Do you or anyone you know have been dealing with depression? Depression is very common in the difficult seasons. If you or a friend has had feelings of sadness for extended periods at a time, then this could be more than typical sadness, it could be depression.
To begin, what is depression and how do you know if you have it? It is hard to say since it affects everyone differently. There are some basic similarities though. It can come on subtly or with an overwhelming trauma. It can even come on with a memory.
Depression can come on and you may not even notice it. Because it comes on slowly, little by little it may have taken it's toll with you unaware. It is similar to the way we don't notice how much our kids have grown but a distant relative who doesn't see the child everyday notices the growth spurt significantly. So is depression unnoticed by the person experiencing it. You see it everyday yet it goes by unnoticed.
Depression starts with a form of a jolt in your emotions. It can be anxiety, sadness, hurt or fear and then become a consistent sadness or a time of feeling "blue". It increasingly becomes a more severe feeling of being down and feeling like it is hard to come up. You have interupted sleeping patterns and your eating habits change without notice. You feel numb, out of touch, have trouble focusing and you start to isolate yourself.
Things that you used to do at one time are no longer enjoyable. Easy jobs are avoided and simple things like opening the mail, answering phone calls or daily chores become monumental.
What does it feel like to be depressed you may wonder. It can be different with everyone since there are many different personalities. Here are some common factors. 1. You are consistently irritable. 2. Activities do not seem interesting to you. 3. You feel like an unworthy person and you don't like yourself. 4. You lose sleep or sleep all the time. 5. You always seem to hurt physically. 6. You can cry at the drop of a hat. 7. You either gain weight or lose weight but you don't really notice. 8. You can not concentrate and you can not complete tasks. 9. You feel like there is no way out of what you feel. 10. You may be thinking of a permanent escape. Next, if you have thoughts of suicide or want to escape you can do some things to heal. The thoughts may be overwhelming and it is important that you seek solutions immediately. Even though it may seem impossible to talk to anyone, but a pastor or counselor deals with others having these same symptoms and they will help you work through these feelings. It helps to get a professional opinion.
Talk to Someone about your depression. Just talking to a counselor, someone that is sworn to confidentiality, can really ease a lot of the stress and irrational thoughts that come with depression. Things may seem hopeless, but rarely are.
Start a journal. This is free and it has proven to be a great success. If you write your thought without holding anything back, you will be able to relieve a lot of those thoughts that seem to trap you. If you are afraid someone will read the journal, keep it in a safe place or throw away the writing after it is written. It is still beneficial to get your thoughts out on paper. What a lot of people who have experienced signs of depression say that it helped them see how their thoughts were and helped get them back on track. It helped them also love themselves again for who they were.
Identify your thoughts, emotions, and actions. This is a simple exercise used in counseling. This is where you take one issue that is bothering you and break it down into 4 categories. You must keep it to one issue.
To start, for example, describe the problem. I am angry with my husband because he is late for dinner.
Second, write about what happened according to you. For instance, "if he loved you so much then why was he late for this very special dinner?"
Third, write down what emotions you are feeling from this situation: fear, hurt, sadness, lonely, guilt, shame, etc. Or maybe it is easier to identify with one of the following messages: "I feel inadequate, unloved, unappreciated, like I don't matter, I am defective, unlovable, worthless, embarrassed," etc.
Last, try to describe the action you are choosing to take with the given issue. For example, if you are crying, blaming others, mad at God, avoiding conflict, etc. write that down. You will be amazed about the honesty and insight it will reveal.
Some who wanted to end their life became hopeful when they could see their thoughts clearly and understood the depression. They found there was hope and that their feelings were only temporary and could be dealt with.
You have heard that time heals, but time only heals if you are healing. If you are not healing, time just petrifies and hardens hearts and makes us self-defensive and over protective. Take a step and begin healing today and get ready for a happier and healthier life!
