Overcoming Depression

Now that I have established some basic info concerning Major Depression, and have given you some very basic things you can do, I'd like to turn my attention to some practical ways you can begin to move out from depression into joy.

Apart from medications, exercise, supplements, and medical care there are some things you can do both with you thinking and with your spirituality to help push back depression.

I am a strong believer in the notion that Feelings are the direct result of Thoughts and one of the keys to overcoming depression is to understand how the sad thought process works.

Here is a basic view of the A-B-C's of how thoughts impact out feelings

A - Adversity, what pushes your buttons. People struggling with depression and other mood disorders this usually involves some type of loss. I will discuss this more in my next blog. The adversity is an event that stimulates a thought process.

B - Belief, the immediate belief that pop up when adversity hits the button.

C- Consequences, the resulting feelings that result when A+B happens

One of the keys to overcoming depression is to realize how this sequence can have an impact on how your deal with depression.

Here are some things you can do to begin the process of moving out of depression into hope.

• If you have been depressed or have had feelings of hopelessness or suicide get checked out by your physician, particularly if you have felt this way for more than a couple of weeks.
  
• If you need therapy, get some.
• Begin taking a good multivitamin and some Omega 3, (this will not cure depression, but will help your brain and body push back on depression.
  
• Check out some helpful websites: Dr. Daniel Amen, My Depression Tip Sheet, Focus on the Family
• Check out my Bible Study on Depression
• Avoid isolation, be sure to be around people who know and love you.
• Begin moving, working out, walking around your block. Physical exercise can give you additional energy to defeat depression.
• Look at coming to my Overcoming Depression Conference in Colorado Springs in late January

Next entry will look at the three types of losses and how they can set us up for depression.