Coping with severe depression

There are moments in our life wherein we experience sadness and unhappiness. This kind of feeling is normal. However, when sadness and unhappiness become intense and become your companion in your waking moments, this is something worth looking into.

Like what happened to a female acquaintance. She confided that due to a conflict with her youngest son, she felt  emotionally and mentally disturbed to a  point that it affected her daily life. At first, she thought this would just pass like any other feelings that she had, but she found out that it also affected her mood and her outlook in life. She told  a cousin about what she felt and she was advised to seek  medical help. It was found out that she had severe depression. She was  given medication.

She blurted, “ If I had known that this would be the effect of harboring intense worry and hatred in my heart,   I would have gone mending the ”fences” with my son and would  not have suffered this kind of illness.”

According to the website, depressionfm,  severe depression is a mood disorder which is accompanied by sorrow and unhappiness. It can cause emotional pain or mental anguish. The disease has multiple or variable intensity from despair to deep desperation. It has also  a major impact in the body and can promote the development of obesity and other diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, Alzeihmers and certain types of cancer. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that depressed people are more likely to have a stroke rather than those who don’t have.

However, it’s not the end of the world. There  are self-help to cope with depression.  The depressionfm cited the following:

Cultivate supportive relationship. Getting the support you need  plays a big role in lifting the fog. Isolation and loneliness make depression even worse, so maintaining  your close relationship and social activities are important. Turn to trusted friends and family members. Share what you are going through with the people you love and trust. Ask for their help and support. And try to keep up with social activities even if you don’t feel like.  Being around with other people will make you feel less depressed.

Challenge negative thinking. Depression puts a negative spin on everything, including the way you see yourself, the situation you encounter and your expectation for the future. But you can break out this pessimism mind frame by just thinking positively.  You can do this by: Allow yourself to be less than perfect. Many depressed people are perfectionists, holding themselves to impossible high standard and beating themselves up when they fail to meet them. Socialize with positive people even if you have to pretend. Try to adopt their optimism and their persistence in the face of difficulty.

Take care of yourself. In order to overcome depression, you have to take care of yourself. This includes healthy lifestyle, learning to manage stress, setting limits on what you are able to do, and scheduling fun activities into your day. Aim for eight hours of sleep, expose yourself to little sunlight and practice relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation and breathing exercise.

Seek medical help when  your depression is getting worse.

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