Are you depressed?
Depression zaps the joy out of your life. And sometimes you don’t even realize you have it.
Let's examine the parts of depression so you can understand where it is coming from.
Your life has several parts, such as work, family, your health, relationships, home, things you enjoy doing, finances. When something negative happens in any one of those parts, such as a loss, a disappointment, an unexpected outcome, it triggers emotions.
A person who can manage their emotions may be able to cope with the losses and disappointments and move on. A person who is extra sensitive, whether it is due to previous traumas or negative core beliefs formed from childhood, may experience ruminating negative thoughts, falling into a downward spiral.
At the same time, the body responds to the negative events. You become tired, feel foggy, have a loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, and have other physiological reactions.
The more you feel the emotions and the bodily reactions, the more you spiral downward.
This is depression.
Some of the tell-tale signs of depression are feeling hopeless about the future, losing interest in things you used to like doing, weight loss without trying to diet, insomnia, fatigue, agitation, feeling worthless, inability to concentrate, and/or suicidal ideation (in which case, call the Suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255). If you have been feeling five or more of these symptoms consistently for at least 2 weeks, it is time to seek help.
Like many mental health issues, depression can be anywhere from mild and temporary to severe and constant.
If your depression is more on the mild side, let's look at some ways you may be able to lift yourself out of this by yourself.
Start practicing a form of meditation and mindfulness. This could be yoga, qi gong, listening to guided meditations, breathwork, sitting or walking in nature, or classic silent meditation. This is the best remedy for depression because it quiets the mind to the point where it shuts down the ruminating negative thoughts and clears the mind of distressed energy.
Every night before bed, think of three things you are grateful for. If you can't find anything, then go really general. For example, you can be grateful for the sun shining or having water to drink. Like meditation,focusing on gratitude shuts down the negative thinking by replacing it with positive thoughts.
It always helps to rule out any medical reasons for depression. Check with your doctor to see if you may be deficient in any minerals or vitamins. You may want to change some things in your diet.
Work with a therapist. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) guided by a therapist will help you challenge negative thinking and learn more adaptive ways of thinking. EMDR for depression may focus on processing out past experiences that trigger your depression in the present.
Whatever you choose to do, know that help is there for you.
