Some depressed people don't want (for different reasons) to ask their doctors for help, they know that there exist a lot of ways to overcome depression by themselves and believe in them because..... It is cheaper, easier and you don't need to go to the clinics....on the whole, it's more convenient! Well, maybe it is. However, most specialists don't agree with such solution of the problem, don't believe that such stupid methods can work and therefore don't advise any depressed person "talk herself/himself out of depression".
That's what one of them says: "We mope around, listen to sad music and feel sorry for ourselves. These moods go away within a couple of days, and we can enjoy life again. Clinical depression is much more than that, and is comparable to a down mood as much as a sneeze is comparable to pneumonia. It is an illness that affects appetite, sleep patterns, powers of concentration, and even slows down movement and speech. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of depression, make an appointment to see a doctor. Don't believe the myth that we can "handle" depression on our own."
Still there are many methods to fight depression without any doctors and I'm going to introduce them to you. So, what should or shouldn't you do to overcome this illness?
First of all you MUST do something but not just sit and wait until depression goes away! Get involved, an active life leaves very little room for depression. Allow some time for relaxation, have fun, relax your mind and body.
When negative thoughts start circling, shift your focus to a pleasant element. Balance your diet and take care of your fitness (no, I don't care about your body!). Perhaps it sounds strangely but your feeding has some influence on your mood. Besides, the fitter you are, the more self-esteem you'll experience and this will eventually lead to happiness!
One of the most important remedies is communication. No matter how difficult it might seem to get out of the house and smile in the company of others, this is probably the most effective way of getting over depression.
Try not to stay alone at home when all sad thoughts are climbing into your head and there's nobody to stop them (watching TV won't save you either). Go outside, a nice spring day can cheer up even the saddest person. Visit your friends, relatives and talk to them only about pleasant, interesting things -- they say it works.
Also, research shows that keeping a family pet, one that you can cuddle and talk to, can have a positive effect on depressed people. A cat or dog can help to smooth away negative emotions that keep him or her in the doldrums.
You can set aside some playtime, if youre feeling disappointed, angry, or hurt, exercising can help you feel better. Enjoy a cuddle -- cuddling a pet can lower blood pressure and stimulate immune function that helps your body and mood feel better. Finally, you can share any secret or describe any emotions you want to without fear of your pets breaching the confidence (just make sure no one else is in hearing distance!).
On the whole, the way of treating depression depends on its stage. I mean, light depression can be cured with the help of listed above methods. But deep depression should be treated more seriously and hardly without doctor's interference. However, the fact that so many of non-medical ways of fighting do exist also means something. If you believe they work -- they do work!
AM.
User Contributed Comments
Anonymous
All Doctors do is take your money and put you into a deeper depression. You should not tell people that they need a Doctor for Depression it only makes them think of the bill they are going to get afterwards..most people that are depressed are those who have bills they can not already pay for. Doctors add to those bills.
Nick [Pillwatch Writer]
Perhaps, the situations you described are not rare. On the other hand it is absolutely true that there are cases, when only medications can take a person out of depression.
Vinnee
My teenaged daughter is becoming more and more difficult. I am in a dilema whether i have to leave the job for my daughter's sake or to continue without feeling guilty for not nourinshing her properly with balanced diet in the morning. She does not resposibly takes the food in the morning kept for her. She requires somebody to attend to her. My husband too feels for this, as I was always there for them at home for 14 years. They both are used to my pampering. Now I am working and become tired because of two hrs journey and middleage crisis like Vericose Veins, and menstrual problem.
On the other hand, my husband expects me to earn sufficcient money till it is possible.
After so many years to work efficiently, learn and know the nature of your work immediately was not possible. I am working here now since three months. I mingled with my colleagues within a couple of days. I work hard and pleasently handle all my work. But due to my desperation or overlooking of things, I had made some minor mistakes here and there. My boses have a wrong impression that I am careless. They give me the least resposibility in the office, because of which I am too much depressed. I just want one chance to prove myself.
Vinnee
Please give the solution
Nick [Pillwatch Writer]
Well, Vinnee, what I would like to say first of all is that, based on what you have submitted above, you are a great mom and a great wife. It is not easy to start a professional career after spending 14 years at home, giving all your time, attention and energy to your family. And now it is time when you are in need of some support from your family. I believe that after the decision for you to go to work is made, it is time for other family members to share the responsibilities. There is no way for you to feel guilty for not caring about your doughter; but it is time when you should be especially attentive to any changes in her behavior, since teenagers are very sensitive in such age. On the other hand, it is also time to learn that the success of family life is about sharing responsibilities. Family is about supporting each other. I believe that the best way out is talking to your doughter and explaining her all the reasons why you decided to go to work. Your husband can be of great help here (perhaps he can prepare supper for the whole family some day - this will give you some extra hour of rest:) and what is more important this will be an example of shating the responsibilities among family members/ Together you can show to your doughter that even after you took the job opportunity, you are still a FAMILY, where love, mutual support and understanding mean a lot. Finally, you can look for some physocolgist or support group to talk about your problem and discuss it with other people.