PS. If your depression has gotten to the point where you are having thoughts of ending your life, please call 911 and get some help immediately. Or call a counselor, who will know how to help. - 29881
To begin, what is depression and how do you know if you have it? It is hard to say since it affects everyone differently. There are some basic similarities though. It can come on subtly or with an overwhelming trauma. It can even come on with a memory.
Depression can come on and you may not even notice it. Because it comes on slowly, little by little it may have taken it's toll with you unaware. It is similar to the way we don't notice how much our kids have grown but a distant relative who doesn't see the child everyday notices the growth spurt significantly. So is depression unnoticed by the person experiencing it. You see it everyday yet it goes by unnoticed.
Depression starts with a form of a jolt in your emotions. It can be anxiety, sadness, hurt or fear and then become a consistent sadness or a time of feeling "blue". It increasingly becomes a more severe feeling of being down and feeling like it is hard to come up. You have interupted sleeping patterns and your eating habits change without notice. You feel numb, out of touch, have trouble focusing and you start to isolate yourself.
Things that you used to do at one time are no longer enjoyable. Easy jobs are avoided and simple things like opening the mail, answering phone calls or daily chores become monumental.
What does it feel like to be depressed you may wonder. It can be different with everyone since there are many different personalities. Here are some common factors. 1. You are consistently irritable. 2. Activities do not seem interesting to you. 3. You feel like an unworthy person and you don't like yourself. 4. You lose sleep or sleep all the time. 5. You always seem to hurt physically. 6. You can cry at the drop of a hat. 7. You either gain weight or lose weight but you don't really notice. 8. You can not concentrate and you can not complete tasks. 9. You feel like there is no way out of what you feel. 10. You may be thinking of a permanent escape. Next, if you have thoughts of suicide or want to escape you can do some things to heal. The thoughts may be overwhelming and it is important that you seek solutions immediately. Even though it may seem impossible to talk to anyone, but a pastor or counselor deals with others having these same symptoms and they will help you work through these feelings. It helps to get a professional opinion.
Talk to Someone about your depression. Just talking to a counselor, someone that is sworn to confidentiality, can really ease a lot of the stress and irrational thoughts that come with depression. Things may seem hopeless, but rarely are.
Start a journal. This is free and it has proven to be a great success. If you write your thought without holding anything back, you will be able to relieve a lot of those thoughts that seem to trap you. If you are afraid someone will read the journal, keep it in a safe place or throw away the writing after it is written. It is still beneficial to get your thoughts out on paper. What a lot of people who have experienced signs of depression say that it helped them see how their thoughts were and helped get them back on track. It helped them also love themselves again for who they were.
Identify your thoughts, emotions, and actions. This is a simple exercise used in counseling. This is where you take one issue that is bothering you and break it down into 4 categories. You must keep it to one issue.
To start, for example, describe the problem. I am angry with my husband because he is late for dinner.
Second, write about what happened according to you. For instance, "if he loved you so much then why was he late for this very special dinner?"
Third, write down what emotions you are feeling from this situation: fear, hurt, sadness, lonely, guilt, shame, etc. Or maybe it is easier to identify with one of the following messages: "I feel inadequate, unloved, unappreciated, like I don't matter, I am defective, unlovable, worthless, embarrassed," etc.
Last, try to describe the action you are choosing to take with the given issue. For example, if you are crying, blaming others, mad at God, avoiding conflict, etc. write that down. You will be amazed about the honesty and insight it will reveal.
Some who wanted to end their life became hopeful when they could see their thoughts clearly and understood the depression. They found there was hope and that their feelings were only temporary and could be dealt with.
You have heard that time heals, but time only heals if you are healing. If you are not healing, time just petrifies and hardens hearts and makes us self-defensive and over protective. Take a step and begin healing today and get ready for a happier and healthier life!
PS. If your depression has gotten to the point where you are having thoughts of ending your life, please call 911 and get some help immediately. Or call a counselor, who will know how to help. - 29881
About the Author:
If you need Counseling on depressionfeel free to go to Chuck Sugar.com If you needfree worksheets that help that can help.
