depression

What is Clinical Depression?

Clinical Depression is different from moodiness or a bad mood. It is a medical condition that is still misunderstood by many in the general public, except to those that suffer from it. This perception and misunderstanding compounds the problem for people suffering from depression. The individual experiencing depression feels overwhelming guilt because of the people they affect around them.

Clinical Depression is very simple to understand once the facts are laid out. Of course I am writing from my own research and personal experience for suffering for many years. There are a few types of depression that people deal with.

Major Depression, also known as major depressive disorder or uni-polar depression. The symptoms or characteristics of this type is as follows.

• Sadness and Emptiness
• Lose interest in general daily activities or interests.
• Sleeplessness or insomnia
• Weight fluctuations
• Easily agitated
• Tiredness or lethargy
• Guilt or a sense of worthlessness
• Lacking in focus
• Thoughts of suicide

These are just a few I am sure there are more. I and other people I know have experienced all of the above.

Bipolar Disorder, at this level a person will alternate between depression and mania.

Symptoms:

• Increased Energy
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Rapid Speech
• Hyper-sexual Behavior
• Racing Thoughts
• Grandiose Ideas
• Greatly Increased Activity
• Impulsive Behaviors
• Poor Judgement

Again as before there are more characteristics and I am sure I could list 20 more.

Causes of Clinical Depression are sometimes vague, misunderstood to the general public and in some cases researchers change their opinion or theories. Treatments will often change because of constant research. This is a growing “epidemic”.

The general consensus of research indicates that clinical depression is inherited. The process of neurotransmitters being produced is in simple terms “broken” this imbalance in the body is passed down generational. Environmental factors will trigger depression in these individuals with this imbalance.

Treatment Clinical Depression– Medicine like antidepressants are a general treatment for the diagnosis. It is a quick fix for short term to get the patient in a calmer state of mind. Therapy is introduced in most cases using the drugs as assistance. (Paxil, Lexapro, Zoloft, Celexa and Prozac).

Psychotherapy with the medication is very successful in the majority of cases Clinical Depression. Group or Individual therapies are used to open the lanes of communicating the feelings and emotions of the patient.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a popular form of psychotherapy to root out and solve the causes of several mental disorders. The focus of this type of treatment is to change the mindset of unhelpful thinking and behavior.

In the end there is so much more discussion about this affliction. I wanted to share the highlights of what someone you might know is suffering so that you might understand a little better. If you or a loved one is suffering from this it is not the fault of the person or individual. In the majority of the cases it is an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. Although it is something they cannot control being supportive and understanding does help and make a difference. Loving them and expressing to them you have researched and understand what they are feeling is beneficial to people suffering from clinical depression.

My first instict to anyone I speak with that suffers is to “behappy!” I know what they are going through. I feel their pain. I hurt and suffer with them. I am happy around them. I hug the and love them letting them know I understand but I will not give into them even though I know it is a medical condition they cannot control. I will show them joy and usually more often that not they are receptive to my love. I hope this helps. I Love All of You! Please. If you have a choice. Choose to be Happy. It is worth the fight and the Work.

