought after by the men they meet. Forget about the concept of "aging gracefully". We shouldn't age at all! Men should be financially successful, drive a car that makes people's heads turn, and attract all the female heads that are turning. Marriage should be idyllic and full of romance or you should move on to the next relationship until you find the "one" that meets all your needs. For many, life can become so caught up in these pursuits that some of the most basic of life's principles are left in the dust.

For some the problem goes much deeper. Yes, it is possible that there is some biological component, a predisposition that tends toward depression. But even with that, depression needs some kind of trigger. It can seem to come "out of nowhere," just swooping down like a bird of prey with its claws bared. It can appear to have no direct correlation with anything or anyone at the time. In that case, there are usually some undealt with hurts or trauma from the past that could go back as far as childhood. It can come from a grief that has not been entirely processed. It can come from unforgiveness or bitterness that never had a chance to be rooted out.

For others, it could mean that there is a current situation that is known and has been going on for a long enough period of time that change or relief seems hopeless. These circumstances could be relational, financial, physical, or spiritual. A number of issues can trigger depression. When hope has dwindled away, we can lose our perspective. We are unable to see the answers or solutions.

The good news is that there are answers for depression. The first step is to recognize what you are dealing with. The next step is to take active measures to get help. It may take some time. It may take some work to dig out the roots of depression, but it is a treatable condition.

What Is Holiday Depression: Why Do I Get Depressed Around The Holidays

The melancholia associated with the holiday season can be a combination of several emotional/mental health factors that join together to compound symptoms of depression. "Holiday depression" can occur just before, during, or after the holidays. It is largely the "holiday season" timing of the appearance of, or worsening of symptoms that leads to the label "holiday depression. Seasonal activities, memories, and additional stress also contribute.

Many people who experience chronic depression find that their depression worsens around the holidays. There are a number of reasons that people get more depressed during the holidays.

An increase in stressors challenges our resources to keep it appropriately managed or under control. Sometimes a person's resources are inadequate to the accumulation of stressors and the escalation in intensity of the stressors. People who are already over-tasked may easily become overwhelmed.

Others may be dealing with unresolved loss and grief in additional to holiday stressors. The holidays also represent a time of increased intensity of grief, as memories of the lost loved ones come flooding back.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is also a contributing factor for many. Seasonal affective disorder happens during the winter months when the days are shorter and there is less sunlight.

The holidays are also a time when priorities shift. Many depressed people are able to successfully managing their depression with medication and/or exercise, appropriate self-care, socializing, counseling, or other activities. Since "the holidays" are a time limited occurrence, the demands to accomplish more and more during the holidays, take a front seat as appropriate self-care activities get moved to the back burner. As these depression management techniques recede, depression symptoms may increase.

Many people who experience holiday depression, question whether it is a more serious form of depression. A mental health professional can help you sort that out. Just as there is treatment and recovery for major depression, there are also treatments and techniques for eliminating or reducing holiday depression.

Many times, uncomplicated holiday depression can be reduced or managed by stepping up your self care, reducing your stress, and using a social support system. Help is available. For many, counseling is appropriate. For others, a visit to your family physician and a prescription for an antidepressant may be appropriate. Often a more effective approach could be medication along with counseling. Your doctor can assess for seasonal affective disorder, as well.

Those grieving the loss of significant loved ones can also find help through grief support groups. Grief has no time limit. People usually grieve as long as they need to. When intense grief persists over an exceptionally long time, it could be complicated bereavement and counseling would be appropriate. Holiday depression can be reduced or effectively managed by taking pro-active steps. Learning what to do for depression and paying special attention to managing stress can help reduce the symptoms.

Finding Hope for Depression

Depression can be a debilitating disease to try to cope with. It is hope draining because it brings with it the feeling that it is beyond your control. It is just present like the air you breathe. This, however, is a false feeling. Depression is an emotion and like all emotions it is transitory. It is not beyond your control. There are a number of techniques that you can draw on to lessen or alleviate its grip. Let's look at some simple methods that might be effective.

It might be time to examine what is really important. Our society has placed a high priority on physical and material values that have little true worth and are elusive for a large majority of people. It might be more satisfying to concentrate on the deeply satisfying aspects of life such as family, true friends, or your spiritual beliefs and faith. What will give you more lasting fulfillment - the 70 hours a week you worked for that bigger salary or your son giving you a hug after you have watched him run and hit and maybe stumble through his first ballgame? What is actually more important -the facelift making your smile look younger than your circle of acquaintances or the smile on your grandchild's face after you've spent a day reading, and playing, and baking cookies?

