To live a healthy and happy life - Sounds like a far-fetched idea right? In our day to day busy lives we have actually forgotten that such a reality exists, though deep inside us, unconsciously, we all long for it...
Everyone wants to be happy. But what’s the reality? We are so deeply involved in our stress-filled, target completing, rush-hour lives, that at every step and moment we sometimes look for depression, thinking of it as a motivator to work more or better. To top it all, this has become a “normal” state of being for most humanity. Not all of us know that the very tiny health problem in life that we might be facing, that sudden headache, or the feeling of not eating, or that one or few pre-mature greying hair can very well be a symptom of Depression. Depression is not something that happened today or yesterday, caused by a fast-paced society… It’s been there as a part of human lives since the past many years, even before Psychological Disorders were discovered.
To be in a state of Depression is more like having both Physical (health problems) and Psychological suffering.
Let’s get more accustomed with Depression and its symptoms.
· Psychology and science describe Depression as a mental disorder characterized by a pervasive low mood and loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities, along with inappropriate feelings of sadness, pessimism, helplessness, apathy, low-esteem, and despair.
· Depression lasts longer and also has a large negative impact on a person’s life.
· Be warned though, it is not a sign of emotional weakness, rather, an illness with physiological as well as psychological causes.
· Depression can be a serious and often disabling condition that can significantly affect a person’s work, family, and school life, sleeping and eating habits, and general health.
· Although depression is often thought of as being an extreme state of sadness, there is a vast difference between clinical depression and sadness. Sadness is a part of being human, a natural reaction to painful circumstances.
· All of us experience sadness at one point or the other in our lives. However, depression is a physical illness with many more symptoms than an unhappy mood.
Do Not Mistake Sadness With Depression
· A person with psychological depression finds that there is not always a logical reason for his or her dark feelings.
· Sadness is a transient feeling that passes as a person comes to terms with his troubles. Depression can linger for weeks, months or even years.
· A sad person continues to cope with living. But a person with clinical depression may feel overwhelmed and hopeless
Some Facts
· The demographic research reveals that in United States, women are about as twice as likely as men to be diagnosed and treated for major depression.
· Approximately 20-25% of women and 12% of men will experience a serious depression at least once in their lifetimes.
· And up to 15% of those who are clinically depressed die by suicide (again, an escape route which ends up in more troubles, but we’ll discuss this sometime later).
· Depression in today’s world is now referred to as a mood disorder, and the primary subtypes are depression, dysthymia (chronic and usually milder depression), and atypical depression.
· Other forms of depression include premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PDD or PMDD) and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
A typical depression affects almost one third of patients suffering from the disease. Symptoms include overeating and oversleeping. Such patients tend to have a feeling of being weighed down and react strongly to rejection. It tends to occur more strongly in women than in men.
Clinical depression is thought to be caused by a combination of psychological, biological and social factors. These may include genetics, early childhood trauma or abuse, loneliness and lack of social support, recent stressful or traumatic life experiences, use of alcohol and drugs, health problems and chronic pain and financial and employment problems.
If depression is so painful and problematic, then why not come out of it?
There are few simple ways of avoiding depression and living a healthy and better life (Trust me, it really helps).
- Meditation : can be breath meditation or Chakra Meditation (Please leave a comment if you don’t know what Chakra Meditation is)
- Regular Exercises and/or Yoga (if you can’t do it regularly, do it every alternate day.): you can do any kind of exercise like swimming, stretches, morning walks or jogging, etc.
- Follow a routine for your eating and sleeping patterns: ‘early to bed, early to rise.’
- Follow a healthy diet with more veggies and home cooked healthy meals. (Yes, your diet and sleeping schedule also play an important role in depression and later health problems.)
- If you like animals, volunteer at an animal rescue centre, or go play with a friend’s pet dog. Better still adopt a dog if you like and your situation allows you to, because theres nothing to cure you permanently of depression than those loving soulful, playful eyes.
- Have you ever tried your hand at gardening? Running your hand through soil, watching a seed grow into a lush plant can be the most fulfilling experience.
- Take a big bowl of water and run your hands elbow deep in circles in the water. You’ll be surprised how the whole activity will prove to be.
- Go hug a tree.
- Last but not the least our elders were always right, when they said an empty mind is a devils workshop. So heed their advice and keep yourself busy with the stuff that you like doing- can be your hobby.
So friends, let’s batter this illness by following some simple things in life, before it batters us down.
"True health comes from within." ~ Dr. Helen Thomas
[Thanks to ~Ambrina Fakhir for her contributions.]
If you have further questions regarding the post, please feel free to leave a comment or email at angelic.diva90@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment