Depression in Plain English

Depression, mild or sever, is on the rise worldwide. Why? Contribution from pressure from work, speed of life, finances, family issues, and societal/technological changes add to our ability to cope with and effectively process the mental, emotional, physical, and psychological demands on us. The good news is that these are triggers that can be eliminated.

The purpose of this blog is to share the techniques and tips that have worked for me and others I know who live with depression and their loved ones who support them.

Functional but Blue

Many of us with depression are highly functional which makes it even more difficult to decide on getting help. You don't have to go very far to see what I mean. Michael Phelps is arguably the greatest swimmer in history and also a spokesperson for talkspace , an online platform that offers convenient and affordable therapy. Functional doesn't mean healthy! Finding joy in our everyday activities, looking forward to the next hour and things that are coming, waking up with drive, and feeling no dread/fear/anxiety about what's coming is where your life could be... so start walking the depression road one step at the time. Tip: Put yourself to the test! 1. Ask yourself each evening what portion of the day you spent feeling that you did chores (this is not the activity but the general feeling of having to do rather than wanting to do). 2. Keep tabs for two week. 3. If you spend more than half of your time this way, it is time to change something and feel better. Only

Depression with Bidirectional Illnesses

Depression with Bidirectional Illnesses I've said this before... depression doesn't walk alone in most cases. The importance of this cannot be emphasized enough because the coexistence of conditions often lead to worsening conditions. The constant exposure/experience of the simultaneous illnesses often end up in competition for attention which feed the cycle and make things worse for both (or multiple conditions). While I cannot list all combinations in this post, I'd like to illustrate the point with some common occurrences. Depression and Insomnia It has been proven by research that insomnia is a huge risk factor for depression as well as a consequence of depression. This is not hard to understand. In layman terms, those of us who don't get enough sleep often experience lack of energy, memory problems, and a host of other symptoms that make normal functioning of body and mind difficult on a daily basis. The frustration with not being able to do all the thing

Depression and Self-Sabotage

It is completely okay to acknowledge that we are struggling with depression! The problem starts when such acknowledgement turns into self-sabotaging habits. Have you skipped exercise one day which turned into days? How about getting take-out food rather than cooking which led to eating out most days? Habits start with an good and necessary decision to take a break from something that is repeated. This happens when we don't put a limit on the behavior. Here are some examples and possible solutions to depression created self-perpetuating habits in no particular order. Oversleeping Sleep is necessary and wonderful for regenerating the body. However, when we sleep more than our body needs, it can turn into sluggishness. Depression often makes us try to hide from our pain and suffering for which sleep is a 'perfect' solution... for a few times but repeated use will have diminishing positive effect and increasing inability to get out of the vicious cycle of depression

Depression Road

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