If you have had some serious trauma in your past, you may need to examine it and take the time to explore it. If there are issues like this that you have never truly worked through, depression may actually be an indicator that it is time. For depression based in this root, I would seriously recommend that you don't try to deal with it alone. Talk to a very trusted friend, your pastor, or a counselor. It may take time to process the hurt, and if needed find a way to forgive, but the effort is worthwhile. This kind of work happens one step at a time. Every piece you deal with brings greater freedom. Don't be discouraged. Just like physical wounds that are deep, more than a couple of procedures may be necessary. But healing is possible.

Try finding someone else who is troubled and give into their life without expecting them to return the favor. Better yet, do it in a way so that they won't even know it was you. Depression can become very self absorbing, and giving into someone else's life takes your mind off of yourself.

Count your blessings. That is a simple but very powerful truth that will bring some joy back into your life. When you are depressed, your mind sees the problem. It ruminates on all of the negative aspects of your situation. There is a lack of balance going on in your thinking processes. Thankfulness puts those kind of thoughts in perspective. It shines a ray of light into the darkness of depression and it gives you a road of hope to walk on.

Speaking of walking, that's a good idea. Get yourself moving! Most people, when they are caught in the pit of depression think that they will be able to start behaving differently when the depression lifts. The exact opposite is actually true. If you make yourself start doing and moving and joining in, the depression can begin to lift. Some exercise will do wonders for a mood because it sets certain brain chemicals in motion that are beneficial for your frame of mind. Healthy eating habits can also have a positive effect.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that this condition is treatable. It does not have to become a permanent way of life. Plant that hope firmly in your mind and then begin to move forward. Baby steps are still steps, and they are terrific, if they are moving you in the right direction. Celebrate every victory, large or small and press on!

What Is Depression and How Do We Cure It?

This morning I read an article which stated that by the year 2020, the second-most debilitating illness in the world would be depression. In researching further, I saw that an estimated 850,000 people commit suicide every year. In other estimates the number was over 1,000,000. Depending on figures, more people commit suicide each year than the total military deaths for all of World War II.

In a normal year, there are more than twice as many suicides worldwide as there are homicides INCLUDING wars. Twice as many people kill themselves than are killed.

These are astonishing figures. But what does that mean in real terms? Imagine downtown San Francisco. Now imagine that everyone in the city committed suicide. In terms of Portland, this would mean Multonomah Co./downtown, Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Gresham all would be lost due to suicide. Again, astonishing. But no one talks about this. Obviously, depression is a precursor the majority of the time. Which got us to thinking about depression.

So what is depression actually?

If it is so common and studied, it should be easily and definitely definable. The World Health Organization (WHO) offers the following definition:

"Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. These problems can become chronic or recurrent and lead to substantial impairments in an individual's ability to take care of his or her everyday responsibilities."

This is, in our opinion, severely lacking. In reality, this is simply a list of symptoms associated with what they are calling depression. As frequently happens in the traditional view of medicine, there is a confusion of mistaking symptoms for what is the sickness. When a system of health can not correctly differentiate between symptoms and illness, it serves only to temporarily alleviate symptoms.
So what is our definition of depression?

Depression is the prolonged perceived absence of the experience of Love until the experience of Love is nearly or completely veiled.

The results of this sickness are the definition given by Western medicine.

But what, then, do we mean by "Love" with a capital "L."

We mean that Love which is self-existent. This is not loving something/someone or being loved. (Both as it were, are simply erroneously placing the experience of Love as being dependent on something outside of yourself, when in fact the experience is completely within and un-dependent on outside "objects," or "others." These "others" that apparently cause us to feel love are simply acting as catalysts that help us or ease us in uncovering the Love that is already within us, and never really dependent on an outside catalyst). We mean spiritual love. Spiritual because it is beyond the confines of the mind and/or physicality/mentality.

This "spiritual" Love is the experience of the expansion or complete forgetting of personal Ego/Individual. Love is the experience of experiencing our being-ness or existence in that which is beyond what we normally identify with as ourselves, or "I." This is the Love that is unconditional and infinite. This is the NOT "love" that is given, earned, or mistakenly perceived to be placed in something outside of ourselves. It is the Love that is inside everyone always. Everyone. Always.

