DEPRESSION:HOW TO FACE IT

Always feeling under the weather? Always not in the mood to be around others and have a good time? If you’re suffering from prolonged sadness for quite some time now, you should face these bouts of depression and get yourself diagnosed by a psychiatrist, they’re doctors who can actually help you out with your problem.

Depression or prolonged sadness is actually quite common in the United States, around 9.5 percent of the American population actually suffer from this illness, however, not all of them get to be treated, thus, depression and its ill-effects continue to be a burden to some individuals. This illness may seem quite simple to treat but in reality, it takes more than a little cheering up to actually cure depression. Constant visits to a cognitive behavior therapist is a must as well as taking all the prescribed medicines that the doctor will ask the patient to take – none of these exactly come cheap, but the amount of suffering that a person is going through because of depression is enough reason already for others to start taking notice and face depression head on.

What On Earth Is Loneliness

 Everyone in the world has felt this emotion one time or another. Especially in these times of rapid technological growth the feeling of loneliness is rapidly increasing.

Firstly, we must clarify what loneliness means.

Loneliness is an emotional state. It is a state where people experience a disconnection from people around them as well as a deep feeling of emptiness, which renders their present company around them meaningless.

That person could be in a big crowd or by him/herself, married or single, young or old. They basically find it very hard to connect with others and experiences emancipation from meaningful relationships.

This is not to be confused with being alone.

Being alone does not equate to being lonely because sometimes it is good for a person to be alone and at times it could be very refreshing as the person has the opportunity to refresh, recuperate and rediscover part of our lives.

What are the common symptoms of being alone, if you are reading this article? I bet you might be feeling one of these symptoms.

 You think your problems are so unique that other people do not understand

• As a result, you feel that other people in the world has friends and you don’t
• You feel extremely self-conscious in everything you do
• You feel that when you do something wrong, you get extremely embarrassed
• When you are in a crowd, you feel drowned by their voices
• You feel disconnected with the crowd even though you are with them
• Feeling shy and scared of others
• Experiencing low self-esteem
• Feeling angry, defensive and critical at everything even if it is not directed at you
• Afraid of strangers and refuse to talk to engage in a hearty conversation
• Being convinced there is something wrong with you
• Feeling anxious and sad believing no one knows how miserable/isolated you feel
• Losing your capacity to be assertive' feeling "invisible"
• Refusing to accept change and don’t want to try anything new
• Feeling as though nothing else matters and contemplating suicide

17 Practical Ways To Overcome Loneliness

There are a number of ways to begin dealing with loneliness that involve the need to develop friendships, doing things for yourself, or learning to feel better about yourself in general.

 ·         Constantly remind yourself that the feeling of loneliness is TEMPORARY and you will get over it in time

·         Make an effort to talk to someone NEW. I know it is hard, but you must develop momentum and the first step is usually the hardest but most necessary.

 ·         Put yourself in new situations where you will meet people. Engage in activities in which you have genuine interest. Meet with people of similar interest

·         Join societies like church groups, organizations and others

 ·         STOP listening to lonely songs (e.g. All by Myself – Celine Dion)

 ·         OPEN yourself to others first. Don’t expect people to share their problems with a closed person

 ·         Don’t judge new people on the basis of past relationships with old people. Try to see each person you meet from a new perspective instead of bring judgmental.

 ·         Intimate friendships usually develop gradually as people learn to share their inner feelings. Don’t rush into intimate friendship by sharing too much or expecting that others will.

 ·         Don’t just seek romantic relationships. Platonic or even casual buddies can be extremely satisfactory.

 ·         Lead a well balanced life. Never neglect good nutrition, exercise and sufficient sleep. One of the main causes of depression which leads to loneliness, is the lack of those things.

 ·         Spending time alone will help you examine yourself more closely.

 ·         Don’t be a parasite to your friends. If you seek them for compassion and sympathy, they will be there for you. But if you repeatedly drone over and over about your problems, it becomes a nuisance and your friends will at best just entertain you.

 ·         Reflect back on good memories and count your blessings.

 ·         Learn a new skill. Success in achieving something will make you feel good about yourself.

 ·         If you are having long term depression, it is not wrong to seek MEDICAL advice. It is perfectly normal to get a prescriptionbecause lack of certain chemicals in the body is also the source of depression and can be treated easily. If we feel hungry and seek food, having the right medicine in proper dosage is the right way to tackle depression and feel less lonely.

 ·         See a counselor and talk in privacy.

 ·         Spend time in Prayer.

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

People who may be suffering from depression or manic disorders actually exhibit or show each and every kind of symptom of depression that doctors will tell you that depressed people have. Sometimes it’s actually quite easy to overlook such symptoms and not be able to help one’s self or others who are suffering from depression for that matter.

There are actually a lot of symptoms of depression that depressed people may actually posses but they don’t have to suffer from each and every one of them before you actually help them get diagnosed and be treated for this illness. Also, since symptoms of depression actually vary, the time of their "attacks" varies as well.

Here are some common examples of symptoms of depression:

Prolonged period of sadness or not feeling "up to it,"  people who are always feeling not in the mood, who’d rather mope around the house and feel sorry for one’s self is the best example for this symptom of depression.

Feels hopeless, perennial pessimist: speaking of feeling sorry for one’s self, another common symptom of depression is when a person actually feels like he/she has nothing to look forward to in his or her life. As for being the perennial pessimist, those who show this symptom of depression are usually very negative about things, again, the feeling of hopelessness comes in to mind.

Guilt-driven, loss of self-worth and helplessness: other symptoms of depression that can be easily seen on people who prefer to mope around all day long are these. Whenever a person feels so guilty over something, that actually makes one a very sad person who feels like he or she doesn’t deserve to be happy. Thus, the loss of self-worth, if that person feels like he or she isn’t worthy of being happy or enjoying one’s self then that’s clear tell-tale symptom of depression. Helplessness also contribute to being depressed, when assuming that things won’t simply go your way, it’s already a clear saying that you have absolutely no hope in your body at all.

Isn’t interested in finding or taking pleasure; just dropping the hobbies as well as the other things that one used to enjoy: this tell-tale symptom of depression just shows how depressed a person can be, if one is actually too sad to take pleasure even in the very things that one loves then that person is seriously lacking something, rather, that person might well have caught the depression bug.

Fatigue, always tired: people suffering from depression, since they’ve lost whatever interest in life that they may have had before are actually lacking of physical energy at all times, if one would prefer to just mope around, probably won’t even eat not get enough sleep, a depressed person may well be on their way to not just a mental illness but depression can actually be terrible for one’s physical health as well.

Having trouble concentrating, having bad memory and is indecisive: a person who is suffering from depression easily gives away this tell-tale symptom of depression. Wherein one’s lack of interest with regards to the outside world or for just about anything for that matter can lead to that person’s inability to lose track of things and actually not be able to remember things that happened or what other people said. Lack of interest actually makes depressed people very inattentive.

There are actually more symptoms of depression that can actually help you see if a person (or you) needs to be brought to the doctor to get some help when it comes to depression: lacking sleep, sleeping too much or waking up at wee hours of the morning are all symptoms of depression (if it happens on a daily basis), appetite loss as well as eating too much may show one’s lack of enthusiasm for life. Be weary of sudden weight loss or weight gain in those around you. Being suicidal, talking about death, about wanting to die is another clear indication that that person is depressed. Being restless and irritable and physical symptoms that are usually brought about by poor mental health such as headaches, digestive disorders and various body pains.