Saturday, November 08, 2008
I'm sorry
I just wanted to apologize for not keeping this blog updated regularly. I've been goign to school and working on my degree so I can work with people with mental health disabilities such as depression, anxiety and so forth. I also put in a lot of hours as a volunteer at a center for mental health disabilities. I promise to try to keep it updated.
Thanks for coming back.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Respond to Depression
By Tian Yu
Throughout the course of our lives, we all experience episodes of unhappiness, sadness, or grief. Often, when a loved one dies or we suffer a personal tragedy or difficulty such as divorce or loss of a job, we may feel depressed. Depression can strike at any time, and properly responding to the depression is very important.
Some people don't really understand about depression. They may criticize a depressed person's low energy, yelling at the person for acting lazy or not trying harder. Some people mistakenly believe that depression is just an attitude or a mood that a person can shake off. It's not that easy. Sometimes even people who are depressed don't take their condition seriously enough. Some people feel that they are weak in some way because they are depressed. This is wrong and it can even be harmful if it causes people to hide their depression and avoid getting help.
Sometimes friends or family members recognize that someone is depressed. They may respond with love, kindness, or support, hoping that the sadness will soon pass. They may offer to listen if the person wants to talk. If the depressed feeling doesn't pass with a little time, friends or loved ones may encourage the person to get help from a doctor, therapist, or counselor.
The depressed person will most times want to talk about their life problems. They may want you to confirm their negative view of life and at the same time can be very manipulative, needy, and demanding. There is much time and effort exerted trying to solve their problems and when they become exhausted and realize that there is no solution they become further depressed. It will be very easy for you to be sucked into this spiral of emotions to the benefit of neither you nor your depressed friend. Their problems might be horrendous and unsolvable at this time, but for now the most pressing problem in their life is the depression, this is especially true if they are having suicidal thoughts.
Keep in mind that you are not trying to provide solutions to their life problems and you are not trying cure their depression. What you are attempting to accomplish is to help them explore other opinions and options as to the cause and the cure of their depression.
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
Depression - Is Society Taking the Wrong Approach?
By David Braybrooke
Is society taking the wrong approach with the treatment of depression? I would answer this as most certainly. The fact is that the pharmaceutical industry makes countless millions in revenue each and every year, profiting from the misery of the masses.
Drugs from Prozac to Zoloft and a plethora of others are fed to the wider populace at an alarming rate. From personal experience, I can clearly state that anti-depressant medication has a wide range of negative side-effects that directly affect the consumer.
At present I am taking a tablet called Effexor and am not experiencing too many troubling symptoms. However, if I decided to take myself off this medication then I can expect a whole range of worrying symptoms; anything from tremors to blurred vision and poor concentration and digestion.
On first examination the above conditions may not be of much concern to some but I have to admit being alarmed at how the human body can be so severely affected by these types of medications.
My theory on why depression is so widespread in society is that we are no longer as well-connected and networked as individuals. Many people confess that they don't even know their neighbors. The modern condition of disconnection from others is rife in modern society.
Slowing down the pace of life, remembering to count one's blessings and participating in personally fulfilling activities with other like-minded people is one avenue that depression can be combated. Instead, we're heading off to the Doctor's office in ever increasing numbers to be prescribed the latest wonder drug. Does anyone besides myself wonder about how many qualified Doctors have shares in drug companies?
New prescription medications are often unknown quantities when it comes to long termed effects in the human body. Remember what they discovered about thalidomide. Enough said!
Why do I think that medications are a poor choice in attacking the depression 'plague'? Because I've taken them myself, Zoloft, Sertraline and Effexor XR and I remained depressed and suicidal throughout the course of the medications. And I'm by no means the only one to have experienced this.
The right approach in tackling depression would be the encouragement of meaningful relating between people; really listening and being supportive of sufferers. For some, prescribed medications may offer relief in the short-term but the long-term answer is the questioning of one's personal beliefs and the examination of reasons why one is experiencing depression.
One things for certain, we weren't born depressed so it is likely that it is a learned psychological condition that can be reversed.
Keep busy, appreciate your own achievements, exercise on a daily basis and have a healthy diet. Have a positive attitude to life and get involved within your community. The way out of the darkness owes much to common sense living. And I can state this from my own experience.
David Braybrooke http://makebigmoney-fatherspirit.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com
Monday, August 04, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Healing After The Holidays - How To Keep Cheer In Your Spirits
By Jason Witt
When you receive the Seal, you will feel like every day or at least many days are a holiday. But you may still need to "recover" from the Christmas holidays in 2007 anyway.
When you are sealed, every day can be a holiday. Instead of fewer holidays you have more. That is the kind of joy you will feel when you get closer to God. And when you get the victory over evil.
But you may still have stress during the conventional hoidays, starting with Thanksgiving and culminating with New Year's Day, and of course including Christmas between them.
A big holiday stressor is expectations. You may want this holiday to be "better" than it can possibly be, and you may want to share some of your joy with the other people. You are likely to be let down.
Then there is the financial stress of Christmas. You are probably spending more than you can afford, just trying to be giving. But it catches up with you, especially come January.
And there are also social stressors. You may have goodwill toward everyone but they may not be so goodhearted. When you have to gather with family during the holidays old differences can resurface even when you have not brought them up.
And finally, as you grow older, you will begin to suffer the loss of some of your loved ones. It may especially hurt when your parents die. You have celebrated the holidays with them since you were a child. And now they are gone.
There are some things you can do this season to "recover" from the holidays:
- Lower your expectations. Enjoy your own holidays throughout the year. Let these conventional holidays be the lesser of the joys
- Keep your drinking in check. Excessive drinking can cause you to feel remorse soon after. You do not need anything like that bringing you down
- Watch your spending. Giving is a great spirit to have, but so is responsible management of money. And responsibility is better than recklessness
- Continue getting enough exercise. Getting active can wash away depression after the holidays like a charm. Once you start exercising again you will soon forget most of your troubles. So do not let it lag, but keep it up!
- Get some light therapy. Recent research has shown blue light is great for fighting depression. Natural outside light is bluer than most artificial light. And this is good. While you are outside you will be getting a little exercise.
- Eat right. Go heavy on the protein in the morning. That is the most important time to get it. Lots of protein in the morning is recommended all year round.
- Eat a balanced diet. Holiday meals are notoriously bad for you. And when you eat a few of them and have leftovers, you can easily slip away from your regular healthy eating.
- Take some fish oil or flax oil, especially if you feel a little depressed. These oils have Omega 3 fatty acids which studies have shown fight depression. This natural solution can go a long way in keeping you "up."
When you are sealed you will celebrate much more often. You will have holidays on regular days when nobody else has any reason to celebrate. This is because you are close to God and He will share some of His Joy with you.
But you will have to celebrate the traditional holidays with everyone else. And those are the times you need to watch out. You might go into the holidays feeling great, but coming out of the holidays is not as nice.
When you are sealed God will write His Name upon you. Then you will belong to God and He will give you your joy as well as your health. But when the holidays let you down you can always celebrate with God when you receive the Seal.
And now Jason invites you to get your FREE report Are You Making These Mistakes as a Christian?
And "Get God's Seal of Approval and Get the Victory Over Evil"
Jason Witt
Article Source: www.ezinearticles.com