Depression

What is Depression ?


“Depression is categorized as a 'mental' disorder experienced, low mood and loss of interest in normally enjoyable activities. Many people identify the feeling of being depressed as "feeling sad for no reason" or "having no motivation to do anything." Depression is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has usually advanced to the point of being extremely disruptive to an individual's social functioning and daily living activities.

“Depression is the DE-PRESSING of emotions, as a result of either unconsciously missing them or semi-consciously ignoring or overriding them. As a result of various life events, circumstances etc, we come to believe that we cannot feel emotions, and unconsciously train ourselves to ignore them. Because this is all happening unconsciously, we are not even aware we are doing this, but if continued, we will eventually feel the end-result: depression.”


 


What are the Symptoms?

People with depressive illnesses do not all experience the same symptoms. The severity, frequency and duration of symptoms will vary depending on the individual and his or her particular illness.

 Symptoms include:

    Persistent sad, anxious or empty feelings
    Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
    Feelings of guilt, worthlessness and/or helplessness
    Irritability, restlessness
    Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable
    Fatigue and decreased energy
    Difficulty concentrating, remembering details and making decisions
    Insomnia, early morning wakefulness or excessive sleeping
    Overeating or appetite loss
    Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts
    Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps or digestive problems that do not ease, even with treatment

 How to Reduce?

1) Pray – Nothing causes depression to lift faster than prayer.  God loves it when you pour your heart out to Him.  Some are afraid to tell God how they really feel about life.  But you must remember that God knows your thoughts before you verbalize them.  So pray about your depression as a solution to your depression.
 
2) Read – Reading is really a good way to reduce depression. Because when you will read will pay more attention on reading. And your mind will get new ideas.
 
  
4) Ask – There is nothing weak about asking for help.  If you find that you are depressed, start by talking with a friend who can offer Godly counsel.  Next you should talk with your pastor.  Pastors are trained to help people who suffer with common challenges such as depression.  Tell your pastor how you really feel.
 

4) Get out a little -  Even though you don't feel like getting up, going out and discovering new places, you better give it a go! You never know what might happen. Yes, I'm right. Maybe something very exciting will happen, like going to a restaurant and winning a free dinner, or being the 1000th customer at a store.

5) Smile -  Depression can be killed when you have a happy smile on your face. It can be SO useful. Even if you are not suffering from depression, take a chance to smile and dazzle yourself..

6) Take part - Life could be so much easier if you keep yourself away from thinking negative thoughts, and just moving and doing! Participate in things that you may never have imagined to eg: baking contest, a kids fun club, applying for fun jobs like reading to children, etc. It could be anything you want.

7) Push yourself away from unhappiness - This is very important to a person who is suffering from depression. Think about good things. You could do this by watching a comedy movie (to keep your mind off things) or look at a photo album of the past, to make you smile and remember good memories. Push yourself away from negative thoughts.

8) Stick with people that you are most close to - If there is no one like that, find a friend of yours who never pulled an arguement with you, never mistreated you or never made you feel bad about yourself. One who is also kind, generous and not bossy or selfish. They will make you feel better.

9) Get up - Don't just sit there and be lazy. You have only one life, so you better live it! Don't spend the afternoon staying in bed worrying that you will never feel better. This will make you feel horrible. Don't sleep during the day. Do something encouraging.


10) Just enjoy - Stop worrying, feeling bad, thinking about negative things and enjoy. Enjoying doesn't have to be a chore, it's an amazing feeling of joy that a person has to do at least ten times in their lives. So just be happy!


11) Offer - If there is a job that you're looking for, go out there and get it before anyone else does! My friend's daughter's school had an empty slot for the Mathematics class and she offered to take it! Now she is having so much fun teaching kindergarten children about numbers!


12) Talk a lot - Once you start talking (about something good) you will feel more better. But don't talk about bad things and worries. It's better if you talk about something glad or funny. Spend a night with your family and tell jokes to each other or do something fun together.

13) When you get depression, you feel you are weak. Well, don't feel like that - Try to push away the heavy thought of the weakness in you're body and imagine that you are the most powerful person in the world! It may be silly, but it works and makes you feel better. What I'm really trying to say is that: Never concentrate on anything that is opposite of positiveness and happiness, or you'll feel all your happiness floating away from you. If you don't want that to happen, avoid all negative life around you.