Depression |
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Hi and welcome to About Depression. No doubt the most important area that a sufferer of depression seeks out is the treatment of depression. To be able to handle or deal with depression, to keep it under control or at bay is paramount to sufferers. About Depression is dedicated to offering those seeking treatment and detailed depression information, a place to touch base and process the plethora of information that is available on the topic. Healing or finding a remedy for depression can be a seemingly allusive dream. However, having a strategy and a way to proceed with this is an individual approach, based often on life experiences and the contributing factors to your experience of depression.
The affects of depression can of course affect all age groups. Whether biologically driven or the resultant affects of postnatal depression or even alcohol consumption, no matter what the cause, the effects of depression can be devastating for the individual, loved ones and family. This site explores the origins of the disease, treatments and alleged cures. This site keeps an open forum on discussions about depression to help you make an informed decision on topics you wish to explore.
Depression can have many causes including environmental (such as your upbringing or episodic/traumatic events); endogenous (or biological); the result of drugs (both legal and illegal) and adverse psychiatric events. Depression can also come in many forms (including mild, moderate and severe or major or chronic) and bipolar (formerly known as manic depression). Those experiencing ADHD; mood disorders; anxiety; women who are postnatal or prenatal; those with obsessive compulsive disorder; those who have experienced post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); those with schizophrenia; those who are sometimes suicidal, may also experience depression but not necessarily so. Therefore diagnosis is paramount. Various methods can be used in the diagnosis including The Beck Depression Inventory and The Hamilton Depression Scale. Symptons of depression can include a disruption to sleep patterns; eating habits; high stress; mood swings; melancholy; loss of energy; negative thoughts and a loss of interest in usually motivating things. It is not unusual to expereience these signs occassionally with out having depression but if they are ongoing depression could be the underlying cause. Once diagnosed, depression treatment can take many forms. Traditional medicine provides certain drug therapies (you may be familiar with such medications, named antidepressants, such as Prozac and Zoloft). Natural therapies also can have a place in treatment. Engaging in activities high in energy has been known to help alleviate symptons. It is also important for sufferers to have access to psychological counselling as therapeutic counseling is an integral part of the healing process.
Managing depression is possible - it does not have to be a life time sentence. Support groups, family and friends can also play a large part in helping the sufferer ward off future attacks or episodes. It is hoped this site will be of benefit to you in your investigation of depression, this sometimes illusive disease or disorder. Does it exist as a disease? Can it be cured? Are alternative methods the answer or is traditional medicine the only way? You be the judge but make sure your answer is based on reliable knowledge and research. Good luck with your journey! Here's a beautiful letter straight from the heart from Alex: "I just want to say hang in there. It's odd how when we are on our own, suffering alone, which I think is a common theme for depression sufferers, we really beat up on ourselves. I know I do. But when it comes to helping someone else - wow - it's a different story. That's how I feel right now in writing this letter. I mean I would hate to think anyone right now, reading this story is really suffering badly as a result of depression. I mean it makes me want to cry! It's ok for me to suffer but not anyone else! I guess this could be a common theme for us depression sufferers - to suffer alone. Well if you get anything out of this letter I'll be glad. Is that selfish? Well let me tell you my story. I thought life was normal when I was a kid. I don't remember being a happy kid. I don't remember having lots of friends. But I must have had resilience which is a term that's come up a lot lately. Resilience means the ability to go on, to take stock and face adversity. Apparently other people do not have it. They crumble. It's a bit like a car crash where some people go into action and help out and do amazing things while others just can't cope, they scream and freak out. Well I think it's sort of like that. But again with my depression as a kid some how I managed to keep going and do things like go to school, getting out and about and putting on that brave face. So why was I like this? I realize now it was because I came from an abusive family. There was "physical abuse", "emotional abuse", I even think "sexual abuse" but I've done a pretty good job of blocking this out, and there were also the mind games or "intellectual abuse" as it is known. I definitely was one of those who blocked it out from my life - sort of a coping mechanism I realize now. It was only years later when I got to know my brother really well that I realized bad stuff did go on. He mentioned the times he got blood noses and a broken arm through the violence. He too developed depression, in fact it turned into psychotic episodes and severe depression, even examples of schizophrenia. He's no longer with us but I do really appreciate the conversations we had that put so many things into perspective. I love you brother. I do remember thinking about suicide when I was a teenager - running knives across my wrists which is now called 'cutting', it's sort of a way of crying out, releasing all that weird energy inside. I remember also as a kid experiencing major headaches on a regular basis. I went to a hypnotherapist who helped me understand that these headaches were a release for all the stress and tension I was under. Years later I now know that stress and tension to be the abuse. It's weird really because back then I was studying and working so hard that I was under huge stress. I also got engaged at 19 (crazy I know and I also know now that I married my 'dad' - someone at least who had the same abusive tendencies). So there was all this stress and that is what I thought was the reason for the headaches as explained by the therapist. But now I know that if you are under stress from abuse, then you start to lead a more stressful life which kind of covers up the abuse! Know what I mean? Like "Oh I'm really busy studying and working 2 jobs and planning a wedding - it's no wonder I've got so many headaches!" But instead I could have acknowledged that the headaches and stress were instead the abuse covered up as the 'hectic' life I had created. If I could have done this back then I probably would have just totally changed my life and started to have been really kind to myself. That is something I did not do until much later. Needless to say my marriage didn't last. I did get a beautiful son out of it so that has been a blessing. I then went to university and did a social work degree which I know now helped me understand my crazy life. It was crazy - I've left a lot of the detail out here! I did start to trust my self though as time went on. By trusting myself I started to trust others and put my faith in them instead of that crazy low self esteem thing where you always seem to be suspicious of others and in fact think you are better than others because inevitably others will always let you down! Self fulfilling thoughts!! The power of positive thinking has definitely helped. I now know that a thought will lead to a feeling and in the past that feeling has generally been negative. Well now if I feel that there could be the slightest negative thought and feeling coming up I put my positive affirmations into act. Like if a really big bill comes in the post and it coincides with there not being lot of money around, I know that my 'low self esteem past' will come in and give me some negative thoughts and sure enough negative feelings about myself. If I get enough of these depression will set in. Now I just cut right in with positive affirmations and corny as it sounds they work and they work better and better with practise. Here's my current biggy. As soon as a 'negative' may want to float in I say immediately to myself "I only invite positiveness, financial prosperity, love and comfort into my life". I say it a few times and it really works. The negative stuff just doesn't have time to manifest. I say my affirmations every morning, constantly throughout the day and of course when anything potentially negative crops up. I tell you, with practise they sure work! It's better than all the negative stuff, despite how used to it I was! So treating my depression has been an evolutionary thing. The more I learn about my depression the more I learn and understand ways of coping with it. Well I hope some of this has worked. All I can say is my life keeps getting better. It keeps doing that mainly because negativity is becoming such a smaller part of my life. You really can change your brain and I believe conquer depression. Good luck!"
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