Five things you must consider when overcoming depression

Have you ever suffered from depression? Is your family member or friends suffering from this condition?

Depression is a normal state for everyone.  It is normal that we have our ups and downs in life, but when this persists for an unusually long time, it becomes problematic.

Click Here for common symptoms of depression.

Now the question is how to get rid of it.

***Just a note here***
(Some statement could challenge your beliefs and may even offend you, however all the statements here were key elements which got patients out of depression and into a new mindset.  Please proceed with your own discretion.)
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If you have depression, you know it's not a matter of just snapping out of it.
It's much more complicated than that. One might say it is just an automatic feeling that gets to them.  Another might say it is really just their nature and there is nothing they can do.

At howtoenddepression.blogspot.com , we believe depression is a habit that you created from many different factors and generally divided into two categories:

• Body (Sensations, change in body functions)
• Mind (Thought patterns, beliefs, Imagination) 

So now let's get into the:

Five Things You Must Consider When Overcoming Depression

1. Self Image
2. Attitude
3. Belief
4. Emotions
5. Habits

1. Self-image

Most of people with depression will have a poor self-image:

Do you think you are a person who is unworthy? Are you a loser? Do you believe you can't change? Are you a sad person by nature?  Do you feel sorry for yourself?

These above ideas are really just ideas (mostly dragged on from the past) and they only serve your negative energy and strengthen it.

You must take note and write down what negative image you have about yourself and why you have them.  Is it logical to think you are really that person? Are you being hard on yourself? Do you like to play victim? Is it scary to change your current situation?

These are all the questions you must ask yourself in order to identify your negative Self-images.  Once you do this, you are more aware of your tendency and it will become easier later to alter your self-image to something better.

2. Attitude

How is your attitude in life? Is every situation working out the way you want it to? Do your actions bring you your desired outcomes or no? Are you repeating the same approach everyday and yet hoping for a change?

It's strange, but attitude is energy, and energy is contagious.  You get what you emit.
Changing attitude may be one of the hardest things to do, but just think this:

If you were the person or thing that is dealing with you, would you feel good? If your answer is no, then you're probably not doing the right thing.
If you meet a person who is whining nonstop and feeling sorry for themselves, how would you feel? And especially if that person is by conventional standards comfortably living, than you may think he or she is self-centred.
You may feel you are being neglected; and this is true.  Lots of the negative attitude is really coming from the person being too self-conscious and thinking about themselves obsessively.

Try to treat every situation like the way you want to be treated.  You will be amazed by the difference it will make.  After all, you create your own world right?  Right!

3. Belief


Be careful of what you believe; this includes self-image and also anything other than yourself.  when you ill-conceive something, you create a bad pattern or idea in your mind which can be a trigger for depression.

For example, in the case of human relationship, let's suppose your friend asked you " How much do you know about fashion?"  One may think two possible ways:

"Oh is he asking me this question as a means of insult? Is my clothes really that bad today? Oh no..."

or,

"Nice, I love fashion and I'm gonna answer 'I know about fashion somewhat and I love fasion'"

Now this is just a rough example, but you get the picture.  People with the former idea may be referred to as having Paranoia; a type of victimized thought.

This is very common in everyday life where people mis-interpret comments or situations.  Maybe the person asked this question because he wanted to become friends if both shared the same interest.

So be careful before jumping to conclusions.  Take a step back and think logically.  Do you really have to react in a bad way?

4. Emotions


This is probably where a lot of people get stuck.  Human beings are bound by emotions.  If we get compliments we feel good generally.  If we are commented negatively we feel bad.
With depression, this emotional response becomes mixed up.  Even in good situations we may feel down.  It is a habit that is formed over time.

So how do you overcome it?

It is hard no doubt, but you must challenge yourself.  I would suggest you first work on your beliefs and self-image so you can think and act logically with ease.  Then practice managing your emotions so your mind finally is able to connect to it and find the balance again.  It took me a while to do this, but the only way to cure is by gaining experience and working on it from the conscious level and turn it into the subconscious level.  Remember, the more good results you get, the more you will have confidence in all that you do.

5. Habits

This is just really to conclude the above mentioned four elements.

1. Self Image
2. Attitude
3. Belief
4. Emotions

These are all habits that were formed somehow at some point in your life (unless you have had it since you were born, in this case it's more of a genetic or brain damage problem.  Consult your doctor)
  

Habits are very hard to change, but is worth working on in the long run.

Conclusion

Like all challenges in life, all of the mentioned ideas above will need effort put into them and measured constantly.  It may be hard to imagine yourself getting out of the depressed state, but that's where people get stuck.  Of course it is not always easy days when working to improve yourself, but the pay off will be enormous.

Any ideas or comments? I'd love to hear them so please comment below.  

Also if you think someone you might know may benefit from this post, please let them know.

Good luck!