Depression; How to get rid of it!

Hey people, I am back. This time I am here to talk about the most acute disturbance that adds to the drawbacks of ones life. Yes, I am talking about depression. It really needs to be healed as soon as possible. So lets go through the various causes, symptoms and treatments of depression.

[inline:1]Depression is often marked by sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, pessimism and a loss of interest in life.

Some of the symptoms are long lasting crying spells, fatigue, loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities including sex, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, lack of concentration and thoughts of suicide or death.

Now, these symptoms also have some causes. These can be counted as life changes such as birth of a baby, divorce, retirement, loss of a job or death of a loved one, worrying about financial problems, chronic or acute medical conditions, abuse of alcohol, drugs and some medications, lack of natural, unfiltered sunlight between late fall and spring in some sensitive people; this is called seasonal affective disorder (It only strikes people that are prone to this disorder), a side effect of medicine such as some to treat high blood pressure, holiday “blues”.

Depression can be treated by antidepressants, psychotherapy (my favourite, I love books on psychotherapy) and other therapies specific to the cause of depression.

Apart from this, I would suggest some self care tips. Have a look at them.

• Be with positive people. They’ll lift your morale.
• Do something to help someone else. This will focus your attention away from yourself.
• Get some physical exercise everyday.
• Do something different. Walk or drive to a new place. Try a new restaurant.
• Take a vacation doing something you enjoy.
• Tackle a new project or do something that makes you express yourself such as writing or painting.
• Relax. Listen to soft music, take a warm bath or shower. Do relaxation exercises.
• Talk to someone who will let you express the tensions and frustrations you are feeling.
• Avoid drugs and alcohol. These can cause or worsen depression.

(Antidepressants must be taken only in acute cases not in mild ones. And also they should be taken according to the doctor’s prescription.)

I hope my tips would be of some help to you.
I’ll see you next week. Till then, keep sending in your queries at health@livepunjab.com