This is very easy to observe. When we forget ourselves, even for a moment, we experience Love and awe. It takes our "breath away."

In the yogic world it is commonly known that the cessation of the movement of breath is also the cessation of the movement of mind. When the mind is quiet, (and hence not ignorant because a quiet mind is like a clear lens- we can experience/ "see" what is always there), we experience Love. It is something that is simply always there. This is, if you reflect on it, something you already know.

Of course the mind cannot grasp Love. It is an irrational, non-rationalizable feeling/experience. Furthermore, because it occurs just in the realm between worldly existence (impermanent) and spiritual existence (permanent), it is impossible to remember what Love is actually like when it is not being experienced. An interesting side note is that we feel Love in the heart because the heart is the junction point between spiritual and mental/physical (we will discuss "chakras" and the reality of them at a later date). Love, therefore, can seem non-existent because we become so identified with the world and our minds than anything not within that conception appears to not exist.

So if this Love is inside everyone always, how is it veiled and/or forgotten? In other words: What are the causes of depression?

The simplest and most straightforward answer is that the cause of depression is ignorance of our true nature, which as we discussed above is Love. Ignorance is a synonym for mental turbulence, and both are synonyms for Ego and/or "I."

This "I" is a completely fictitious idea which has no base outside of its of self-assumption to be real. When investigated, it becomes self-obvious that this "I", ego, and ignorance, are only ideas that appeared to be (exist), but not are. Of course, for the majority of people, this Reality and It's explanation are not very useful.

So, to further explicate the causes of depression into something useful, we can say the following:

There are three, and only three, root causes of depression.

1) Evolutionary discontent with the emptiness of experiences (and eventually even the experience of individual existence.)

In the course of personal evolution, one comes to the point of being discontent with what they have. This is well studied and represented by the various "hierarchies of needs" classifications. (Our personal hierarchy is different than that of Maslow and others, and beyond the scope of this specific article, however the idea is the same.)

While there is no specific point of distinction between depression and not having desires met (as this depends on the individual constitution), after a prolonged period of time the mind becomes sufficiently turbulent with thoughts about the future to veil Love.

In the course of our personal evolutions, we will all experience periods of slight depression whilst moving from one hierarchical level of desires to the other.

If this discontentment reaches the point where where they realize that no experience in this world will bring lasting happiness, and the world seems an absurd repetition of meaningless experiences. Before finding the possibility of something more, it seems completely hopeless and absurd, and depression will follow in the same sequence as with other desires. This is an advanced state of evolution that is mostly unavoidable, but not necessarily necessary either. To delve into the explanation of personal development and what Reality is and how to realize It would be another discussion altogether.

2) Unprocessed emotions and experiences.

These create mental turbulence in the form of fear. This turbulence, as with all others, veils Love. In other words, an experience is experienced as painful (because there was an expectation of Love that was not met or expressed), the mind does not process the pain and release the experience to leave a neutral mental impression (neither attraction nor aversion to, or in relation to, the memory), and the mind begins guarding emotions and its sense of "I" in order to not repeat the suffering. In psychological terms this is commonly known as building a wall or defense. In doing so the expansion of oneself is simultaneously limited along with the already present mental turbulence. The Ego or "I" is then fortified because the flip side to expansion of oneself is acceptance. In the case of emotional hurt, nothing is accepted into the "I" for fear of more hurt. This over the course of time leads to depression.

3) Mental/Sensory over-stimulation.

This can be either or both a cause and symptom of depression. As a cause, we can summarize it as an addiction to pleasure and stimulation. As a symptom, we can summarize it as the desire to bury or mask pain with pleasure (which relates directly to root cause #2). We can see that whether it is a cause or symptom is dependent on whether or not the initial experience was interpreted (by the experiencer) as pleasurable or painful. If pleasurable, addiction results. If painful, the desire to mask ensues.

As a cause: The mind has an inherent nature to experience. As experiences are experienced, memories (mental impressions) are formed. Depending on the experience as pleasurable or painful, a consequent desire will ensue.

(Pleasure: is the confusion of the bliss/joy from the experience of Love with its dependence/association in an object, mostly in the subtle form of realizing a positive desire; that is to say the mind temporarily rests after having achieved or obtained its desire, thus experiences calm, thus experiences pleasure because it momentarily experiences Love, or at least more Love, than previously when it was turbulent with desire)

(Pain: is the immediate increase of mental turbulence because of an unmet desire or need)

Of course, in the cases of both pleasure and pain, the association of both with the body leads to more mental turbulence in the form of desires. One simply occurs in the moment of experience, and one occurs after the experience.