Gessenia
Well, I tried going to the counseling center at my school after persuasion from my fiance. It ended up making me worse. The therapist ended up rubbing her eyes, yawning and looking at the clock. She made me feel like being depressed was my fault and I was making a big deal out of everything. My fiance does help when I hear his voice I start to feel calm again and happy but because we're so far away I sometimes have nightmares in which everyone says they're disappointed in me and I wake up feeling depressed. The therapist didn't offer me any medication though she said that it could be an option. It doesn't help to have my future mother in law accuse me of taking out my psychological problems out on her son. And right now my own family doesn't believe I suffer from depression and they blame it on me too. What can I do?
veyn
my husband and I always on arguement that leads me to depression,I am a kind of person that a honest one because I really believe that honesty to a person leads to a stronger relationship, that also builts a trust to each other, and it takes how many years to build your trust to each other, and it only takes a minutes or seconds to destroy it. In short my husband and I arguing because he hiding something, will not all secrets can be kept so long it will devulge as time goes by, so when I discover that he is texting with her x-gf I asked my husband who's number is this blah...then he kept denying but one time I txted the girl, and she doesnt know that I was the one texting.Then thats the time I confronted my husband.For me it is ok that he will tx her x but I dont want to keep it from me because I also wanted to her x gf friend, but the problem is they both keep denying, what can I do Iwant to move on..thanks
lily
Dear Anonymous,
I am fortunate enough to have access to a free healthcare system and although I initially resented medications having worked on behalf of pharmaceutical companies and having bad reactions to two types of antidepressant, I can speak really highly of doctors and psychiatrists that work in this area.
What initially might seem like a knock back or deeper depression is actually far more healing and beneficial in the long run to your mental/emotional health especially if you are lucky enough as I was to be under the care of one of the best doctors in the field who utilises a range of techniques other than medication to help you with your symptoms.
It might not seem helpful at the time but through working through your issues you can hugely change your life.
I feel these people dont get enough credit for the contribution they make to society and life and their hard work goes highly unrecognised.
Please just realise medication can help, its not a solution by itself. Doctors working in the field can really help you overcome your issues and help bring positive changes to your life, please persevere its worth it in the end!
All the best
Lx
LLMS
All of us would like to live a happy life but it seems not easy.Well,if you are depressed,the only one who can help you is yourself.No matter how hard we try to express out,other people might not understand how we feel.We must really be strong to overcome depression cause we are responsible for our life.We are depressed because we have a good heart & we are unique cause we are sensitive.May god bless us with happiness.
Sonia`
Depression is so hard to overcome. Sometimes I'm up in the middle of the night just crying my heart out for no reason. I feel alone, I feel so alone...
Tamara
Very good point. I would love to undescore exercise, not necessary - gym on a daily basis, but such a small things like walking, biking for 30 min or so especially with some one to keep you a small company can be a great help. And, another element is laugh, funny comment that you can relate to made by your significant one or a strangeron the street, can make a wonder to those who feel down, depressed or about to get depressed:-)
Tre
My heart goes out to the one who can't sleep, I stay awake for days totally exhausted , but my mind won't stop. I sit alone and cry, it's depressing to be alone, but it's sometimes more depressing being with someone who can't or doesn't want to understand. I have people that are constantly at me saying you have to get out of this depression, all they are doing is depressing me more. There is a quote that I like it is (Depression is just anger without enthusiasm.) If people just will give a little space I can work it out by sitting and thinking and realizing what it is that I am so depressed about and how I can change it. People trying to control me just makes me more depressed. The only way to get out of depression is for me to get control of it myself. I do not want to take medications ,I will sit by a lake, take a walk, just look at what life is offering me , then I take control, no one else can do this for me , I believe if I take medications I still do not have control , the medicines do and that is just a band-aid to my problems. We just have to want to help ourselves, and if we can't then maybe for some people that band-aid is better than nothing at all. If we can do it on our own that will make us stronger, but if we have to ask for help that also show's that we are strong, strong enough to have the knowledge that we need help outside of ourselves.
Andrea
I was wondering if you could give me advice on if I should seek medical attention. I was taking this medication for OCD and they also use it to treat depression. But the symptoms Im having are changes in my sleeping and most time its because I stay on the computer really late on this site where I wrote stories and do roleplaying using different celebrities. But I will stay up really late doing that which means I get less sleep and so on. Plus I been having these bouts of sadness...like the other day I did something I shouldnt have done...that I regret doing...posted this video on the internet and my conscious started eating at me and I started to fill somewhat sad thinking about all the bad things I have done. I've only had this depressing type feeling for a litle bit...Im not even really sure if its depression though lol I know crazy. Im thinking maybe its the OCD or whatever because that is sort of Heridtary. I believe that I can get over this without having to take medication because I dont want to get even worse side effects and so on. I wanted your opinion on things. I think I can get over it...with getting out of the house more anad stop staying up in my room so much and just being on my laptop most of the time. Also I just got 2 puppies...they are so much to take care of and I really love and want them but I wonder will it only make things worse with added responsibility?
Your Feedback
Write us your experience or opinion that we may publish on this site:
Tip for you :Sign-in with Your OpenID and post faster, easier and with easy access to all your past posts.
Quiz on Older Antidepressants (Tricycles and MAOIs).
Unfortunately, depression is not a rare condition in the modern society; and antidepressants are among the most often prescribed pills these days. Hopefully, the situation will change for better some ...
Quiz on Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
Ever since Prozac was introduced on the market in the late 1980s, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) had been the most popular antidepressants, commonly used as the first line therapy to ...
Quiz on Major Depression (Signs, Symptoms, and Causes)
Medical experts and analytics say that by year 2020 depression will be the second largest killer of humans after heart diseases in the world. It is a striking fact, isnt it? However, people often ...
Mental Disorders Treatment Quiz
If you consider mental disorders to be untreatable, it is recommended to read some of the articles on Pillwatch.com. If you have already done it, you are offered to check your knowledge of available ...