Facing Your Depression Effectively

Even though you may not be depressed – this article is for you – for you to heal yourself AND help someone – who may not realize it.

You could be a person who is living a life fully engaged in various pursuits in their professional, family, parental, social arenas are considered fairly successful – YET – might be slightly stressed [as popularly referred].

Depression is more common – THAN – majority of us think, know and believe [especially those of us - who are not part of the medicine and medical world].

In many cases – the lack of awareness AS WELL AS Taking Depression lightly or thinking that we are immune to it, makes it deadlier than it should be. Yes many of people going through depression are real serious and unfortunate ones.

Mental illness may not be a choice but going for the recovery definitely falls within the options that life gives us.

Here in this article you would find the following information/assistance

1.      To First understand what forms of SUBTLE depression can take place in the lives of so-called normal people

2.     Check-list to determine – whether you any symptoms which needs your immediate attention PLUS whether you should seek professional help

3.     To find if someone among your loved one may be the silent sufferer

4.     Give you the Do-It-Yourself *– practical tips to deal with disappointments*, burn-outs*, frustrations*, irritations*, depression*, Anger*=> all throughout this article all the * marked ones mean there is a separate DIY blog in the blog section of Success Unlimited Mantra – from the heart of Subhashis

As per the WHO studies - by 2020 the mental disorders would become the 2nd most havoc creating health challenge.

In India there are supposed to be almost 100 million [of the 1 billion+ population (this figure is from fragmented studies)] people who are affected with some form of mental illness – but even more unfortunate is that maybe only 5% receive the correct psychiatric assistance and much fewer than this have access to rehabilitation services.

Here in India, People suffering from any type of mental disorders are called MAD in general and seeking psychological and psychiatric help is big-taboo and these victims are often considered a burden or even a threat by the society.

Because of this stigma – many people are living a life with fragile hope that their life will get better – AND they hide their sufferings.

Many suffer silently – believing that what is happening to them is KARMA of previous births

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And the GOD-men of India and the religious zealots too promote this totally baseless concept.

Baseless because no-one knows what happens after we die and whether there is any after-life OR before-life.

One of the prominent God-man who advertises in media in big ways – even claims that he knows all about his past 3 births and of last 300 years of his earlier lives.

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Many of those having depression can also choose to spend their life – helping others with zeal to suppress their own internal struggles and the turmoil [like that circus-clown who was advised by the therapist to go and laugh after watching the clown in circus – the clown said – I am that clown].

Helping* others – when you are happy – is the most wonderful way for CREATING sustained happiness – BUT – its emphasis is "WHEN YOU ARE HAPPY".

When we help others ONLY "because we want to forget our woes – and – to keep it suppressed and hidden" – although it will make us feel better temporarily – but in long-term we will be back to square one as many of those we help won't even acknowledge our contribution [which will trigger yet-bigger bout of depression].

Robin Williams who made millions of people laugh – had deep-rooted loneliness and other issues. Michael-Jackson is another example. There are thousands of such Global examples.

Just making other's happy – won't and can't cure out own depression.

Neither being hugely successful can make our mental and emotional issues go-away.

YET – helping others is an essential-immutable part – along with all other tools and methods that we need to make the quality of our lives better [it is certainly not stand-alone tool].

Happiness* – does not come through acquiring any talent and skills.

Meaningful-Happiness* is more about developing healthy life-style choices, practices and habits – ALONG with – breaking the unhealthy-ones.

Life is a combination of happiness and pain through failures, mistakes, setbacks, crises.

But your this current suffering need not become the foundation for your future condemned life.

Understanding the broader perspective of life may equip us with the strength, resilience and hope to move forward through painful times – in better mental and emotional states.

Let us first see and understand what Depression may look like through this simple test.

33 Questions to Test Yourself for Depression

Answer in either way

A.    Give Marking to each of the 33 statements below [about how you have felt and behaved during the past 3 weeks. Be honest for the most accurate result] Give Yourself 0 to 5 marks – each 0 is for not at all [for that statement only] AND 5 for all the time [again for that statement only]

B.    OR just say Yes – if you agree with any statement as being true for you during the period of last 3 weeks on regular basis