This cycle is thus:

These memories left by experiences are either in the form of positive (desire to repeat) or negative (desire to not repeat) desires. By "negative" we do not mean bad. Simply the wish to not experience the experience again. The action to repeat or sustain these desires then repeats itself in a cycle of experience, desire, action. Each time the impression left by the previous experience masks (in the form of a mental impression, or memory) the pleasure of the consequent to a slight extent, so we need a slightly stronger experience the next time to experience the same amount of pleasure. This is true with everything from food to sex, drugs and violence. Of course each time that this pleasure is experienced and it leaves an impression, the result is a stronger desire for more. This desire is also mental turbulence, meaning that we can say when the mind is no longer experiencing the experience, it is immediately afterwards more "depressed."

This mental turbulence forms a veil over present moment awareness (which is inherently free from memories (the past) or desires (the future)), so that the experiences experienced now are also veiled by memories and desires. We can see then, how we quickly end up in a situation of desiring experiences that cannot be fulfilled, because even when they are fulfilled, we are not truly, or at least fully, conscious that we are experiencing them! (You may need to read this several times to grasp it, that is completely normal and a good thing.)

Only in the case of enlightenment, in which the mind is so clear, pure, and thin that experiences are experienced as expressions of Itself is it possible for experiences to be neutral- that is leave no impression or subsequent desire.

As a symptom: Often there is an unprocessed emotion, and rather than experience and process the emotion which is difficult and painful, the mind chooses to choose a stimuli that will temporarily allow it to not consciously be aware of the pain. Many times acute depression is masked in the forms of sensory stimulation. If you can feel a pleasure that, at least in the moment of experiencing, is stronger than the pain, you will temporarily forget the pain. These forms of stimulation include everything. Sounds, sights, smells, touch, tastes can all mask underlying experiences of pain and/or unhappiness temporarily.
So then what is the cure to depression?

If depression is, as we have explained, the prolonged perceived absence of the experience of Love until the experience of Love is nearly or completely veiled, with all causes being mental turbulence, the question becomes how do we quiet the mind and also stop the unconscious cycle of experience, memory, desire?

There are three ways, two of which lead to lasting happiness, one of which doesn't, but is useful in conjunction with the other two.

1) Meditation.
Meditation has been proven to benefit everything from heart health and stress to overall happiness. How does it achieve such widespread, but irrefutable results? It quiets the mind, allowing us to return closer to our natural state. This state, even if glimpsed for a moment, harmonizes and helps every part of our being.

Meditation works by first strengthening the focus and attention of the mind. Focus can be thought of as the ability to observe something, while attention is the length of time something is observed. In the case of meditation, we begin by focusing on one thought. By using one thought as a focal point (normally a mantra or one's breath), we create an "anchor" for the mind. This anchor serves two purposes: the first is to provide a fixed point with which to focus on, thereby increasing the ease of focus and attention (think of hitting a moving target vs. a fixed target). The second is to provide a reference point for observing other thoughts.

More on the second purpose of meditation: The mind, and more specifically the intellect, fundamentally works through comparing and contrasting. Something is "X" because it is not "Y," or "Z" for example. When meditating, one of the things we begin to experience while observing our focal point, is that other thoughts veil and pass through/in front of (for a manner of speaking) our focal point. Without a fixed "background" or "anchor," these thoughts are much much more difficult to observe.

Sometimes during meditation the focus, or observation becomes so complete that we momentarily (later with longer durations) forget our sense of "I." This has classically been called "Ego dissolution" in many scholarly papers and studies. This is also one of the reasons why activities that involve intense focus are ultimately pleasurable, even if they involve physical suffering (such as in endurance sports, etc.) Back to the topic- this cycle of focus and attention is mutually beneficial. The greater the focus and clarity, the easier it is to maintain attention, and the easier it is to maintain attention, the greater focus and clarity can be achieved, etc.

This focusing will also bring the mind more to present moment awareness because the thought being observed/repeated is in the present moment. All other thoughts we have are about the past or future. The mind is almost never actually in the present moment. Even our very personality is nothing more than a collection of memories related to our sense of "I." These thoughts cloud and obscure every experience and perception until the mind has enough focusing power to observe the extraneous thoughts, and focus beyond them, disregarding these memories and desires as false and non-existent. Include in these "thoughts" is of course the voice in your head. It does not really exist outside of its assumed assumption to be real and intellectual mistake that it is inside your head. It is easy to see through simple observation that the majority of thoughts we have in any given moment have absolutely no correlation to what is unfolding in the present moment. However, when we are in the present moment, we experience mental clarity and quietness, and in turn Love.

