Encouragement

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What You Can Do About Depression
By Dan Langerock


Just as you know when a cold is coming on, it is important to be aware of how you are feeling in other modes of your body. When something feels different than it did before, stop and investigate what is happening. Don't be passive and let it continue on without being proactive. You know yourself best. Here are a few ways you can use to help yourself when depression strikes:

How do you feel about yourself?

Are you in the habit of putting yourself down consistently? Do you allow others to do this to you? When you do this, you are "digging the hole deeper", setting yourself up for more depression. Eventually your self-esteem will be so low that you will not be able to function, and it will take much longer to override those feelings of inadequacy.

Try to pinpoint the reason.

What new changes are happening in your life? Is there new or ongoing stress that has not been dealt with? Even the smallest difference in your life can sometimes cause depression: new responsibilities, change or loss of a job, something different in a relationship with someone you care about, illness or death of yourself or someone close to you. It does not have to be a monumental change to affect you adversely.

Look for ways to change your situation.

If you cannot do this yourself, ask the advice of someone you trust to start you in the right direction-perhaps a trusted friend, clergy or other professional. Whatever it takes to help you is worth the effort, so you will not have to live under the specter of depression.

Do something different than you are used to.

Take up a new hobby, make new friends or do some moderate exercise under a doctor's advice. Look at how you can relate to friends and family to see if there is room for improvement. When bad things happen to us, we tend to withdraw instead of reaching out. When friends move or pass away, it is sad that people are reluctant to make new acquaintances..

Have you thought of becoming a volunteer? Roughly one-third of the U.S. population volunteers on a consistent basis. There are hundreds of things you can do to help others and as a consequence you will be blessed. Hospitals, police and fire departments, United Way, homeless shelters, and rest homes among so many others have need of volunteers to help them. Most of these ask for a minimum commitment of four hours per week.

Check out support groups.

There are so many support groups now for you to access regarding what you are going through in your life. You can find out about these through your local newspaper or call the Chamber of Commerce in your area for information also.

Your spiritual side

What is the spiritual side of your life like on a scale of 1-10-10 being best? Are there issues in your life like unforgiveness and others that need to be resolved? Many times, what you are experiencing can be traced back to issues in the spiritual part of your life. Can you imagine someone carrying around a grudge for 40 years and not having physical and other effects from it? I see this happen a lot as a hospital chaplain. Be introspective and check out what is happening in your spiritual side-it can't hurt and will likely help you.

Seek professional help.

Depending on the severity of your condition, seek out a professional to help you. Contact your doctor, clergy or other professional for a referral to the proper venue to get the help you need. Try not to give up on yourself as you go through this depression, which is so easy to do in this state of mind. Make yourself reach out to others who can help you, so your life can be better again.

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