How to Deal with Depression

Major "Clinical" Depression is a serious illness that effects a lot of people in the world today, especially those in the United States. A lot of friends and family of those who have the illness don't have NEARLY enough understanding of it, so they expect their loved ones to just "snap into reality". What they don't realize is this is virtually impossible. In addition, a lot of the "victims" of this awful disorder don't understand it enough, leaving them even more confused and scared than what the symptoms bring alone. What most people don't realize is that Depression is not just NORMAL SADNESS. It is a "mental illness"; usually hereditary. It gets passed on in the genes and somewhere down the line something stressful transpires in a person's life, then it reaches the surface, and makes itself noticeable.

Major aka. Clinical Depression is linked to other mental illnesses such as Bipolar Disorder (Manic-Depression), Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Schizophrenia, and even nervous system disorders such as Tourette's Syndrome, therefore you can have symptoms of other disorders even if you are just diagnosed with Major Depression. It is up to your doctor to determine how severe the symptoms are to whether you should be diagnosed with one of the other disorders. For example, you may remain with just the diagnosis of "Major aka. Clinical" Depression, and have symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The symptoms are just not severe enough for you to be diagnosed with OCD.

What a lot of people need to get through their heads is ... Depression is just as much of a physical illness as it is a mental one, because it is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. So for those of you who don't believe in Psychiatrists and taking medication, you're not looking at things in the right perspective. Clinical Depression usually DOES require medication a long with some sort of cognitive therapy. Simply put: To fix something physical (a chemical imbalance in the brain), you need something physical (like medication) to work on it.

With Depression, one may not only have feelings over whelming sadness, but feelings of hopelessness and despair as well. A lot of "victims" describe the feeling as if a "black cloud is hovering over them, making them have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and despair, as well as whatever other symptoms come with that particular person's case." All mental illnesses are linked together, so you can have a wide variety of symptoms.

Remember, the brain controls everything that the body does. It is a very, very, very POWERFUL ORGAN! And if it is off balance, then disastrous things can occur.

How you deal with Depression is entirely up to you, but I urge you to seek help if you are having feelings of hopelessness, or thinking about ending your life. There are people that can help. What is that? That is hope (The fact that somebody CAN help you)... Let me explain something: There is always hope; it is there; just when you're depressed, you cannot comprehend it. You are left in such a deep confused, emotional state, possibly with psychotic symptoms (such as hearing voices or being paranoid), that you sometimes lose control of your own behavior. I personally believe, that the majority of people that try or thinking about committing suicide, DON'T ACTUALLY WANT TO, but feel as if it is their only way out; their only way away from the pain, the hopelessness, and the despair.

If you think you may have a mental illness such as depression, I suggest that you seek professional help. If you don't have a Psychiatrist, Contact your Primary Physician immediately. They can recommend you to a Psychiatrist, and might even go ahead and put you on some medication. Then, when you visit the psychiatrist make sure you are open and honest about everything. They are there to help. It is what they do.

You can ask about talking to a Psychologist, Counselor or Therapist if you want to, in addition to seeing the Psychiatrist, because Psychiatrists usually specialize in just giving you the medicine. Any of the above three will listen to your problems, usually making you feel better, and provide you with cognitive behavior therapy. They will lend a helping hand in things you can do to deal with the illness in everyday life.

The first step to dealing with anything is admitting that you do need help. Then, it helps to know a little about what you are dealing with, which is why I explained a little bit about mental illnesses above.

Other Things You Can Do To Deal With Depression (or any mental illness)

- Stay on a steady sleep routine & get enough rest, but not too much

- Exercise regularly

- Eat & Drink healthy

- Stay on your medication

- Talk to a Psychologist, Counselor, or Therapist

- Seek out doing activities that you enjoy (even if you don't feel like doing anything, This keeps you preoccupied, your mind out of "introspection" which commonly happens with depression, and provides you an inlet into reality)

- Keep a journal or diary

- Don't turn to drugs or alcohol (They will only make the problems worse)

- DON'T GIVE UP...THERE IS HOPE! (even if you can't see it)