How To Overcome Depression: In Conclusion
We all experience sad, challenging chapters in our lives just as we all experience change. And regardless of whether or not our outside circumstances drastically shift, if our minds change, everything can change. This is why some people have very few resources and swear that they are the happiest people on the planet, while others have literal fame and fortune and yet they struggle with depression and addiction.
If you are battle weary from depression, try challenging your next dark VOD. Try doing the opposite of what the voice of depression suggests. Try upgrading an unkind mind mood to a kinder, quiet one. Seek out safe support from someone who really understands. Practice compassionate inner dialogues and more spirit fillers than time killers. Make sure you are properly charging your body battery and see how the next chapter unfolds. Thank you for joining me. Take good care.
Learn To Still Your Mind
You might think that this has somehow contradicted the first thing that I said, which is to get moving.
Lets take a look at it this way..
Sometimes, when we are so much into our issues and anxieties in life, our thoughts tend to speed up so much.
Back when I was younger, I used to bother myself so much about the future.
I got what I was hoping for: anxiety and depression.
Heres the biggest thing guys, when you live too much in the past or to the future instead of the now, you get trapped on those two timelines.
What helped was when I learned how to still my mind and pull me back to the present moment where anxiety and depression cannot co-exist.
Allow me to share with you the three things that literally helped me still my mind:
1. Wim Hof Method
I learned how to trick my mind to shift back into the present by actually getting into the cold water.
Because think about this guys, when youre freezing, believe me, you dont have time to think about your problems!
2. Breath Work
If youve done any type of breath work, Id definitely recommend it 100% because of the fact that youre so focused on the process of breathing, you forget about your problems as well.
What happens is, it just throws a bunch of oxygen into your system.
3. Meditation
I made a bunch of videos about meditation, you can check it out below!
Remember this guys, the future and the past doesnt exist, all that exists is now.
Who Is At Risk For Depression
Depression can affect anyone, no matter their age, gender or circumstances. About 16 million Americans experience depression each year.
Women may experience depression more often than men. And your genetics or other health conditions can increase the likelihood that youll have at least one depressive episode in your lifetime.
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Causes & Risk Factors
There is no single cause of depression.
Potential triggers of depression include:
- genetic or family history of depression
- psychological or emotional vulnerability to depression
- biological factors such as imbalances in brain chemistry and in the endocrine/immune systems
- major stress in the person’s life.
Depression and physical illness
- the result of another illness that shares the same symptoms
- a reaction to another illness
- caused by neurological changes resulting from a physical illness .
Steer Clear Of Your Coffee
While there are many claims for the benefits of coffee, when it comes to depression, it just doesnt mix well. Its true that caffeine will give you a quick boost in your mood, but youre going to come crashing down. Being exhausted but wired and over-caffeinated doesnt do anything good for the chemicals that regulate mood, and can in fact affect serotonin synthesis in the brain. This has been noted by the increase of 5-HIA, a component of serotonin, seen in the urine of coffee drinkers. This makes them at risk for lower levels of this all-important neurotransmitter.
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Negative Thoughts And Depression
Worrying or thinking negatively is common in people with depression. This affects your ability to focus on getting better and makes you more vulnerable to unhealthy emotions.
Tips to help you control worry and reduce negative thinking include:
- Write down what you are worried about. Go through each concern and think about how realistic your negative thoughts are. Explore alternative thoughts and explanations.
- Try not to focus on the things you cannot change.
- Focus on the present. Accept your thoughts without actively engaging with them.
- Write down your problems and brainstorm solutions. Jot down the pros and cons with each option and choose the one that seems the best. Review whether it worked to overcome the problem.
- Avoid making major decisions about your life at this time.
Take A Different View
With depression often comes a psychological myopia: the sufferer robotically repeats to him or herself soul-sucking negative thoughts: Nothing I try ever works out How could I have been so stupid? I am not worthy of being loved. A patient deep in the throes of that kind of thinking can, if unchecked, spend an entire session staring at one spotoften the floor.
At those moments I prod, You are so stuck on only seeing things one way that you miss any other possible view. Literally. If you force yourself to look up, there are a variety of objects in the room to observe and pondera bookcase lamps: paintings a window with sunlight streaming in Its not that my office is so fascinating, but there is so much you miss when you refuse to look. The patient then sheepishly lifts his or her eyes to take in the entirety of the room as I hammer home the point: There are a plethora of ways to view anything. Instead of continually convincing yourself everything is hopeless consider all the other options. There is always a Plan B.
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The Depression Epidemic: Our Stone Age Brains
There is an undeniable connection between lifestyle and depression. A modern lifestyle is making us sick. The more modern a society, and the more removed it is from the primitive hunter-gatherer way of life, the higher its rate of depression. Our world has changed phenomenally and our lifestyles have changed along with it, but our brains have hardly changed at all. They remain remarkably similar to the ones that powered people in the Stone Age when sleep was abundant, food was nutritious, and people wandered in groups, constantly on the move in the sunshine.
