Overcoming Depression- Positive Reflection Of The Week

Overcoming Depression, The Silent Enemy – By Shahwana Khanam

Depression is an emotion which causes a lot of despair to a person, now sadly this behaviour can pass unnoticed until it becomes severe. The signs are there, we refuse to notice them in us, or our loved ones or in our friends.

What Is Depression?
Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad, but these feelings are usually fleeting and pass within a couple of days. When a person has a depressive disorder, it interferes with his/her daily life, normal functioning, and causes pain for both the person with the disorder and those who care about him/her. Depression is a common but serious illness, and most who experience it need treatment to get better.

Many people with a depressive illness never seek treatment. But the vast majority, even those with the most severe depression, can get better with treatment. Intensive research into the illness has resulted in the development of medications, psychotherapies, and other methods to treat people with this disabling disorder. (www.psycology.com)

So where does it start from? from pain, from relationships that have gone wrong, from loss of a job or loss of a family member, from failure in exams or financial loss or from unrealistic expectations of life. It could also be due to a feeling of emptiness, fatigue decrees in energy, persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment. Other contributing factors may include self-doubt, guilt etc.

This emotion usually starts from stress, that builds into anxiety attacks that can get out of control. Signs to look out for include the following: little or improper sleep, unhappy mood, loss of appetite, not wanting to meet people or have conversations, want to be left alone, the feeling as though nothing gives pleasure anymore, what once was considered as enjoyable is no longer enjoyable.

If depression gets severe and without treatment, it can lead a person to have suicidal thoughts with some even attempting suicide.

DID YOU KNOW?

Postpartum depression is diagnosed if a new mother develops a major depressive episode within one month after delivery. It is estimated that 10 to 15 per cent of women experience postpartum depression after giving birth.

Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness, is not as common as major depression or dysthymia(persistent mild depression). Bipolar disorder is characterized by cyclical mood changes-from extreme highs (e.g. mania) to extreme lows (e.g. depression). (You can visit the NIMH website for more information about bipolar disorder.)

Did you know? Depression is more common among women compared to men. Men often experience depression differently than women and may have different ways of coping with the symptoms. Men are more likely to acknowledge having fatigue, irritability, loss of interest (in once pleasurable activities), and sleep disturbances, whereas women are more likely to admit to feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and/or excessive guilt.

Do children face depression? According to the research: Yes.

How do children and adolescents experience depression?
Scientists and doctors have begun to take seriously the risk of depression in children. Research has shown that childhood depression often persists, recurs and continues into adulthood, especially if it goes untreated. The presence of childhood depression also tends to be a predictor of more severe illnesses in adulthood.

Many people seek help through Antidepressants that suppress the emotion. Is it a cure? perhaps not?

So how can we be of help to family/friends who may be going through such an emotional illness?

The first step is to notice the signs and to simply be there! Sometimes it makes a big difference just to talk and listen to your family/friends. Engage them in mild activity or exercise. Go with them to a movie, a ballgame, or another event or get them to do an activity that they once enjoyed. They can even participate in religious, social or other activities. If the person has suicidal thoughts, please make sure you or the suicidal person is not left alone.

Regular Yoga/Meditation practices can help boost the depressed person’s mood a lot. Get them to do positive affirmations- www.loiusehay.com

Remember that positive thinking will replace negative thoughts as your depression responds to treatment. Laugh joke more, this helps a lot.

Seek help from a Therapist/Pranic Healer/Holistic energy healer.

According to WHO research, close to 800,000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds. Suicide is a global phenomenon and occurs throughout the lifespan. Effective and evidence-based interventions can be implemented at population, sub-population and individual levels to prevent suicide and suicide attempts. There are indications that for each adult who died by suicide there may have been more than 20 others attempting suicide.

Please be aware of your loved ones and friends, pay attention to them and yourself. Some tips on self-awareness:

One of the chief causes of Depression is when an individual lets some event or some person dominate one’s mind. When we learn the fact that nothing is too important to let yourself get carried away with it, we can slowly get ourselves out of the self-dug pothole.

Our mind can be both, a great friend or the worst foe, depending on our abilities to manage it. Spending quality time in the park with friends, learning new things, can be a great aid to divert one’s attention from pre-occupied, unproductive thoughts.

• The power of silence &  solace:
  We all need to take a healthy break from the noise outside and within. Recreational activities like chanting mantras, yoga, meditation acts as fuel for the soul. From the 24 hours take out at least 30 minutes of your time to experience the calmness and stillness of silence.
• Hope:
  Lastly, don’t lose hope. Have trust in the divine plan and faith in yourself. Nothing is too big to make you lose hope. You always have a reason to dream. Dream big!

“If you are not exposed to the vicissitudes of life, it is not good.
It is like being exposed to germs.
You have no immunity.
You have no inner strength.”
– Master Choa Kok Sui

Shahwana Khanam – Pranic Healer