1.      I don't feel like getting up from bed in the morning

2.     Even though I have work – I feel like postponing it

3.     I feel fatigued, sleepy and tired almost all throughout day

4.     I feel there is no hope in future

5.     I have to force myself to do the essentials

6.     I do things just because I have to and do them slowly

7.     It is hard for me to concentrate

8.    I find it difficult to focus on reading

9.     There is nothing to look forward to - The pleasure and joy has gone out of my life

10. I find it difficult to making decisions – even simple ones

11.  Even those things I used to enjoy does not interest me any more

12. Some days I do get a lot of energy and feel suddenly alive – but it does not last

13. I get angry and irritated at small things – I realize this also

14. I get agitated by small incidents like say by reading about something in newspapers

15. I feel restless and feel there is a void – but – don't know what it is

16. I dwell on past a lot – mostly on the bad things

17.  I have lots of thoughts – which begins with – If Only I…….

18. It takes lots of will-power for me to do simple things

19. I blame the circumstances and other people and my luck

20. I am very jealous and envious of people's success and happiness

21. I feel like cursing and swear a lot

22. I feel sad and melancholic for no obvious reasons – time to time

23. I want to be left alone by others

24. I don't feel like going for social functions and celebrations

25. I feel guilty about the mistakes I made

26. I feel like I could have accomplished a lot but failed

27. I have erratic either too little or too much or disturbed one

28. Prospects of good things don't excite me much

29. Thinking in absolute – like a child – especially about the negatives

30. Feeling all alone

31. Change in interests and low motivation

32. Ignoring in self-care

33. Sharp decline in my performance academically, professionally and in other areas

If you have understood the statements correctly and have honestly answered them

AND

Have given more than 2-marks to 6 or MORE STATEMENTS [or agree with more than 6 statements] – seek guidance from an expert professional immediately – besides practicing/doing the tips given below.

The above could be Symptoms of mild to serious Depression – if scored high.

The higher the score – the more urgent attention you need to take.

18 Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder or Clinical Depression

Clinical depression is characterized by the presence of 5 or more of these symptoms

1.      Crankiness and Tantrums

2.     Feel like crying or actually crying or become tearful even without provocation

3.     Absolutely no interest in anything

4.     Complete or major Breakdown of daily routine

5.     Significant weight-loss or weight-gain of around 5-10% within this period

6.     Even the smallest daily-chores like dressing or brushing or bathing -seem difficult to do and take longer than usual

7.     Feelings of unworthiness

8.    Excessive guilt and shame

9.     Self-blame

10. Indecisiveness and diminished ability to think and concentrate

11.  Feeling disoriented, lost and distracted

12. Suicidal thoughts

13. Thoughts of death and dying

14. Psychomotor retardation (a slowing of a person’s physical movements) for two months or more

15. Problems in eating and sleeping — either too much or too little

16. Persistent sadness - lasting two weeks or more

17.  Loss of sexual desire

18. Turning to alcohol or drugs to try to make yourself feel better

Please Note – The above list of symptoms is not applicable for following cases [although there are significant overlap]

1.      A depressed mood caused by substances abuse such as drugs, alcohol, and or medications

2.     A bipolar disorder

3.     Schizoaffective disorder

4.     Any others psychotic/delusion disorder

5.     A person suffering from a major depressive episode during a period of bereavement or grief - such as after the loss of a loved one – as per the major depressive disorder criteria in DSM-5 (the latest diagnostic manual of mental disorders)

Fighting depression is never easy.

Pulling yourself out of darkness requires extraordinary strength — but in the process, you would build a depth of solid resilience and healthy-living.

50+ DIY Tips How to go From Depression to Deep-Meaningful-Sustainable Happiness - Beat Depression the Healthy way

1.      Re-framing and Understanding Depression for What it Actually Is

      I.           First understand that - Depression is real and there are no quick fixes or instant miracle cures – and – many of what I am suggesting is NOT going to be easy – BUT – you can do all of these and beat depression

   II.           Understanding that the Depression is a natural part of life - Being depressed doesn’t make you weird or mentally unstable or broken.

 III.           It means that you are a normal, functioning member of society. Depression is simply a signal to your brain that something is wrong and you need to take action to fix the situation.

 IV.           Nearly every person in the world will suffer from some form of depression at some point in their lives and this is okay.

    V.           Whether this depression is caused by a breakup, death, job loss, or chemical imbalance is irrelevant. This is a problem that we all face and, only by accepting the prevalence and normalcy of this problem can we take the action required to fix it.

 VI.           Depression is nothing more than a signal. The same way that your “Check Engine” light on your car is a signal that something isn’t working properly and needs attention

VII.           So instead of seeing depression as this negative thing, we need to realize that depression is actually there to serve us. It’s a sign that something in our lives isn’t working and that we need to take action to remedy the situation

VIII.           You beat depression by creating an environment, physically, mentally, and emotionally where depression cannot exist

2.     MOVE YOUR BODY EVERY DAY – be active

3.     Exercise relieves depression in the short-term, too. A single workout rewires your brain for happiness and relaxation.

4.     Exercise releases feel-good endorphins.

5.     Working out also immediately increases serotonin, the target of antidepressants, and can rapidly lift the cloud of depression

6.     Find purpose in your life

7.     Create a list of small goals to achieve

8.    Put your focus on something larger than yourself

9.     Take challenges by stretching yourself in the areas of your big-picture - use your creativity* to overcome the obstacles

10. Always be among people – you know care for you – Never-NEVER-never isolate yourself, be around people –even if it means just going to a store.

11.  If your depression is overwhelming or just doesn't seem to go away, don't hesitate to tell an adult that you need some help

12. Socialize Like Your Life Depends on It – you can't cure depression by yourself – as Beating depression is a team effort. - for full read "How to Deal with Depression" in the Blog Section of Success Unlimited Mantra

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