Depression and Exercise - How Exercise Can Fight Depression

Many people suffer with depression at some point during their lives. Oftentimes, they seek professional help from therapists, psychologists or other medical professionals. Treatment often includes regular visits to health professionals and the taking of antidepressants. There are a variety of antidepressants on the market and the effects of these drugs vary from person to person.

Antidepressants typically don't work any better than placebos. In fact they can cause severe problems in your health and life. It is a commonly known fact that depression can cause sufferers to have suicidal thoughts. However, antidepressant drugs have also been shown to cause suicidal and homicidal thoughts in addition to other related behaviors. Antidepressants can also cause serious health problems including those with potential life-threatening risks.

Exercise is an effective way of combatting depression without the use of prescription drugs. Significant research has confirmed that physical exercise is oftentimes as effective as antidepressants for helping people who suffer with depression. Exercise provides multiple benefits for the entire body. A few benefits include improving heart health and muscle tone and strength. Exercise also reduces levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Physical exercise causes the body to increase the level of endorphins. Endorphins are often referred to as the "feel good" hormones in your brain. Endorphins interact with brain receptors to lift the mood and produce a positive mood in the individual. Many runners experience a feeling often described as a "runner's high." They often describe it as a feeling of euphoria.

One does not need to be a runner to experience the psychological effects of exercise. All types of exercises are beneficial. Moderate exercises such as walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, swimming, biking, golf, rebounding and yoga provide variety and great health benefits.

Rebounders are mini-trampolines. Rebounding involves bouncing or jumping on the rebounder. This promotes circulation in the body and can greatly reduce depression levels. Rebounding is excellent exercise for the entire body and can be done by people of all fitness levels. Rebounders are particularly good for the lymphatic system which is the primary dumping ground for toxins and waste in the body. They can be used indoors or outdoors.

Rebound exercise provides psychological benefits in addition to other major health benefits. Rebounding is especially effective in eliminating toxins from the body. Sedentary people frequently have poor lymph flow and often suffer with more illnesses than those who exercise regularly. Rebound exercise greatly improves lymph flow and can improve the health of those who regularly do rebound exercise. An effective rebound exercise can be done in as few as fifteen minutes.

Group exercises such as in a gym or fitness center may be more beneficial to some sufferers of depression and it can be more pleasant than exercising alone. You may also prefer taking a walk with a friend or spouse. This enables you to gain emotional comfort and support in addition to the benefits of the physical activity that you engage in.

Check with your health practitioner before beginning an exercise program. Start slowly and gradually work up to a more intense workout if your health permits. A walk in the morning or evening can provide more health benefits than you may realize.

Type of Thinking

In order to make reasoned judgments, you will have to think about the problems that are associated with any project or assignment you have to do. There are 16 of these, and you can adapt them to different problems in your studies. Don't rule any out, but rather keep them in your mind when you come to begin thinking something through. Here ate the 16 types of thinking that you should carry out in any approach to a problem.

Sequencing
The order in which items are placed in an argument can be for different reasons. Ordering can be according to the time; chronologically, or because of its relative importance, or because of other different reasons or characteristics. The order in which something is placed in a list can affect the way you think about it, the amount of attention you give it, or the detail with which it is studied or looked at.

Sorting/classifying/grouping
The way something is viewed can determine how it is dealt with. A hurricane is a disaster if it affects people, but merely a natural phenomenon if it does not. A fox is a hunted animal in some circumstances and a protected one in others.

Comparing/contrasting
Comparing - finding similarities, and contrasting - finding differences in objects under scrutiny or discussion is a way of finding out something about them. Statistics, facts or reason can be brought to bear to assist in the comparison, and used to justify the conclusions made from the comparing and contrasting.

Hypothesizing
Hypothesizing is a way of saying "Suppose this was such and such a way - what then?" it is a way of exploring without anything being hard and fast, of altering one variable to determine what happens to others. Hypothesizing is a way of learning about something by postulating the question, "What if... ?"

Drawing conclusions
The conclusions we draw from our thinking are the acid test of the efficacy of our thought processes and our powers of reason. Nothing shows faulty reasoning up more clearly than drawing conclusions that are not logical or clearly substantiated by evidence and reasoning.

Explaining/giving reasons for conclusions
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as we say. It is the explanations offered for particular conclusions having been reached that we find out the soundness of that reasoning; it is like being examined.