Our Stone Age brains just werent designed to handle the sedentary, isolated, indoor, sleep-deprived, fast-food-laden, stressed-out pace of twenty-first-century life. -Dr Stephen Ilardi
Our brains are beautifully crafted to support Stone Age bodies that live Stone Age lives. When Stone Age brains are forced to live a modern lifestyle, the effect can be devastating. The brain and the body become depleted of the very things that have been fuelling them for thousands of years before now.
Learn To Recognize Negative Thinking
Sometimes these thoughts can be obvious, such as times when you berate or criticize yourself. Other times, they can be more subtle. You might find yourself engaging in things like catastrophizing or all-or-nothing thinking.
Catastrophizing involves always anticipating negative outcomes. All-or-nothing thinking means that you think of things as either successes or failures with no in-between. Once you get better at recognizing these cognitive patterns, you can start working on some healthier replacements.
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Exercising To Get Rid Of Depression
Can clinical depression be treated with exercise? Yes, a moderate or mild depression can be treated by exercising. What kinds of exercises can be done for treating depression? Any kind of exercise will help in relieving depression. A few of them are mentioned below:
- Jogging at a moderate pace
- Dancing
Here are a few tips that can help you in kick starting:
- Exercising can be fun if you include an activity that you love doing.
- Include exercise in your schedule. If you need a constant reminder, try marking it in the calendar.
- Change the exercise routine so that you are not struck with boredom. You may get them at local centers or a gymnasium.
- Never let the exercise routines turn out to be expensive. If you are not going to exercise on a regular basis, do not buy equipments or membership in various clubs.
- Follow the schedule regularly so that your depression is reduced.
Can Depression During Pregnancy Affect You And Your Baby
Yes. Depression during pregnancy increases your risk for:
- Not taking care of yourself. For example, if your depression isnt treated, you may not eat healthy foods and not gain enough weight during pregnancy. You may skip your prenatal care checkups or not follow instructions from your health care provider.
- Having PPD after pregnancy. PPD can make it hard for you to care for and bond with your baby.
- Suicide , thinking about suicide or thinking about hurting your baby. These are rare.
Depression during pregnancy increases your babys risk for:
- Premature birth. This is birth that happens too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
- Being small for gestational age . This is when a baby doesnt weigh what he should before birth.
- Having low birthweight . This means your baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces.
- Being more irritable, less active, less attentive and with fewer facial expressions than babies born to moms who dont have depression during pregnancy
- Learning, behavior and development problems and mental health conditions later in life
Depression during pregnancy can make it hard for you to get ready for your baby and take care of your baby after birth. This is why its important to treat depression as soon as possible. For example, if depression is untreated:
Early treatment for depression can help you feel better and be ready to care for your baby after birth. If you think youre depressed, tell your provider and ask about treatment.
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Will Depression Last Forever
When you’re depressed, it may seem like you’ll never feel normal again. And when you do feel normal, you may just be waiting for the other shoe to drop. Here, how to spot a relapse and stop it in its tracks.
Treating depression can be frustrating, especially given the trial and error often involved with finding the right medication and the right therapist. Getting to a good place in your therapy may take months or even years, during which time you might ask yourself, Will this feeling ever go away?
If it does go away which is the goal of treatment you might naturally start to worry that the symptoms will come back. According to Mental Health America, more than 21 million children and adults battle depression every year, fewer than a third of whom receive adequate treatment. Consequently, many people risk a depression relapse.
Dan Collins, 49, a senior director of media relations in Baltimore, knows all too well what depression feels like the first and second time around. Collins experienced his first depressive episode at age 16 and then had a depression relapse more than a decade later, at age 28.
Howard Belkin, MD, JD, an assistant professor at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and a psychiatrist at the Birmingham Counseling Center in Royal Oak, Mich., says that Collins experience is fairly common. Sometimes even with excellent expert treatment, depression can return and become chronic, he says.
Sleeping Patterns And Depression
Depression can disrupt sleep patterns. Its essential to try to restore a regular sleep pattern to make a full recovery. Some tips for restoring a regular sleep pattern include:
- Try to go to sleep and get up at about the same time each day.
- If youre worrying about things during the night, set aside some time for problem solving during the day.
- Avoid drinking caffeine after 4 pm and try not to drink more than two cups of caffeine-type drinks each day.
- Avoid using alcohol to help you sleep. As the alcohol is broken down in your body, it causes you to sleep less deeply and to wake more frequently.
- Allow yourself time to wind down before going to bed. If you are working or studying, stop at least 30 minutes before bedtime and do something relaxing.
