When the Light Goes Out At the End of the Tunnel; Depression the Silent Killer...
"How to Cope with Depression Before It Kills You from the Inside"...
by Terry Clark
Table of Content
1. Why Seeing a Psychiatrist is Important
2. When Should a Depressed Person Seek Professional Help?
3. What to Do When Your Child has Depression
4. What is Depression?
5. What Causes Depression?
6. Ways to Deal with Depression
7. Vitamin B12 in the Treatment of Depression
8. Using Acupuncture to Deal with Depression
9. Understanding Depression and its Treatment
10. Different Types of Depression
11. Treatment for Worsening Depression
12. The Relationship between Obesity and Depression
13. The Difference between a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist
14. Symptoms of Severe Depression
15. Symptoms of Mild Depression
16. Overcoming Depression Naturally
17. Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Reduce Depression
18. Minerals and Vitamins to Overcome Depression
19. Loss of a Loved One Can Cause Severe Depression
20. Learn the Warning Signs of Suicide
21. Is Depression Permanent?
22. Is Depression a Personality Flaw?
23. Importance of Continued Treatment for Depression Sufferers
24. How to Treat Mild Depression Yourself
25. How to Prevent Depression from Returning
26. How to Overcome Depression and Save Yourself
27. How to Know You Have Depression
28. How Alcohol Causes Depression
29. Homoeopathy for Treatment of Depression
30. General Causes of Depression
31. Depression in Teenagers
32. Depression in Our Society
33. Depression Factors Outside of One's Control
34. Depression and Insurance
35. Coping with Depression after Divorce
36. Coping with Depression
37. Avoiding Certain Fats to Overcome Depression
38. Amino Acid Therapy for Depression
39. Alternative Therapies for Depression
40. Alternative Methods to Help Cure Depression
41. What to Do When Someone You Love Suffers From Depression
42. 7 Ways to Overcome Winter Depression
43. Bipolar Disorder
44. Rhodiola Rosea - Fighting Stress and Anxiety
45. Just Say "No" to Depression
Resources (recommendation)
Why Seeing a Psychiatrist is Important
The most significant reason for turning to a psychiatrist to treat your depression is having suicidal thoughts! If you’re caught up in the spiral of your suicidal thoughts or if you are planning to commit suicide, you need to see a psychiatrist straight away. This is also essential if you are hurting or planning to hurt other people. Actually, suicide is one of the most violent acts on earth, which is equal to a murder. As a matter of fact, it is a murder. For committing suicide, you need to murder your own self.
Suicidal thoughts aren’t the sole reason to see a psychiatrist. Just in case you’ve got a problem that makes you feel overwhelmed and/or losing control, and if you feel that you can’t handle that problem all by yourself, you do need to consult a psychiatrist. As you try and decide on any psychiatrist, do not forget to check with a medical doctor and preferably a spiritual counselor. You might get help from these professionals without having to see a psychiatrist. But don’t hesitate to act when they refer you to any psychiatrist.
There are many other crucial reasons why you may have to see a psychiatrist immediately. For instance, you should see a psychiatrist when you are faced with an extreme or severe case of depression. You should see a psychiatrist when you are faced with the feeling of being highly confused. You’re supposed to see a psychiatrist when you are abused sexually, emotionally or physically. You should see a psychiatrist when you have tremendously sad thoughts regarding your relatives, friends and pets which have passed away.
People faced with extreme fears / phobias should also see a psychiatrist. You should see this kind of professional when you are faced with a high degree of anxiety and panic attacks. Do you have any uncontrollable addiction towards drugs and alcohol? Are you having any rigorous relationship problem going on with your spouse, lover, or others? Are you thinking of abusing or killing people around you or someone special? Sometimes you truly do not know what’s going wrong, yet you don't feel okay emotionally.
No matter what the case is, you should discuss it with a doctor in the first place. Such professionals are able to refer you to a suitable psychiatrist. You’ll also be able to find help by joining a likeminded support group. Joining any other health oriented organization could help. Whatever the case may be, you’ll get enough referrals to the finest psychiatrist that you can talk to. In a great majority of the cases, you’re either in deep trouble thinking of hurting yourself or of hurting people you know. You might end up damaging your whole reputation, character, and your chances of finding a whole new productive life, if you fail to get enough help. Bear in mind that you do have the right to get some help. You’re a normal human being who’s in need of love just in the way everybody else is. And you aren’t alone in this wide world. A psychiatrist really can help a lot.