Distinguishing fact from opinion
Distinguishing fact from opinion is simple on one level, difficult on another. In the train of an argument, writers will claim rather than state categorically, and it is up to the alert reader to spot this hedging - the writers way of distancing herself from something, or identifying herself with it and asking her readers to do the same.

Checking the reliability of evidence
The sources of evidence can help to determine their reliability, but it is well to remember that not everything that is printed is verifiable or true, or correct.

Relating causes and effects
Connecting things in a causal relationship can and does occasionally go wrong. The fact that one thing coincides with another does not necessarily mean they are causally related.

Generating new ideas
This is the essence of creativity and is a vital ingredient in any problem solving situation. The inability to look at problems in different ways usually prevents an optimum solution.

Problem solving
To take a problem solving approach to one's studies is to realize that questions need to be asked and answered, and that solutions do not just appear without thinking.

Decision making
Decisiveness is needed once judgments have been formed - the resolution to follow your findings to their logical conclusion is vital. Any veering from rational decision making would render the whole unsound and a lasting solution improbable.

Enquiry
An inquiring mind is a valuable attribute, but inquiry requires energy, tenacity, and wit. It is not enough to have one without the other two. Energy to inquire is vital, particularly if answers do not come easily, or more questions suggest themselves as others are answered. Tenacity is needed to continue with a line of enquiry until a logical conclusion can be drawn. Lastly, wit is needed in order to maintain the optimum direction in that line of inquiry.

Planning
With books to read, notes to take, thinking to be done, and assignments to write, it is important to plan. If time runs out, as it inevitably will, if it is allowed to run on unchecked, there will be no point in continuing. Studying at university demands that you plan your time, for if you don't, others will.

Systems
It is useful to learn that when phenomena are related, they are connected in ways that are systematic. In ways that are analogous to how the human body functions, even inorganic things connect to function as a whole rather than a sum of the parts. Looking at an assembly line in a car plant, for example, one quickly realizes that the continuity of supply to the production line would be disastrously interrupted by the non-appearance of even the smallest, most insignificant part to be fitted to the growing automobile. So it is with many processes, concepts and the way the individual components fit together.

Last word
Being able to quickly and efficiently resort to these different types of thinking to solve problems and achieve a deeper understanding of a subject being studied is the very essence of being a student - using the whole of your brain, both right and left hemispheres, to discover how the world is connected, and to use that knowledge to build your own theories of how the world is arranged; that is learning.

6 Ways To Beat The Winter Blues

By the middle to end of February, most of us start to get stir crazy, and are waiting impatiently for the warmer weather that spring brings. Here are few ideas to that may hold you over until you shed the winter jackets and replace them with short sleeve shirts.

1. As cold as it seems some days, it is common to feel fatigued and worn out due to lack of sunlight this time of year. Vitamin D is so important and is directly associated with your mood. Try to get out for a short walk a couple of time s a week if you can.

2. Most of us want to hibernate during this time of year, but exercising is a great way to keep the spirits up. Joining a gym or attending yoga classes is a great way to get exercise during the winter. Also, exercise also will increase your energy and therefore can boost your mood.

3. It is common practise for some to be careless about their eating habits during the winter, but eating healthy will also help to increase your mood. Increase your citrus intake to support the immune system to keep you healthy during the cold months.

4. Continue to drink lots of water. Many of us don't drink as much as we should during the winter, and find that our skin becomes dry. Adding a small slice of lemon will also help with your citrus intake and make your water a little more interesting to drink.

5. Relax and try to get lots of sleep. The colder months are our chance to recuperate and naturally we tend to want to sleep longer. Allow yourself this luxury (if you can) your body will thank you!

6. Embrace the season! Even if winter isn't your favorite season, find activities that you enjoy doing, not all of these activates need to occur outside. There are lots of things that can be done outside such as sledding, skating, and walks in the snow. But if you prefer to stay inside, build a fire and curl up with a god book and a glass of wine.

Whatever you decide to do to pass the time this winter season, find something that works for you. It is so easy just to sit around and wait it out, but the time will pass so much faster when you are doing something you enjoy.

Sad and Alone

Have you ever been so sad and alone that you felt like no one even knew that you exist? That no one would miss you if you were gone? Or even, that you would be better off? This is what it is like to be depressed.

Most adults at one point or another in their lives have had a bout with depression. These short-term episodes are normal and usually occur after a stressful or traumatic event in our lives. There are also some medications and even illnesses that can bring it on in a person that has no other stressful life events going on.