2) Mindfulness.
Mindfulness is the practice of conscious present moment awareness while in activity. This functions exactly the same as in meditation, except that the focal point or anchor is the thing (s) or experiences being performed at that present moment. This takes more focus than a regular meditation practice because the focal point is constantly changing. At first it can be beneficial to actually say with your inner voice what you are doing. "I am pouring my coffee." "The coffee tastes X." Later, with practice, one can hopefully achieve a state of simply observing without any judgement, mental noise, or "I." This is a truly marvelous state.

3) Achieving deep "heart" desires.
Along the way to inner happiness, we must also fulfill our desires. Desires are not necessarily bad. In the Yogic world there is a saying to "fulfill all of your desires until the only thing left is God." If a desire is deep within our hearts/minds, it must be fulfilled or transcended. To transcend a desire is to mentally truly realize one of two things 1) The thing wanted with the desire will not make me happy and ultimately will be a source of suffering and that the individual has mistakenly placed Love in an expectation with the desired, or 2) "I" do not exist, so obviously there can be no desire associated with nothing.

Both are very advanced. For those not prepared to give up everything and live a life of a hermit, it is probably better to find a middle road of achieving desires consciously. We must then find a balance between our real desires and false desires.

These false desires are simply unconscious reactions based on past experiences. Real desires, we will say, are desires of the heart. These are desires that will exist even when you are completely happy and fulfilled. Complete happiness and fulfillment does not mean the cessation of movement or action. It simple means the cessation of attachment to outcome, because if you are happy, it doesn't matter what the outcome will be, you will still be happy. Real/heart desires are like rain to the ocean.

False desires on the other hand, can be extinguished and transcended simply through deep introspection and meditation. False desires are things that will never be realized because they only introduce more desires. Sex, money, power and their derivatives are "false" desires. The seeds of evolutionary past memories and desires will not germinate if burnt by the realization of inner Love.

This seems like a very ethereal and unreal thing to "burn" desires, but in reality it is very easy to understand. If you have a hamburger that is just OK and costs $25, but you don't have any other better option, you will probably be content with the hamburger. Then one day you find and taste the world's best meal. And not only that, but it is free. It will be very hard to be content with the expensive and mediocre burger from that point onwards. The experience of Love is the same. When we really experience Love many, if not most, small false desires disappear.

Now, to find and differentiate what we "really want," or what our true heart desires are, is at first difficult. The first step is to stop the cycle of reactionary desires that are devolutionary. We must stop engaging this devolution. Right now, as we discussed previously, the world has entered into such mental turbulence that we simply go from one desire to the next reacting, and not thinking if its something we want, worth our time, or that will bring us any lasting happiness at all. We live our lives constantly running after some "thing (s)."

We run and run and run, but if we would just stop one moment, take a breath, get our bearings, we would find that 1) We are running towards some "thing" that we ultimately don't even want, and 2) If we stop and wait a little while, a jet, train or car will pick us up and take us to where we actually want to go much more quickly. We get there quicker because our true "heart" desires are aligned with the greater desires for universal happiness.

We must first stop this running and take a break. This is the meditation and mindfulness discussed above. When we really distill our desires, it becomes clear that what we really are looking for is Love and the subsequent experiences. As our desires evolve in their hierarchy, we begin to desire community, expression, recognition, intimacy, etc. These are good catalysts to experience Love until the point where we only want Love without outside "supports" or catalysts.

So now we have successfully defined the sickness, identified it's causes, and explained the solutions to these causes. While thorough in it's explanations, this article will not identify the specific mental turbulence's that arise in our minds and limit our happiness.

In my book, "Ideas to Quit," we will not only expand on this topic, but point out specific limiting thoughts that veil our experience of Love and happiness. These are thoughts we all carry within deep within us. These are the false notions that are so subtle as to elude and confuse us in our search for Love. In "Ideas to Quit," we will learn how to identify, dis-empower, dissolve, and transcend them.

Best,
--David

Depression Affects Over 350 Million People Worldwide

Depression Affects Over 350 Million People Worldwide

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Over 350 million people around the world have depression, according to a report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) on World Mental Health Day (10 October).

