Depression (signs, causes, treatment, medication, prevention) (Seasonal depression)

It is more or less known what can cause depression and how bad depression is, however, it is unknown how long can depression last. Unfortunately, people often tend to withdraw themselves when they feel depressed and that works against them. It might feel tiring and overwhelming to talk to others, to explain how you feel, or generally be around others, but withdrawing will not help, either.

What can help you overcome depression is socialization. Always try to stick to positive people for who you know are not going to be judgmental about your current condition. Surround yourself with people with positive attitude.

Strike up conversations with acquaintances; seek people with similar interests. Socialize in small amounts, every day.

"What can cause depression and how long can depression last?" is what many people wonder. Different circumstances in life may cause depression and how long it can last is only up to you. One way to fight against it is to write all down. Whenever you are feeling down, write it down on a piece of paper or in a book. Write down all negative thoughts and re-read your journal when you are feeling good. This will help you see the situation from another angle. Here are some of the negative thoughts:

• All-or-nothing kind of thinking--when you see all in black and white, with no gray in the middle. For instance, this happens in perfectionists. For instance, they have completed something, but did not one single thing; therefore, to them, everything, even the accomplished things are considered to be a complete failure. Try to look at it from a different perspective: look at the majority of good things and minority of the bad ones. Nothing can be truly and exclusively black or white. Life is not perfect and people make mistakes.
• You overgeneralize--if one bad thing happens, you automatically presume everything else is going to be like that.
• You ignore positive events in favor of bad ones--when you are fixated on a single bad thing and ignore all else that has happened and is positive.
• Jumping to conclusions without any actual evidence--for instance, thinking that somebody is probably thinking badly of you, with no evidence or reason for them to be like that.
• Emotional reasoning--you take the way you feel now as reality. For instance, if you feel like a 'loser', you are not necessarily one. It is just your feelings interfering with your judgments.
• You are not living up to the rules you have made for yourself--and punishing yourself for it.
• You label yourself--you label yourself based on mistakes you have made in the past.

Aways try to write those down and read them when you are feeling good, when it is not your judgment speaking without the benefit of your intellect. Never punish yourself for feeling bad.

Can depression kill you? No, it can't, but it can make you stronger. Sometimes, it might feel too overwhelming, too demanding, too hard while being depressed, but exercising can really help you in your battle with depression.

Try hiking, biking, running, swimming, as much as your body allows. Sometimes ten minutes a day will be enough. Sometimes thirty minutes.

Decide on the amount of time you need to complete those exercises.

Body movement is proven to help multiply brain cells, release hormones of happiness and joy, and improve overall health. So bring it on.

Can lack of sleep cause depression? Maybe, but, it certainly can make you feel bad, during the day. Can you be depressed for no reason? That is hard to tell, but usually there is always a reason behind it. Even though depression is making it difficult for you to move or do anything, push yourself to do the things that made you feel good. Make yourself do them. Do only the things that relax and energize you.

Try doing things that used to and still make you happy. Try expressing yourself creatively, through painting, music, drawing, singing, writing...whichever you prefer. Pick up some former hobby you might have had. Just keep yourself busy with the activities, that cause you no stress.

Can depression kill you? No, it can't, if you lead a healthy life and have healthy habits. Healthy habits include some sort of a daily routine, such as going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.

Try adopting a healthy diet (plenty of fruit and vegetables; exclude things that contain fat and sugar), and never skip meals. Always make a daily schedule of what you would like to do that day.

Feel free to check this article by Helpguide, discussing about how to have a better sleep in general and a healthier life.

How can you tell if you have depression? An indicator may be a constant bad mood, sometimes for no reason (for more reasons for depression, you may read this article by Beyondlife).
Aside from a natural treatment for depression, you may try making a checklist of positive choices you made for each day. That list may help you feel better and show you that you are worthy and deserve the best and you may always read it, once you are in a bad mood.

How can you tell if you have depression? That is something only a physician can tell. Although depression is in majority of cases associated with the decline in mood, it can also be caused by completely other things that have nothing to do with the external events. It can be a symptom or a result of a medical issue such as a virus, bacteria, or a parasite, or even cancer.

It can also mean some sort of vitamin defficiency in your body (like B12); the dysfunctional thyroid gland, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, stroke.

It might be good for you, therefore, to check with your doctor if everything is alright with you physically first. If it is a depression, the doctor may recommend you a natural treatment for depression, which may be of great help to you.

Can depression make you feel sick? Possibly, it can. To make yourself feel better, you may need to visit a physician. If not even one of the methods of coping and fighting depression is helping you, you might want to consider seeing a therapist. There is nothing to be ashamed of. People usually associate any kind of a visit to a therapist with lunacy, but that is not the case here.

Therapists are there to hear you out, point out their own opinions on the subject, and help you in your fight with your depression. They may also provide you with treatment for different types of depression, including major depressive disorder treatment. bipolar depression treatment, or, they may provide you with a treatment plan for depression, which should be of great help to you.

You might also want to visit a therapist even if your methods of coping are effective, just to make sure and put your mind at ease. Sometimes people who are not subjectively involved with you and your problems can offer innovative and good advice.

For at least fifteen minutes every day, expose yourself to sunlight. Lack of sunlight can acually worsen your depression symptoms.

It is said that doing yoga (as much as your body allows you to, of course), can help you get rid of anxiety, stress, hostility, and other symptoms of depression. So, give it a try! Here are some yoga positions that might help you.

Try these relaxation techniques. With them, you should be able to at least get a bit of a relief from symptoms of depression and stress.

Although nothing can be comapred to real human contact, try adopting a pet and caring for them. They can offer companionship and joy. On more about pets and their healing abilities, visit this page.

Sometimes, sharing experience with other people on the issue you share can help you out in figuring out how to solve your own problem. People in support groups have been though similar things like you, can understand you better, and offer their view on the matter, or even some good advice.

Besides, it feels good to be able to vent to somebody who can understand you the best. So ask your doctor, and ask around, for such groups in your vicinity.

Seasonal depression is mostly associated with winter, where people are least exposed to sunlight, and where the sky is mosly overcast anyway. People stay indoors. Their movements are limited and the frequency of their going out is being reduced. This can immensely affect their moods.

The sun has always been dictating the biorhythm of all living things and humans are not an exception. With the reduced access to sunlight, our activity, in general, decreases, we are getting slower and it is harder for us to function. To some people it is a nightmare, and they suffer from the so called, seasonal depression, that leaves them as soon as spring comes again.

But in the meantime, light boxes can be used to at least alleviate the symptoms of said depression, because it mimics the light. At least ten minutes a day of exposure to this light can have significant positive effects.

Here is some more about the lightboxes.

You can buy one here, if you wish to.

Essential oils can help you fight against your seasonal depression, by means of affecting the parts of the brain in charge of contolling your mood and the body's internal clock.

This article on Draxe shares some essential oils which may be useful in your aromatherapy session.

Can depression make you feel sick? It can definitely contribute to it, especially, if you are short of vitamin D. Defficiency of vitamin D is associated with seasonal depressive disorder.

Vitamin D can be absorbed via sunlight, or you can use supplements. Always consult your doctor, before taking any actions on your own, as they will come up with a treatment plan for depression, which may be of great help to you.

A nice treatment for depression and anxiety are dawn simulators. Dawn simulators are basically alarm clocks, but instead of waking you up with noise, they slowly release beams of light, akin to those of the sun.

This guide by CET may help you choose the appropriate dawn simulator for you.