Sunday, February 28, 2010

You will learn to love your body when you find something more important to worry about

I think most people reach a time in their life where they have more important things to worry about than their body.

I used to be obessed with my body. I used to spend a lot of time and energy at the gym. It was exhausting, not just the exercise, but mentally to.

Now i care a lot less about what i look like. I have found something that is more worthy of my time and energy, helping people deal with depression and bipolar disorder.

Now all my stress is related to my website :)

I feel free now and I think you will too when you find something to do that is important to you.

Another thing that would help is getting rid mirrors in your house. If you're obsessed with what you look like you're looking at yourself too much.

I would rather have a belly than worry about not having one.

For more life saving tips like this one, visit www.depressiondodging.com

Thursday, February 25, 2010

How To Get Rid Of Unpleasant Emotions Like Anger, Irritability, and Sadness

It isn't helpful to hold your feelings in and suppress them. Get rid of your anger, irritability, or sadness by putting it on paper and expressing yourself.

You can write poetry.

You can write a journal entry.

You can paint or draw a picture.

It is important that you don't hide from your feelings. You don't have to be ashamed for feeling the way you do. It isn't your fault that people have treated you badly, or that you're genetically predisposed to mental illness, or that you've been unlucky recently, or that you're naturally antisocial.
It is a lot better to express your negative feelings that it is to sit there and suffer as your mind just builds the anger, irritability, and sadness inside of you.

You can express yourself at http://www.depressiondodging.com/expressionTherapy.html

You can learn of more ways to get rid negative emotions at www.depressiondodging.com

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Depression Facts: Knowledge is Power

Major depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

Depression can be deadly and it has been linked to life-threatening conditions like suicide, homicide, alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, accidents, and more.

People often self-medicate for depression by using alcohol and drugs. This just makes it worse.

Depression is a problem all over the world and within all cultures.

Unmarried mothers are especially at risk for depression.

Developmental factors, like childhood adversity, are more strongly related to causing depression than other possible causes.

For more depression facts, please visit http://www.depressiondodging.com/depressionfacts.html

For smile therapy, visit http://www.depressiondodging.com/smiletherapy.html

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Know Your Causes of Depression

Depression can be caused by many psychological, biological, and environmnetal factors.

Some psychological factors are: trauma from childhood, frustration with body/psychological changes, substance abuse, low self esteem, and disruptions in social relationships.

Some biological factors are: being female, a chemical imbalance, physical illness, and drugs.

Some environmental factors are: social isolation, the death of a loved one, lack of a good support system, financial difficulties, and divorce.

It is important to think about what might have caused your depression, because these are the issues you're going to have to deal with to be happy again.

If you have low self esteem, you're going to have to work on building it, because you can't love life if you hate yourself. Try this: www.depressiondodging.com/selfesteembuilding.html

If you have a chemical imbalance you will need medication be get balanced. Learn more about depression medication here: www.depressiondodging.com/depressionmedication.html

If you're socially isolated or have social anxiety you need to get out and around people again. Its hard to be happy when you're alone. Learn how to deal with social anxiety here: www.depressiondodging.socialanxiety.html

For more causes of depression go here: www.depressiondodging.com/causesofdepression.html

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Depression Quotes

“If depression is creeping up and must be faced, learn something about the nature of the beast: you may escape without a mauling.”

Dr. R. W. Shepard

“When your horse dies, get off. Sometimes the medications (or even the whole strategy) stops working, so I try a new approach.”

Lonnie

“I am in that temper that if I were under water I would scarcely kick to come to the top.”

John Keats

“He looks on himself as a man who the gods hate and pursue with their anger.”

Plutarch (describing a depressed man)

Read more depression quotes at www.depressiondodging.com/depressionquotes.html

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Step 2 Is To Help Yourself

Once you're on medication can you do things to help yourself. Medication alone will not save you and keep you happy.

- You can build your self esteem. Low self esteem can have brutal consequences on your life. It can stop you from advancing at work or having satisfying relationships.

