Managing Depression

Millions of people suffer from a depressive illness. They thought that depression is just a normal occurrence in their lives, which will go away after a short while. They just haven’t realized how serious depression can be.

Did you know that words related to depression have been searched over 993,000 times on the Internet for May 2005 alone? Much attention has been centered to this international health problem as the rigorous challenges of modern times continue to devastate those who cannot cope with it. Extreme depression can ultimately lead to suicide.

No one is safe from being affected by depression because it affects everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a male or female, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. Once a person starts becoming depressed, he or she usually behaves in a manner that intensifies the illness.

HOW DOES DEPRESSION AFFECT THE INDIVIDUAL’S BEHAVIOR?

Depressed people have some or more of the following characteristics:

They lose interest on their love life, career, friends, and family.

They experience loneliness, hopelessness, gloom, and indifference to their surroundings. It is a feeling of extreme despair.

They seek to escape from problems and even from life itself. Thoughts of leaving home, running away or avoidance of others is common. They feel life is hopeless and worthless. Suicidal thoughts are lurking in their minds.

There is a tendency to escape from the company of others because of an unexplained fear of being rejected. Their withdrawal consequently brings on some rejection by other people. They cancel scheduled activities, become uninterested to return phone calls, and seek ways to avoid talking with or seeing others.

They are overly sensitive to what others say and do. They may misinterpret actions and suggestions in a negative way and become irritable because of those mistaken assumptions. They complain and cry a lot.

They have a general loss of self-esteem. They feel more and more negative about life’s events, and they even question their own personal worth. Their self–confidence level is extremely low.

They experience negative changes in physical activities––appetite, sleeping and sex. Some lose interest in sexual activities. Some lose interest in food while others gouge themselves with all the stuffs they can eat. Some sleep constantly while others cannot get to sleep easily, or they wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep again.

There is usually an underlying feeling of guilt. They often feel overly responsible for other people’s feelings.

Depression often makes the depressed dependent upon other people. This further aggravates a feeling of helplessness, which makes them more upset.

They have difficulty expressing and handling their feelings. Anger is especially difficult for them to control. Because of a sense of worthlessness and lack of knowledge in dealing with their situation, they get more enraged in themselves. This can be directed outward at others.

Above ninety-five percent of even the most depressed individuals can be totally cured if the condition is identified at the early stages. It is essential to know and take action when the early warning signs of depression are manifesting.

Dealing with depression requires first and foremost an understanding that it is a common and treatable illness.

Anti-depressive medication can be an important source of help, but a placebo pill can be just as effective for some. Oddly, many studies have shown that 30%-40% of depressed people improved when given a sugar pill for the depression, while about 50%-65% improved on an anti-depressant.

You must not overlook the effectiveness of psychological treatment. Many extensive studies and investigations conclude that psychological treatment, such as improving social skills, increasing enjoyable activities, and correcting negative thoughts, can produce better long-term outcomes than drugs. So, don't think that psychology is just a cheap, second-rate source of help for depression; intent research states that psychotherapy is the best treatment you can find but, like drugs, psychotherapy doesn't work for everybody.

Depressed people are often deprived individuals, steadily seeking some accomplishments to make them feel good. They may be strongly dependent on others for back-up and support. The depressed person especially needs others to feel positive about himself/ herself.

It is vitally important that parents give much support and attention to their children. Otherwise, their kids will feel alone and vulnerable, and this can trigger the onset of depression. Parents have the main responsibility to make sure that their children grow up happy, secured, and loved. When this happens, there is more assurance that depression has been prevented right from the very start.

Although therapy is often a good method for treating depression, find a life coach to help the depressed person find ways to get motivated and inspired to take action steps to move through depression. Life coaching helps depressed people set goals and find strategies that work for the depressed person. Try taking the coachability assessment to see if life coaching is right for you. Sign up for a free newsletter on motivation, inspiration and strategies for improving your life at http://mylife-coach.net .