Depression - What can you do to avoid it?

This is a subject I feel strongly about and have personally gone through it. I have identified the things that improve it and the things that worsen it. My goal with this post is to help inform you of why depression doesn't control you but your emotions control it.

What is depression?
Depression can take SO many forms its sickening, I know. Depression can range from feeling like nothing you do matters to events happening in your life. Please consider the fact that depression only exists in your mind and you CAN control it.

Here's a quick definition of depression by dictionary.com;
Psychiatry - a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason.

Put into layman's terms it means sadness that lasts longer then any reason should. So in my opinion the first step to ridding yourself of depression is to attack it head on.

How do I help heal my depression?
I find that friends and family are the best avenues of healing because they care about you and will listen to your problem without judgement.

Laughter is a very strong medicine for depression, whenever I feel depressed I watch comedy specials by my favorite comedians and it helps me forget about my problems. Its not a permanent solution but it is a good escape.

Watching movies is a good way to take your mind off things, I do not suggest horror movies but will openly suggest family or comedy movies. These are usually cheery up-beat movies that will usually highlight the better aspects of life.

Go to a pet shop/store and play with the puppies or kittens; pretty self explanatory.

Avoid facebook, I know this is an odd tip but it is a very useful one. When you go on facebook you'll normally see people talking about all the great things going on in their life. It'll make you think about things you could've done differently and you'll just fuel your depression. I CAN NOT STRESS THIS TIP ENOUGH FACEBOOK IS YOUR ENEMY!!!

Set out to do one good thing a day; be it help someone across the street, tell someone you love that you love them, get your girlfriend/boyfriend a gift, or even compliment someone you work or live with. This is something that will only take you a small portion of your day to do and will help you see there are great things to be had in life.

Don't let the small things upset you; an example is someone doesn't notice your new haircut, just because they don't say anything doesn't mean they didn't. The small things will add up to further fuel your feelings of depression in the wrong direction.

Love yourself; do not look at your imperfections look are your qualities. Nobody is perfect but if you constantly look at your imperfections you'll miss out on your good qualities.

If you give these tips a try im sure you'll be feeling a little better in no time, and if you ever need someone to talk to I'll be there for you. Send me a private message, I check sythe everyday and will respond very quickly with tips and will be a caring listener no matter what the problem is. If you want to remain anonymous feel free to add my skype I will happily talk to you there when I can ^^ (my skype is Rickjames928)

GO ENJOY LIFE TO ITS FULLEST!

 

This is sort of a tangent on this topic, but I feel as though depression is an unavoidable feeling we get such as happiness and sadness ECT. The root cause of depression varies in individuals so much its hard to specify what exactly causes the feeling or even the purpose of the feeling itself.

The feeling of depression after death clearly is a favorable evolutionary device as it promotes caring for one another among social animals such as us, cats, dogs, crows and many many species of animals that have very little in common. However the random feeling of depression we (homo sapiens) experience amongst our puberty is odd, and difficult to pin a reason for its existence. I personally think it has to do with the fact that civilization has advanced so significantly in such a relatively short period of time.

From the ages of about 5-10 I could name every single person I had met, but I can hardly name everyone I have met in the last 5 years, why is this? Well this is because I have probably met nearly 100 fold more people in the last 5 years compared to when I was 5-10. What does this have to do with anything? Well the rapid expansion of civilization and information has not coincided with our evolution as a species, in fact it actually counteracts evolution due to our advanced knowledge of medicine. As a result of medicine those with unfavorable survival traits are allowed to propagate them among the gene pool, due to our mastery of the food chain because of technology.

I think that this sense of being lost is an overwhelming of our primordial bodies which were specifically designed for purposes. For example I am tall and agile with significant strength for my weight, which in primordial days would make me very adept at hunting, due to my ability to spot and move to prey and bring it back to the tribe, but nowadays I don't need to be able to climb tree's to ambush a deer in order to eat, I simply need to go to the grocery store to buy food. Thus as pubescent adolescent I don't have a specific role to fill in society which causes loss and a sense of depression, however being past that stage in my life it becomes clear that its important in how you deal with depression rather than trying to avoid it.

 

I find the hardest thing to do while depressed is to find the motivation to get better. When you're so deep in that hole, all you do is close your eyes, and shut off any hope of finding a little bit of light to guide you out.

I feel great empathy towards those going through depression. Best thing I can suggest, is asking for help. The longer you ignore it, the harder and longer it's going to take to get better. I speak from experience. After ignoring it for nearly a decade, and almost losing my life a few times, it has become quite a battle towards beating this, one I hope I overcome.

 

Worst thing to do is to take those pills for depression or anxiety. My sister was prescribed some pills when she was depressed and she only got worse and trying killing herself. Those pills make your mental state much worse.

So, my tip? If you feel depressed, don't take any pills, they hardly ever work.

 

I've been through similar myself, I find that counselling and/or medication is the worst route to go on. The more treatment you're receiving the worse you think you are. You start worsening your condition in your head. The best thing I'd say, is to just simply try new things. Go out and just do. You'll find one thing eventually that makes you happy, and you'll get to where you want to be. I think the majority of people are somewhat depressed growing up, it's more common than people'd think.

 

I get a puzzle or fix something to focus on something else besides my feelings