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Depression is a normal human occurrence, if we are experiencing a major loss or traumatic event. If this is the case, you have nothing to worry about, unless your depressive symptoms have lasted for more than several months.
Many people who are experiencing depression do not know they are depressed, they just know that they are unhappy with their life and don’t know what to do to feel happier.
Depressive symptoms include:
1. Depressed mood most of the day-feeling sad, empty or tearful.
2. Diminished interest in activities you used to find enjoyable.
3. Significant increase or decrease in appetite, causing a weight change.
4. Change in sleeping patterns, whether you are sleeping too much, or unable to get a good nights sleep.
5. Decreased energy or feelings of restlessness.
6. Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt.
7. Decrease in concentration or inability to make decisions.
8. Suicidal thoughts.
There are some very effective things you can do to manage and shorten your depressive symptoms. This will take effort on your part. You deserve to feel good, and it doesn’t take long to do these things, but you must do them every day if you want to maintain a positive mood.
First you have to make sure you have more positive thoughts than negative ones. Negative thinking is miracle grow for depression and keeping us in a bad mood. What I suggest is that you do a daily gratitude list. Say or think of at least 10 things each day that you are grateful for.When we are depressed it can be difficult to think of things we are grateful for, so here is sample gratitude list to get you started:
1. I am grateful for my eyesight
2. I am grateful that I have a roof over my head
3. I am grateful for food today
4. I am grateful for my hearing
5. I am grateful for music
6. I am grateful for Arizona sunsets
7. I am grateful for good stores
8. I am grateful for helpful information
9. I am grateful for people who love me
10. I am grateful that I have the ability to change the way I think and feel.
Another effective strategy to increase positive thinking and mood is reading affirming statements each day. Whatever you focus on you grow in your being, so to grow positive, you must consciously focus on positive. Here is a sample list of affirmations that I use:
1. I am valuable, regardless of what others say or think about me.
2. My talents and abilities are useful to others.
3. Each day I can choose to love and believe in myself more.
4. My worth is inherent. It was breathed into me before I was born and no person or situation can ever take that from me.
5. I forgive myself for all my mistakes as a way to let go of guilt and move toward emotional freedom.
6. As I let love in, I have more love to offer others.
7. Resources are always available to me to help solve my problems.
8. I can have a harmonious relationship with myself as I practice acceptance of who I am.
9. I was created for a purpose and there is a plan for my life.
10. I can become a better me each day.
Research also shows that bright light is an effective treatment for depression. * Lucky for us to live in sunny Arizona where we get lots of it! The short of it is that when bright light hits our retina, it increases our serotonin levels, which in turn regulates our mood Oh, and if your a woman you will be happy to know that bright light is also an effective treatment for Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)! We do not need more than 30 minutes per day. If you prefer staying indoors, just open the blinds and let the light in each day!
Here is another cool thing that you might not know that helps treat depression; tryptophan, an essential amino acid released from proteins, improves our mood and cognition and also increases our serotonin production.** Foods that are high in tryptophan include:
1. Sea lion (really??)
2. Seaweed
3. Soy protein
4. Spinach
5. Egg whites
6. Crab, lobster and halibut
Going for a brisk walk, swim, dance or doing something unspeakably pleasurable that gets our heart rate up for about 30 minutes can all be helpful for managing depression. Dr James Blumenthal found that 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week was more effective than taking an antidepressant, when it came to treating patients with major depression. ***
When we are depressed, we are not enjoying our life, so giving ourselves something to look forward to everyday is an effective way to combat depression. One of the symptoms of depression is that we have a diminished interest and motivation to do enjoyable things. This is where we have to really help our self out. No one can make us enjoy our life. This part is totally up to us.
If you really want to be happy nobody can stop you
-Sister Mary Tricky
I have a ‘Pleasant Events’ form that I give to my depressed clients. It has 360 enjoyable activities. I have them check off at least 10 items and pick at least one to do each day. Here are some sample items from my Pleasant Events form:
1. Laying in a hammock
2. Playing with a pet
3. Swinging at the park
4. Eating my favorite food
5. Taking a nap
6. Watching a movie
7. Being with friends
8. Being in nature
9. Reading
10. Boating
If you are still struggling with depression, after you have tried daily positive thinking, exercise, bright light, giving yourself something enjoyable to look forward to and tryptophan rich foods, please see a professional who specializes with treating depression. Anytime we leave our mental health untreated, it can worsen.
Written by Elisabeth Davies, MC
* Lam RW, Carter D, Misri S, et al. A controlled study of light therapy in women with late luteal phase dysphoric disorder. Psychiatry Res1999;86:185-92. [PubMed]
**Foods highest in tryptophan http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000079000000000000000.html
***Exercise is an Effective Antidepressant http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/mindandbody/a/exercisedep.htm