Finally, if you’ve got any overwhelming problem, which you are unable to handle all by yourself, you’ll have to look for some professional help from a veteran psychiatrist or any other professional like a clinical doctor or a spiritual adviser. If you’re afraid of seeking this type of help, you should at least head for a friend and ask him to accompany you to the doctor or a psychiatrist. If you don’t have any good friend, you can seek help from the local church or health center. You could check the yellow pages as well to find some support groups. There are many support groups out there that can help you out with some problems in particular. They are generally free to join. Such a group will allow you to bond with others who have the same problem.
Regardless of who you are, of what you’ve done so far and of whatever you’re thinking of doing, you have a life that is as valuable as any other life in this universe. Regardless of what you’re suffering from, how you’ve been spoiled or abused, you are still loved. Take the primary step to seek help as a way of respecting and loving yourself. This is the initial step towards recovery. You can lead a full as well as highly productive life. If you need to, seek the support and help of a psychiatrist as soon as possible!
When Should a Depressed Person Seek Professional Help?
For every ten people out there suffering from the symptoms of mild or severe depression, just about eight will see improvements in six months or so. This will happen if they seek help. Surely, the causes and the underlying character of depression tend to vary from one person to another. This is evident even from statistics which show that two out of ten people will remain depressed for the following 2 years.
Halting the signs and symptoms of depression within ourselves could be pretty tricky. Most of us are accustomed to recognizing physical upsets. Very often they are among the initial signs manifesting themselves. A lot of people have visited the doctor due to their upset stomach, complications with sleeping and difficulties concentrating. They are told that they are suffering from the complications of depression. It is time you saw a doctor if you’re under the impression that your emotional state is not improving or might actually be getting worse.
It’s very likely that the whole issue will manifest itself in some physical or emotional ways. However, you will perhaps find that you are experiencing a lack of interest in your friends, family members, hobbies or work. Then again, the real acid test here is intricate. If you have found yourself feeling concerned that people are likely to feel happier if you were not around this is an alarming sign. You might be wondering whether you should skip the middleman and head straight to the psychiatrist.
Depression is currently very common and the doctor you consult will have no problem with diagnosing it. He or she will have enough knowledge to suggest appropriate care and treatment. There are many instances when you might find that you’re not able to consult a psychiatrist straight away as he or she is only used to dealing with typical clinical patients. As depression could result from a wide variety of causes, the family doctor might ask you a wide range of questions regarding your life and lifestyle.
For instance, they might wish to know whether you are using drugs and/or alcohol. They might also want to know whether you’re taking any kind of medication for your problem and whether you are using any herbal remedies. You should know that any of these factors might be the key reason for depression. Then again, the doctor might take a blood sample if he or she wants to know whether you’ve got any kind of physical imbalance which causes depression symptoms. Your doctor will perhaps be interested in knowing whether the depression runs within the family.
He might wish to know whether anything has somehow triggered a shift in your present moods. For instance, stress at work and/or issues in your relationships or with the family might cause this type of problem. If following the consultation and after abiding by the prescribed treatment, you see things not improving much, it might be suggested that you’re in need of much more specialized help.
Older people in particular have become used to being in a situation in which things like stress or depression tend to mean little to them. There are some people out there who might feel that feeling depressed and useless is merely a natural part of becoming old. Actually, older people oftentimes do not feel that their lowly mood is a recognizable illness and thus this is not something that they would bother a doctor about. But many of the older people out there are used to taking medications as they require treatment for many other problems. Did you know that some of the typical causes of illnesses can trigger depression as a side effect? Do not hide anything from your doctor. If he is not told, he cannot make the changes to treatment which might ease your depression.
How should you help a depressed individual get some treatment? Helping a depressed child is very important to preserve the social balance. The initial step for you to help a depressed child is to realize the fact that the child in reality is depressed. As a matter of fact, this could be very challenging. And for one thing, it is very hard for an adult to realize or accept the fact that young children even infants could suffer depression. But the bottom line is that anybody can suffer from this problem. Consulting a doctor or a psychiatrist is the first option to go for.
What to Do When Your Child has Depression
One thing about depression is that it not only hurts the person suffering from it. It also causes anguish and pain in other members of the family. Moreover it is not only adults who suffer from depression. Preschool children are also diagnosed with this condition every day. The depression types that youngsters face include bipolar disorder, dysthymic disorder and major depressive disorder. According to statistics, a minimum of 4% of preschoolers feel depressed in the United States alone. This explains why the market is full of antidepressants. Therefore if your child is suffering from depression, you should get some help immediately.
