What to Do When You Are Feeling Depressed

This is a sponsored post by me on behalf of Lifescript.com. Everyone feels blue at some point in their life, but depression is something very different. Depression is a serious medical condition that involves your body, mood, and thoughts. More people than you might realize suffer from depression, including me. In fact, more than 19 million Americans suffer from depressive disorders. How do you know if you’re feeling sad or suffering from depression? Once you’ve figured that out how do you know what to do when you are feeling depressed?

How do you know that you are depressed?

Unlike feeling blue, depression symptoms last for more than a couple of weeks and if gone untreated can last for months or years. Depression symptoms vary greatly by person. I’ve listed a few of the most common symptoms below. However, a more comprehensive list can be found at Lifescript.com.

Persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness
Feeling guilty, worthless or helpless
Loss of interest in hobbies or activities
Change in eating habits
Feeling tired and/or sleeping trouble
Restless, irritability, or anxiety
Thoughts of death or suicide

Any type of depression can run in families, but depression can also incur in people who have no family history of the condition. Various things can trigger depression such as stress at work, home, or school. Depression is often associated with an imbalance in certain brain chemicals, but often it’s a combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors that are involved with the onset of depression. Depression may also result from having a chronic physical illness.

What to do when you are feeling depressed?

If you think you are feeling depressed, first and foremost you should seek medical help. Educating yourself about depression and knowing what questions to ask your Doctor is important. There are many treatment for depression, and often a combination of these treatments is necessary. Therapy, drugs, nutrition, exercise, and alternative therapies are all used to treat depression. Talking to other people who suffer from depression can also help.

Chronic Depression: My Story

I was a young wife and mother the first time I found myself in the chair of a therapists office. I was someone who had a happy childhood, and while my marriage was far from perfect, it wasn’t the reason I was feeling depressed. I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into a dark place and sought help. This first bout of depression was easily treated with a combination of therapy and medication.

Years later it was a hormone imbalance that triggered a period of severe depression, and bouts of rage. It was a very dark time for me and my family. I didn’t leave my bed for weeks and had to rely on friends and family to take care of my son, along with the day to day tasks of running my household. It was a combination of medical treatment, sessions with my therapist, and family support that got me through that difficult time.

Many people with Neurological disorders and chronic medical conditions suffer from depression. My depressive disorder was triggered once more by a chronic medical condition. This time my depression symptoms manifested in a more physical way affecting my concentration and memory, and leaving me feeling off balance and totally exhausted. I also started having anxiety attacks and at times thought I was going to die. This all proved to be more difficult for me to overcome, but there was help.

Through all of my struggles with depression, I have learned the importance of having a strong support system whether that is family, friends, or professional help. It’s something you can’t deal with on your own.

I hope that I have in some way helped someone else, by sharing my own personal experiences with depression.

Depression doesn’t have to rob you of your happiness. There is help out there.

Depression can happen to anyone, and symptoms vary from person to person. Being depressed doesn’t mean that you are weak or less than in any way. If you are feeling depressed, there is help available to you.

I was so glad to learn about the Lifescript Depression Health Center. Even with my long history of dealing with depression, there is still a lot I don’t know. I found some valuable information on treatment and a variety of articles about depression on the Lifescript web site. I particularly like reading the Patient Stories. It’s comforting to know that there are other people who have shared my experiences.

Want to find more posts relating to depression? Then be sure you do not miss these articles:

A Woman’s Guide to Depression
8 Things You Don’t Tell Your Doctor – But Should!
How Depression Hurts Your Health

Lifescript’s Depression Health Center features tips, quizzes, recipes and articles – all by professional health writers, experts and physicians – covering postpartum depression, seasonal affective disorder, bipolar disorder, how to boost your mood with exercise and more. Please visit the Lifescript Health Center on depression for more information.

And to check out this free website, click here!

This is a sponsored post by me on behalf of Lifescript.com.