How to Live in the Present

When I look in the mirror I am very critical. I want to be the best me I can be. I know I have my failures and I am very aware of the imperfections that compose my character. I know that my imperfections make me. I accept all of me all the time and I am happy to be me. If I am a person that helps others I need to love myself and appreciate where I am at in the present. I cannot be wishy washy and unsure of who I am.
I have been helping people deal with their demons and depression for many years. I am not a professional but I have always been a go to person for anyone and everyone. Since I was at a very young age I have been a magnet for this stuff. I never turn people away. Years ago when I was suffering from anxiety and depression I would help people as I would flirt with suicide, self-destructive attitudes and no one would know this. Yet I never turned anyone away. Why? Because I believed if I turned someone away, someone would turn their back on me one day. This has happened to me. Helping people and seeing them improve is an amazing experience. Changing the perception and mindset of someone with a toxic way of thinking is very rewarding. It is not about my ego I find enjoyment it is the satisfaction that someone will not feel what I was feeling anymore.
Today I am happy. My mindset is positive 85 percent of the time. I am always going to struggle with my depression and anxiety. I found out it is in my genes. It is hereditary and in the makeup of one of my parents. I cannot deny this. I have to embrace it to the point where I am aware of it so I can see it as it arrives in my consciousness. It is like a huge dark cloud on the horizon. You see it coming and you prepare. You get everything ready and prepare for the worse. When the storm comes you get what you get and try to come out of it alive and with minimal damage. You cannot avoid the storm. It is on its way. There is no running from it. So prepare for whatever is going to arrive. It is like death. It will come eventually. Prepare for it. Do not worry about it because it is inevitable. Enjoy the now. Give yourself an opportunity to thrive.
I teach Happiness. I do not solve people problems. I observe the mindset of people and help them with their awareness of the deficiencies in their happiness. I truly believe that if we are happy we can solve any problems and address situations with a clear and focused plan. If our thoughts are organized and open to flexibility we can grow. IF we are positive we can grow! Yes. We have the capacity in that state of mind to look back and learn from the minute before. We can be happy in the present and appreciate the relief we feel and the negativity is an afterthought. If we practice this on a regular basis we can condition our minds to remain in the positive mindset because it is more natural and feels good.
I make it sound very simple. It is simple to make a decision to be happy and it is very hard work to remain in that state of mind. But like anything else in life we have to work hard to reap the rewards of training. When I look in the mirror I see a man that has been through a lifetime of experiences. I see a person that knows how to love unconditionally. I can truly look at my “enemies” and love them. They are not enemies. They are my brothers and sisters that have not yet experience awareness of who they are and where they are in the present.

The point here is to love yourself. Accept your present. Do not expect anything except to love and be loved. Live today. Appreciate the present and use the experience of awareness and teach others.
As always I love you! I am here for you. I write for you.
Please subscribe if you have not already. You will get emails of new posts. Feel free to comment. I want to hear from you. Send me a message on the contact page.

Letting go of the stress. We often hold on to things that do not matter. We listen to all of the criticisms and take them to heart. Our society can be a very judgmental place. We allow ourselves to internalize negative experiences when we do not have to. The decision to allow is up to us. It is so easy for me to tell you to not let things get to you but there is a process to this that we need to learn before we can condition ourselves to do so.

Before we can be a steel wall against the bad perceptions in our lives we need to have confidence in ourselves. In order to have confidence in ourselves we have to love ourselves. Loving ourselves is easier said than done. If we look in the mirror we always see our pain or the most recent thing we are thinking about. We look into our eyes and we cannot lie to ourselves. We are there. We are alive. We are ready to snap at ourselves. We have to remain focused and give our self a chance to breathe away from ourselves. We make excuses for our pain and challenges. We do not take responsibility nor do we accept that our unhappiness is of our own doing. For the most of us we are self-destructive. Everyone around us suffers and we are selfish. We take the notion that everyone is to blame for our unhappy thoughts and experiences. We do not realize how powerful we are and that we have the capacity to change our world at any given time. Sometimes after we make the decision it is instant sometimes the change happens over a period of time.

Where do we start? How do we change our lives? Again I go back to being happy. Before we can be happy we have to love ourselves. Practice writing down on a piece of paper all of our good qualities every day. At least write these descriptive words about ourselves twice a week. We have to Get in the habit of speaking good things about ourselves because that is the best way to condition or positively brainwash ourselves. That is pretty bad that we have to brainwash our self to believe we are good people. We are. We are powerful!

Record your voice on your smart phone and listen to yourself speak well of yourself. Make a video… I can go in circles with this. I know so many people that are in denial that they are unhappy with themselves. They are also the most negative people I know. They smile, laugh and give excuses for their challenges. They are convinced that their plight is worse. You tell them of your situation and or challenge and they give a response that is letting all know they don’t care because it is not about anyone else but them at this point. They want to manipulate the conversation always about them. This is not done in an intentional manner. It is innocent because they truly believe that are in a worse place than you. At this point all we can do is show them unconditional love and remind them how amazing they are and that we have control over everything. Which we do.