It is interesting to note that these days the normal course of treatment for children would be the intake of powerful antidepressants. But these strong artificial drugs are too powerful for their sensitive nervous system. There have been reports recently about the side effects of these medications on the children who are treated for this kind of condition. Some of them may face nausea, diarrhea, agitation, heart murmurs and pulmonary hypertension, vomiting and increased risk of violent behaviors among others.
The risks posed by the medication in children with depression are great. The symptoms of the condition may become worse and children may have some serious medical problems. There have been warnings recently by the government that these antidepressants just do not work for children. Therefore there are a number of ways for you to start addressing the depression of your child without ever using medication.
For instance, it is possible to make use of relaxation, prayer and meditation and yoga. This may seem strange but really it is a good therapy for the children of our time. It is also good that your child does some exercises preferably in your company. You can take moderate walks each day.
Moreover it would be very good to ensure that your child only consumes nutritious and healthy foods that contain the right amounts of minerals and vitamins. There has been research which proves that bad nutrition actually leads to depression especially in children.
You should also ensure that the child gets a very good night's sleep which should be sufficient to keep them active every day. When people are depressed they either sleep too little or too much and these are things which are not good for treating depression. The two would let your child feel less motivated, lethargic and tired. Lastly you can try psychotherapy with a child therapist who is qualified.
What is Depression?
Depression can be best described as combination of physical and mental symptoms. And both of these types of symptoms can decrease the activity and performance of the brain. Grief (or downbeat mood) is sometimes the most common symptom. An individual suffering from depression can experience multiple symptoms like sadness, cynicism, irritability, absence of focus on everyday activities, inferiority complex, sluggish digestion and much more. It could be a grave disorder that makes the sufferer incapable of working and/or taking part in day to day activities. It could be a condition that causes just limited annoyance in the day to day life.
Depression can occur at any time in an individual's life, starting from childhood to old age. There are many causes of depression. Multiple factors can be identified as the root causes of different kinds of depression symptoms. Depression might be a standalone disease. It could also be a part of yet another condition like an anxiety disorder. Actually, reactive depression occurs when the patient goes through physical struggle and/or psychological stress. It gets worse if other problems like long-drawn-out lack of relaxation or sleep is coupled with it for a long period of time.
Endogenous depression occurs when the reason behind the disorder isn’t that of what we know as reactive depression. Rather it may be caused by some sort of inherited condition if one or both parents suffered from similar symptoms throughout their lives. Depression and its symptoms can at times lead to different types of physical diseases. The patient might suffer from physical complications like cancer or cardiovascular diseases. When this happens, the patient starts to worry more about the physical symptoms. This in turn worsens the depressed condition.
Serious depression is oftentimes treated with anti-depressant medicines. There are different kinds of medications that work in different ways to get the desired outcome, which is relief from the depression condition. Therapy is oftentimes utilized together with medication. At times, it is used for milder cases of depression in place of medications. Changes in lifestyle can oftentimes prove sufficient if you want to heal depression prior to the development of a grave illness. The adjustments might include slowing down when it comes to stressful activities and avoidance of as many stressful situations as possible, adequate rest/sleep, exercise and an excellent diet featuring vitamin as well as mineral supplements whenever needed. But the bottom line is that depression can give you a horrific feeling of grief and hopelessness. Your heart will feel heavier; you’re so gloomy that you can’t even breathe properly.
Depression turns into an emotional ailment if it is not treated. But at the beginning, it brings a negative and radical change in how you live. You end up making too many mistakes. Your world starts becoming a living hell and starts being ruled by fear and aggression. You might try and ignore all the horrors in the world, yet your indifference can’t help you steer clear of the feeling of depression. You feel hopeless as you are living in that kind of a world. Depression turns out to be an emotional illness as you fail to understand the reason why you’re depressed. You get the red signal when you start accepting ridiculous solutions for the problems in your life. When you’re desperate about finding your way out of the misery and start accepting illogical solutions, you ultimately turn into a slave to the growing anti-conscience, which is the wilder part of a person’s conscience.
Without getting a clearer understanding of how you can start dealing with what causes your suffering, there is no way in which you can find peace. This is the reason why depression is extremely dangerous. The sufferers could at times easily end up with a worse mental illness.
You could try to avail any of the natural depression treatments available these days. You can find your depression disappearing over time if you use the right treatment