- You can change your lifestyle. You can't be happy until you stop abusing alcohol and drugs. They just fuel depression

- You can find purpose in life and spend your time on things that are important to you. Finding a job or hobby that is meaningful to you can keep you depression-free.

etc

Everyone's depression is different. Everyone gets depressed from different factors and shows different symptoms. You need to be aware of what fuels your depression and find strategies to deal with those things, whether its low self esteem, a stressful job, problems with relationships or all of the above.

You can help yourself as much as any therapist can help you, but you have to be willing to things to help yourself every day if you want to be happier. Many of the strategies and exercises I have on my website don't take more than 10 minutes or a lot of effort to do. Doing simple exercises at the beginning of your day or when your symptoms flare up adds up. Not only will you feel better now, but you will be building your ability and toolkit to deal with any symptoms that arise in the future.

You can find exercises and coping strategies at my website www.depressiondodging.com

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Step 1 Is Getting a Psychiatrist And Medication

Step 1 is to team up with a psychiatrist and find a medication that works for you. A psychiatrist can prescribe medication, monitor you, and make adjustments. If you've tried to help yourself and haven't been able to , it is a sign that you need help from someone else.

I hear about a lot of people who are afraid to take medication, or think they don't need it, or want to force themselves to get well without it and I used to be one of these people. I used to also be suicidal...until I started taking medication for depression and bipolar disorder.

Medication is crucial. It can make you well enough to get the full benefits out of therapy or to help yourself by changing your life.

I know a lot of people can't afford a psychiatrist and I am one of those people. Free help is out there. A lot of hospitals have mental health programs that you might be able to get into. If you are in crsis, make sure you visit a crisis center because they can direct you to programs where you can get adequate help.

If you can cut some other expenses out of your budget so you can afford a psychiatrist you should do it. When you avoid getting mentally healthy your work suffers (or you can't work), your family and social lives suffer (or disappear), and you suffer becuse you're walking through life chained to giant bolder.

A general practitioner can also prescribe antidepressants, but you should be aware that they are not as knowledgeable about mental illness diagnosis and medication. They might not notice that your depression is part of a bipolar disorder (which requires completely different medication). It might take them longer to find a medication that works for you. They might be overworked like many general practitioners are and not be able to provide the close attention you need.

There are support groups out there that can help you find doctors or group meetings in your area. For a list of these groups and what they can do for, visit www.depressiondodging.com

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Manic thinking

Manic thinking is an easy, effective and fun way to improve your mood.

Thinking more quickly than usual makes us happier, more energetic, more creative, more powerful, and more confident. This works even if we are depressed and have trouble thinking happy thoughts.

There are exercises to induce manic thinking on my website www.depressiondodging.com/manicthinking.html

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Challenging Yourself Is A Great Antidepressant

I recently decided that i'm going to focus all of my energy only on things that are important to me and let go of everything else. This means that i'll be trying to spend as much time working on my website and playing music as possible, while letting go of going to the gym, playing poker, and watching television (things that I really don't care about).

So a couple of days ago i decided to challenge myself with a game. The game is called "How much time can you put in?" The point is to challenge myself to put in as many hours a day as possible playing music or working on my website without getting distracted or lazy. This is especially challenging for me because I have problems concentrating and am mood dependant.

So far I feel giddy and energetic. In the last couple days i've spent almost all of my waking hours working on the website and playing music. You'd think i'd be tired, but i'm the opposite. Nothing feels better than the feeling of accomplishent. I'm also getting more confident every day in my ability to avoid distractions and control my mood.

When we're depressed we want to do nothing, but doing nothing just keeps us in that depressed state. Instead, try challenging yourself with a game. Like:

How much time can I put in?
- How many hours of your day can you spend doing something productive while sacrifing the things that don't matter? Remember, you get what you give. It helps to write down how much time you put in so that at the end of your day you look at it and feel good about yourself.

Or set daily goals for yourself. Daily goals are better than long-term goals, because you get to feel the satisfaction of accomplishment every day. Remember, don't make your goals so hard that they're impossibloe to reach. Start easy and work your way up.

1. Try to go a whole day without watching TV.

2. Get out of the house and do soemthing fun to cure your depressed mood.

3. Spend 2 hours doing something you enjoy, like a hobby.

4. Finish something you've been putting off.

Or make up your own goals.

Learn about more ways to fight depression at depressiondodging.com

Bye,

Aleksandr