No matter what brings on these bouts, they are nothing to ignore. Short-term depression can be as deadly as the long-term type.

Sometimes, a person who appears perfectly well adjusted and happy will shock everyone around them by committing suicide. They were likely feeling so sad and alone at the time that they could not even see going on.

There are some things that you can do if you or someone that you know is experiencing a short-term bout with depression. These are suggestions of a few ways to try to help overcome this state-of-mind.

Any of these suggestions will probably be a huge challenge since by it's very nature, depression drains all the energy from the mind of the one suffering with it. It will take patience and a lot of coaxing to get them motivated.

1. Avoid alcohol - If you have ever been upset and had a few drinks, you will understand already that alcohol is a mood depressant. It takes your sadness and amplifies it.

2. Take a brisk walk, or exercise - Push yourself for at least 20 minutes to kick in the endorphins. They are the bodies natural "feel good" hormones. And will help to lift the cloud that is keeping you down.

3. Get dressed up - do your hair, your nails, put on your favorite outfit and head out. It doesn't matter if you walk to the corner store. Pampering yourself is a good way to pump up your self-esteem.

4. Take as leisurely stroll - Get outside into the sunshine if possible and take a walk. Examine what is going on in your life, or encourage them to talk about what is causing them to feel so sad and alone. Once the issue can be identified, it will be much easier to work through it.

5. Distract their mind - encourage them to participate with you in a favorite activity, take them shopping, bring over the kids, or anything else that you can think of to help distract their minds from their worries.

6. Get them to talk - Try to help them figure out what is causing them to feel this way.

7. Get help! - If you are having no luck getting through to them, get help!. This may be the best thing that you could for them.

If you cannot get them to participate with you in any way, do not leave them alone. Keep them company until you find a way to draw them out.

Believe it or not, getting them angry is yet another way to help snap them out of it. It may be short-lived, but it could be a starting point if nothing else seems to work. Anger is simply a different emotion... This one has energy!

Getting them angry with you temporarily is a better option than leaving them while they are feeling so alone. Being angry will help to occupy their mind while it gives them some of the energy they need to move. Sad and alone cannot co-exist easily with anger. After all, with anger, there must be someone to aim it at and some way to vent.

Depression Will Be Depressing: Learn To Fight It

Depression can hit us all at one time or another. Sometimes it is a simple thing that we just need to work through, and at other times it requires a bit more help. Regardless of your situation, this article will provide some insight and tips on how you can deal with it.

If your job is part of the cause of your depression, you may want to think of cutting down on some of your harder duties. Talk to your boss about how you are feeling and ask if you can do lighter projects. Try not to bring the stresses of your job home with you.

A great tip that can help you get out of a depression is to purchase a bird house. Not only will a bird house make your backyard more beautiful, you'll be able to enjoy all the different kinds of birds that come to use it. This can be a great way to fight depression.

Eat the right kinds of food. Eating foods high in fat and sugar will only make you worse after a time, zapping you of energy that you don't have much of to start with. Start eating a diet high in vegetables and fruits and make sure that your food is organic, if possible.

A great tip that can help you out of your depression is to see any dilemmas with a humorous perspective. A little humor can go a long way and can usually help you deal with a very difficult situation. Use humor to help you get out of your depression.

Practice allowing your feelings to just be. Many times, we feel depressed because feelings are stuck inside, jammed down somewhere because we don't want to deal with them. This is an unconscious response for many people. If you find yourself doing this, accept it and don't beat yourself up. Treat all of your feelings as if they were people. Allow them to exist, hear what they have to say, give them a "mental hug" and you will be surprised at how acknowledging your feelings allows them to dissipate.

Depression is often cyclical. This means that your highs and lows will start to come in waves. If you pay close attention, you may even be able to forecast when the next strong down will come. This can help you greatly as you will be capable of prepare yourself for what is to come.

Try acupuncture. Acupuncture is an ancient art that goes back many centuries. In addition to the direct benefits of the acupuncture treatment, many acupuncture therapists use meditation and relaxation during the treatment. Together, they make for a very effective treatment for depression. You will leave your session renewed and ready to tackle life again.

Dealing with depression, be it for you or a friend or family member, isn't always easy. If you can use the advice and tips that were given in this article, you should have a better understanding of what you can do and what you should avoid when dealing with it.