We have control over every perception that comes in our conscious. We have the ability to discern what is healthy and unhealthy. A challenging experience is not always unhealthy…. It is an experience to learn from. We grow with challenges. We have to accept them as a growing experience. Some of these growing experiences are not pleasurable, like tragedy or death. We know they are a part of a life cycle and we are destined to experience this emotion several times in our lives. We will lose contact with loved ones for many reasons other than death. These are life changing experiences that can be perceived as bad. We have to always hold dear our relationships as positive experiences no matter the duration.

Healthy “positive” experiences are the same as “negative” experiences. We have learned to accept each one of them oppositely. We learn from both. We embrace both experiences. One way or another we grow from both. We have to always remember this. We also have to remember it is within our power to change our course to grow out of all of our experiences.

I opened this article with letting go of the stress. We have no choice but to let go. Life should not be stressful. We have one go around according to a humanistic opinion. With all of our beliefs removed at our core we are here once and we need to “make the best of it” I know that is cliché. But it is very true at the root of the statement. Making the best of it is in your hands how you perceive that phrase. When you decide to go forward to explore what your next step is…. Think of what is important. What type of perception has to be in place and what has to be removed from your working conscious?

Love yourself for who, what and where you are at the present moment. Accept that whatever situation you are currently in you made a decision at some point that led you to that point. After you have accepted….. Decide. Decide what it is you want going forward. The only thing you should want is Happiness. Ask for it. Be passionate about this request. In your mind decide that this is the most important thing in your life that you have to achieve on your bucket list. This is the focus the rest of your life. This choice you make to be Happy is internal and cannot be gained through external situations or circumstances. This “happiness” has to become your essence before you can take anything on.

I hope this article has giving you some peace if you are struggling. I always end with Love for all of you. I truly hope that my thoughts bring some relief or hope.

Please subscribe so that you will receive an email for all future articles and or updates. Feel free to comment and contact me with any questions or suggestions privately or openly.

Depression Treatment

There are so many options these days for treating depression. One of which I am strongly against. Pharmaceutical Drugs are the worst way for depression treatment. I am sure there is a level of dosage a person under depression treatment needs to take during therapy to function during therapy or counseling. I just think that when a patient is under this prescription they need to be monitored and a follow up should be scheduled accordingly to make sure there is not a mis-use of the drug or drugs.

I have written an article about depression treatment before.

Depression Treatment

Depression Facts

How to Deal with Depression

Self Medicate Depression

I just wanted to write this follow up article to express my view on more positive options for depression treatment. I am really passionate about helping people combat depression and anxiety. It is my belief that as a community we can help bring people out of this affliction if we are aware of the triggers which are mostly caused by our own doing as a society. To get to the root cause we need to bring awareness to depression symptoms and causes. We as a community need to change the way we address the methods to depression treatment. What is acceptable and what is not. We have a lazy attitude thinking that the pill is the answer to everything. There are so many other ways to address this affliction. Here are some natural approaches. Here are some tips that can help someone feeling better right now…..

Alternative to depression treatment.

• Get in a Routine
• Set Goals
• Exercise
• Eat Healthy
• Get Enough Sleep
• Take on Responsibilities
• Challenge Negative Thoughts
• Take Natural Supplements (check with your Doctor!) Fish Oil, Folic Acid, Blue Berries……
• Do Something New
• Try to Have Fun
• Meditation
• Music Therapy
• Avoid Coffee Drink Green Tea Instead
• Expose Yourself to Sunlight
• Laugh!

There has to be a better way to beat this depression thing and drugs cannot be the only depression treatment that is out there. Do some research! Talk to someone about it! Cry, laugh! Go online and read positive quotes. See a happy comedy. Stay away from toxic relationships and environments. My hope is that you have found something in this article that could help. I am clearly not a doctor or a psychologist. I am someone who loves people and wants you or your loved one to get better.

Start with going through my blog-posts and seeing if it cheers you up. Smile, be happy and be well! I Love you whoever you are…. But you are important to me that is why I am writing this article