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Posts Tagged ‘Hopelessness’

Feeling depressed?  Here’s an easy way to get rid of depression without anti-depressants.

By  Dennis Fisher

 Depression is a mental condition that is becoming increasingly common.  More and more people suffer today from depressed feelings of despondency, apathy and disinterest.   Symptoms of depression often include a mood of hopelessness. Everything seems futile.   Nothing seems worthwhile.

 It’s a mental state that affects people of all ages – from young students to the elderly – in every walk of life.

Many people, who feel constantly depressed, use anti-depressant drugs to help them get rid of depression.

One of the most popular anti-depressants prescribed by doctors is the Fluoxetine drug known as Prozac.   Prozac has proved helpful in treating symptoms of depression.  But, like all drugs, there is always the danger of side effects.

Side effects reported include nausea, digestive problems, insomnia and extreme fatigue.  In a number of cases there have been reports of undesirable sexual side effects.

If you are one of the many unfortunate individuals, who suffers from depression and you don’t want to use anti-depressants because of the danger of side-effects, you’ll be pleased to know there is another way to get rid of depression – a very easy way. 

It doesn’t require the use of any type of medication whatsoever.

 No doubt you’ve heard the following expression many times: 
“You’ve got to have a reason to get up in the morning”.

Why are some people able to wake up in the morning bright and cheerful, ready to start the day with optimism and enthusiasm while others find this so difficult to do?  

Depression is not normal for any age!

Growing older can create problems and stress that may lead to depression. Changes like working full-time to going into retirement could set off a bout of the blues that can lead to Clinical Depression specially with those adults that have worked hard all their life. Depression can also be set off by accumilating bills, as well as serious medical complications. Many seniors face the loss of their spouse, they are losing mobility, some may even lose their drivers license. These events can to a facade of reclusiveness, desolation, and ultimately depression.

Many of us get the ‘blues’ or down moods but if these feelings continue for more than several weeks you should consult a doctor or a professional to see if you have Clinical Depression. In all areas of our lives like thinking, sleep, and even physical health can be lacerated by depression. Older adults often face joint and muscle pains that make many of the leisure activities difficult to do. They lose interest in them because of the pain and can end up having depression set in.

You may experience a depressed mood after the loss of a companion, or a dramatic change in your life. If you have lost someone you love, grief is a normal process the body and mind needs to go through. Depression often goes with grief but if it lasts longer than a few months, you may have a Clinical Depression.

Clinical Depression is a whole body disorder!

“There is no Path to happiness! Happiness is the Path!”
(Sakyamuni Buddha)

What is Depression?

Depression is an involuntary, instinctual reaction of the mind in response to adverse events in life. We don’t decide we are going to be depressed. The mind dictates depression all by itself, telling us the outside world is the problem. But this is far from the truth. So we naturally plan to change everything. If life can be changed easily, there’s no problem. Dealing with depression is not necessary, because our depression is gone with the change in life circumstance.

Depression and the need for dealing with depression happen, because we come to believe the outside circumstances in life are hopelessly, and infallibly, etched into solid granite: that is, there’s no way of changing things. Hopelessness and depression go hand in hand. This is a basic instinctual reaction of the mind, so this happens to everyone. You are not unique. Our depression is perfectly understandable.

But once the depression loads catastrophically into place, the question becomes how to be dealing with depression?

At first glance it appears dealing with depression is useless. That is, nothing will change the hopeless situation. And maybe the outside world will never change? But there is still an easy way to cure the depression, because the outside world did not cause the depression. What caused the depression was the reaction of the instinctual mind. Dealing with depression requires this understanding.

Some instincts help us to survive. But this instinct — the automatic reaction of our mind — actually impedes our ability to survive. This is because of another feature of depression. Depression drains all of our energy. This knowledge especially is required for dealing with depression.

Getting depression is not a sign of weakness. There are no particular ‘personality types’ that are more at risk than others. However, some risk factors have been identified; these include inherited (genetic) factors, such as having parents or grandparents who have suffered from depression and non-genetic factors such as the death of a parent when you were young or suffering a trauma of some kind..

It is often impossible to identify a ’cause’ in many people, and this can be distressing for people who want to understand the reasons why they are ill. However depression, like any illness, can strike for no apparent reason. There are drugs on the market that can really help, but many people are reluctant to take these, as the side effects can almost be as unpleasant as the depression, but there are alternatives, and Hypnotherapy is one of them. 

Self-Hypnosis is designed to combat the most common symptoms of depression, and lift that dark shadow of misery, anguish, gloom, and despondency.
Only a qualified doctor or health practitioner can formally diagnose you with clinical depression. However, how they reach this diagnosis gives an incredibly important insight into how to treat depression.

Depression Screening and Tests for Depression
Screening for depression is becoming more common, as we begin to realize how much is left undiagnosed. So let’s look now at how clinical depression is normally diagnosed.

Common Signs of Depression
The 5 most common signs of depression, according to research published in The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine (1998) are as follows:

These five signs of depression were reported by at least 90% of those in the study.
Reduced enjoyment from usual activities
Disappointment with self
Hopelessness
Irritability
Difficulty sleeping