Depression is a mental disorder that undermines people's ability to function well. However, the stigma associated with the disorder stops millions of people from seeking medical help. Another problem with stigma is that a considerable number of those with depression fail to acknowledge that they are ill.

WHO calls for an end to the stigmatization of depression.

We all have occasional fluctuations in mood; depression is completely different. Depression forces the individual into a feeling of sadness that persists for long periods, at least two weeks, according to WHO. It interferes with our ability to function properly at home, school or work.

Fortunately, depression is a treatable illness. Treatments today include medication, psychotherapy, or a combination of the two. Depressed people and those close to them need to become actively involved in addressing the disorder.

Before reaching out for support, it is vital that the depressed person recognizes their disorder. Prompt treatment is best, i.e. the earlier treatment starts, the more effective it tends to be.

Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, USA, said:

"We have some highly effective treatments for depression. Unfortunately, fewer than half of the people who have depression receive the care they need. In fact in many countries this is less than 10%. This is why WHO is supporting countries in fighting stigma as a key activity to increasing access to treatment."

A combination of obstacles stop people from seeking help for depression, such as a lack of proper understanding of the condition and cultural attitudes.

Depression is common everywhere

It is a myth that depression is something that predominantly affects Western societies. Researchers from the University of Queensland, who claim to have made the most comprehensive study of depression and anxiety, concluded that depression and anxiety exist in every society in the world today.

According to WHO, depression rates are similar throughout all regions of the world. A recent WHO study found that approximately 5% of people over the last 12 months had depression.

Depression is caused by a combination of biological, psychological and social factors. Physical health has been shown to be linked to depression risk - people with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, psoriasis, and a number of other illnesses and conditions have a much higher risk of developing depression than other "healthy" individuals. Up to 20% of women develop post-partum depression (post-natal depression) after giving birth. Spouses of people who had a heart attack have a much higher chance of developing depression.

Unpleasant or extreme circumstances may also raise depression risk, such as unemployment, disasters, wars, and losing loved ones. In extreme cases, depression can drive a person to commit suicide, or attempt to do so. Nearly one million people commit suicide annually worldwide; many of them were suffering from depression when they ended their lives.

What is WHO doing?

Governments and health authorities need to include depression treatment as part of their basic health care packages. WHO says it helps many governments around the world achieve this. Through WHO's mhGAP (Mental Health Gap Action Program), health workers in developing nations are trained to spot mental disorders and provide effective care, psychosocial assistance, and medications for people with depressive symptoms.

World Mental Health Day was established in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health. Its aim is to improve public awareness about mental health issues and to encourage open discussion of mental disorders, more investment in the prevention of mental disorders, as well as the promotion of effective treatments.

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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Simple Methods to Cure Depression

Depression affects many each day and can be debilitating to the point where it destroys lives, ends a person's employment or brings on poor physical and mental health.

However, there are things you can do to lessen depression and in some cases, eliminate depression from your life.

One effective thing you can do that helps with depression is to exercise. Find an exercise that you enjoy doing, such as walking, and stay with it. By keeping a routine of exercise you will soon find that you feel better and that you're thinking and behavior will change from one of negativity and pessimism to one of a more positive and uplifting attitude. Exercise also increase one's self-esteem, takes your mind away from worrying, improves your mood, helps you to get better sleep and helps to get rid of stress and anxiety.

When coping with depression, be careful not to put too many demands on yourself. You can do this by keeping things simple, doing things you enjoy, by getting outside and getting some fresh air and talking with a doctor or someone you trust.

Eating a healthy diet can also take away symptoms of depression. When a diet is poor in nutrition, it can have a negative effect on your mind and your behavior. And if necessary, make an appointment with a mental health professional. He or she is trained and educated to help those who suffer from depression. Talking to this kind doctor can be quite helpful and they can give you further help and guidance on how to deal with depression.

In addition, some have found relief from depression by taking up a new hobby or making a change in your life such as redecorating your living room or trying an outside activity.

But, no matter what you do, keep in mind that you are not alone. There is always hope with depression and with hope in your heart and by practicing some of the above advice, you can overcome depression and be happy once again.

Depression doesn't have to last forever; nor should it. If you find that you need additional help, don't be afraid to see help from your psychologist or psychiatrist. He or she may be able to prescribe medication or give you advice and guidance on another type of therapy. Most importantly, stay away from negative people and surround yourself with positive and uplifting people.