- Give your mind a break from online activity such as social media for an hour before bedtime, and consider putting your phone in a separate room from your bedroom at night time.
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Tip : Eat A Healthy Depression
What you eat has a direct impact on the way you feel. Reduce your intake of foods that can adversely affect your brain and mood, such as caffeine, alcohol, trans fats, and foods with high levels of chemical preservatives or hormones .
Dont skip meals. Going too long between meals can make you feel irritable and tired, so aim to eat something at least every three to four hours.
Minimize sugar and refined carbs. You may crave sugary snacks, baked goods, or comfort foods such as pasta or French fries, but these feel-good foods quickly lead to a crash in mood and energy. Aim to cut out as much of these foods as possible.
Boost your B vitamins. Deficiencies in B vitamins such as folic acid and B-12 can trigger depression. To get more, take a B-complex vitamin supplement or eat more citrus fruit, leafy greens, beans, chicken, and eggs.
Boost your mood with foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids.Omega-3 fatty acids play an essential role in stabilizing mood. The best sources are fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, tuna, and some cold-water fish oil supplements.
Let Me Begin With A Story
When I was younger, I had a lot of pressure from my family.
Everyones telling me to be somebody that I necessarily was not .
It overwhelms me that I felt stuck, lost, and scared because if Id just be honest to myself..
The truth is, I didnt really know if thats really what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I dont feel like that path resonates within me.
Which is why I felt so sad and depressed thinking about whatthinking what my life would actually be when I fast-forward 10 to 20 years down the road.
WellWell somehow, since its college, I cant deny the fact that being a teenager still counts as one of the thrillings four years of my life!
But then after that is just downhill. The depression was insane and it was crippling me.
Sometimes, I wont even go out to see friends. And even if I do, Ill just drink and sit there in a depressed funk not knowing what to do because deep inside, I feel so alone.
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How To Beat Depression Forever: 6 Changes
Out of all these changes, the most important thing that you can do to eliminate depression for good is to change your thinking. Specifically, replace negative thoughts that depress you with more positive thoughts that keep you happier and depression-free.
After all, while there are a variety of factors that can contribute to depression, what ultimately causes depression is your thinking. So make it a priority to always think in ways that keep you out of depression, if you want to never struggle with depression again.
Supplement With St Johns Wort
A popular home remedy for depression comes in the form of St. Johns wort. An herbaceous plant/shrub, St. Johns wort has been used to treat various nervous disorders since the times of ancient Greece. It is the most effective in cases of mild to moderate depression, and is thought to work chiefly because of the effect of hypercin, one of its main constituents. Hypercin appears to affect various neurotransmitters in a similar manner to serotonin reuptake inhibitors There are several other components of St. Johns wort that may contribute to the antidepressant effects, although hypercin is the most widely recognized. While this plant does seem to have less side-effect than prescription medications, it can still interfere with them, so double check before using it.
You will need-A high-quality supplement of St. Johns wort
DirectionsThe normal dosage for an adult is 300 milligrams 3 times daily, however because it can interact with other drugs, talk to a professional before delving into use.
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Connect With Friends And Family
This can be one of the hardest things to do when feeling depressed, but it is one of the most rewarding activities. Isolating oneself from others may seem like a good idea, but put a limit on it and then get out there again.
Confiding in friends and family members can have a huge positive effect on your mood.
How Long Can Depression Last And Ways To Get Rid Of It
Depression is involved with mood and is a disorder in which a person feels sad persistently and seems disinterested. It often affects the way how you think, feel and behave leading to a host of emotional as well as physical problems. This is also called clinical depression or major depression or major depressive disorder. You may have issues in doing various activities that form a part of your daily routine. This depression may also make also make you feel that it is not worth living and the life is quite demanding.
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More Spirit Fillers Less Time Killers
Very often, the cycle of depression feeds on itself. We feel depressed, so its really hard to find the motivation and energy to do the uplifting things that have the potential to feed our spirits. Then we feel even more depressed. And so it goes.
This tip is about raising your awareness of how you fill the hours in your day. Its far too easy to spend our days doing things that fill our time, but dont necessarily fill our spirits. I know it can be hard to break out of our usual routines and do something thats new or different or that might bring up emotions. But in the end, finding activities to fill our spirits helps so much with decreasing depression and increasing peace.
Of course, everyone needs to find what feeds their spirits. One person might love gardening and another person might find it to be a chore. One person might enjoy cooking and someone else doesnt like cooking at all. Its such an individual exploration, but the bottom line is, if we keep doing what were doing, were going to keep getting what were getting. If you have been spending a lot of time in negativity, inactivity, or isolation, in order to lift your spirits, youll need to make some changes.
Think about the ways that you spend your time. Not just the usual things you do each day like work, school, childcare or meal preparation, but the things you do in between the things you do: