Advice Concerning Your Fight With Depression
Today is the day. You feel the need to improve your mind's health and allow yourself to function happily and normally. The time has come! You may wonder where to begin; this is where this article plays a role. Here is some advice to help battle depression.
Writing in your journal every day can be a very good way to begin getting a handle on your depression. Write out your thoughts at the beginning and end of each day. When you do this, you are enlisting the help of your subconscious mind to sort out your worries and problems while you sleep.
Don't be afraid to get help when you need it. The perfectionist thinking that goes along with depression, can often drive people to think that seeing a therapist for depression is a sign of weakness. But in fact, it's just the opposite. Seeing a therapist means you're facing the problem head-on and seeking a solution.
If you are depressed, it would be best for you not to hang around other depressed people. As the old saying goes, misery loves company. The last thing you need is someone rationalizing and promoting your misery. If you hang out with other depressed people, you will be down in the dumps forever, barring any kind of recovery.
If you think that you or someone you know may be suffering from depression there is one thing you must keep in mind. This is that there are many degrees of depression ranging from just general sadness to an almost unbearable level of angst that can almost stop life in its tracks.
In your battle against depression, challenge your negative thoughts. One of the by-products of depression is putting a negative spin on how you see yourself, your future, and situations that you encounter. If you are like many people who suffer from depression, you are a perfectionist and hold yourself to standards that are impossibly high. Permit yourself to be less than perfect and quit beating yourself up if you don't meet impossible standards you have set for yourself. Negative thoughts will cause depression to become an endless cycle.
Lighten your personal load. Everyone has responsibilities that are necessary to life, however often people add much more than they need to. When your schedule is packed to the brim, it can leave you exhausted and unable to enjoy even the activities you actually enjoy. Take a hard look at your schedule and drop what is not absolutely necessary. You will breathe a little easier and can focus on conquering your depression.
Writing in a journal could be beneficial if you are depressed. Having a safe place to explore your emotions can help you understand and deal with your issues. Also, writing when you have symptoms can help you spot patterns with your condition.
Do something that you truly enjoyed doing when you were a child. As we grow up, we sometimes try to act like we are too mature for certain fun activities. If you loved swinging on a playground or playing board games, feel free to let your inner-child out and do those things.
Suffering from depression can be a very long, discouraging journey. One way to help yourself feel better is to get 30 minutes of exercise daily. Especially long walks outside in the fresh air can bring you home feeling refreshed and happier instead of sitting in same surroundings day after day.
Keep your mind active through puzzles, games, and other challenges. The more time you leave yourself idle, the more time you'll have to dwell on negativity. If you keep busy, you'll feel more accomplished, and you won't be spending your days thinking about everything that's gone wrong. Focus on positive, uplifting activities at which you can be successful.
An important way to deal with depression is to make sure that your goals and expectations are realistic. This is important because you are setting yourself up for further depression and disappointment if you are longing for something that is not possible. Be sure to share your wishes and desires to keep yourself in check.
A great way to deal with depression is to be physically active. Exercise is great for your body and mind because it releases read more natural chemicals in your body that are meant to help you feel better. The improvements in your body will also help you to feel great about yourself and boost your self esteem.
Try eating a bit of chocolate to alleviate your depression. Consuming chocolate releases endorphins, helping you to feel a little better mentally. This means that eating a little chocolate every day may improve your feelings.
If you are feeling depressed, there are probably areas in your life that you need to change. Look at all your negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. Practice being assertive with others in your life, and make sure to use good problem-solving skills. By changing everything that is contributing to your depression, you will be able to lift it.
Do not increase the overload your mind and body are feeling by watching a lot of TV. There is too much random chaos happening in the world such that trying to balance it in your thoughts is nearly an impossibility. Turn the TV off and go for a walk. Listen to the sounds of nature and try to tune out the chaos around you.
Get enough sleep, typically 8 hours per night, with a 6 hour minimum. There are many studies that have concluded that sleep patterns have a lot to do with mood and behavior, and those that aren't getting enough sleep have a higher chance of becoming depressed. Rest is essential for the brain to function healthier, and you want to be sure that you aren't clouded by fatigue throughout the day.
Now that you have read these tips for managing your depression, you probably feel better already. The most important way to keep going even while depressed is to stay active and put the tips you just read into practice every day, even if you don't feel like doing so. If you do that, you'll certainly feel better.
YOUR HEALTH: Stimulate your depression
Treatments include counseling, medications, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS, to stimulate the mood-regulating parts of the brain.
"Not all patients respond to the medication or to the neuromodulation," explained Dr. Francisco Romo-Nava, a physician scientist at the University of Cincinnati's Lindner Center of HOPE.
Dr. Romo-Nava and his colleagues are studying a new way to treat mental health disorders.
The neuroscientists are testing a device that delivers stimulation to a patient's spine.
Dr. Romo-Nava says the stimulation will improve the feedback in the central nervous system that is sometimes disrupted when a person has a psychiatric disorder.
For now, patients undergo spinal stimulation for 20 minutes, three times a week, for eight weeks.
"The kind of stimulation that we use is very well tolerated," he explained.
"The most frequent description is like a tingling sensation
Researchers say this stimulation therapy could be the first step to developing better treatment for some patients.
Dr. Romo-Nava was granted a patent for the stimulation method that utilizes transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.
He says his research team is trying to determine how often, and how long, patients should undergo the stimulation for the best results.
Between 80% and 90% of people with depression respond well to treatment, and almost all patients gain some relief from their symptoms.
A new form of magnetic brain stimulation relieved symptoms of severe depression in 90% of participants in a study conducted by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The researchers are conducting a larger, double-blinded trial in which half the participants are receiving fake treatment and are optimistic it will prove to be similarly effective in treating people whose condition hasn't improved with medication, talk therapy, or other forms of electromagnetic stimulation.