Beating Depression

One in five adults will suffer depression during their lifetime and up to 5% of adults are depressed at any one time. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) depression causes more ill health than common physical illnesses such as asthma, arthritis and diabetes. In fact the World Health Authority states depression is a condition experienced by millions of people throughout the world and is an escalating epidemic likely to become the second leading cause of death by the year 2020.
Approximately 50% of depressed patients who receive treatment will experience a single episode and completely recover with no further reoccurrence. The rest will have at least one another occurrence at some point in their life. Depression affects not only the individuals’ mood but also their ability to function at work and their personal and family relationships. At its extreme, depression can lead to suicide. The low mood combined with feelings such as worthlessness, guilt and hopelessness will affect the way a person thinks which can then lead them to consider life is not worth living. Most people who attempt or commit suicide however do NOT want to die, they just want to escape from the emotional pain which is disabling their life and with proper help they can return to a psychologically healthy and normal functioning life.

So, what is depression?
Everyone, at various points throughout their life will feel ‘down’ or ‘discontented’ with some aspects of their life. This feeling of ‘unhappiness’ and being low in mood is temporary and entirely normal. Sometimes this low mood however can go on and we may not know how to find a way out of feeling trapped and hopeless. Some people describe this feeling of depression as a curtain of despair shadowing their whole life. This is combined with negative thoughts of feeling undeserving, hopelessness and despair.

Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be wished away. People with depression cannot merely “pull themselves together” and get better. Depression can last for weeks, months, or years without appropriate treatment, however, most people who suffer from depression can be helped.

Depression is a biological-based illness that can have lasting emotional and physical effects, such as feelings of worthlessness, guilt, or indecision; difficulty concentrating; changes in appetite or sleep habits; loss of energy, interest, or pleasure; loud, violent, troubled, agitated, slowed, or anti-social behaviors; drug or alcohol abuse; and difficulty with interpersonal relationships.

Studies demonstrate that the majority of people with depression DO NOT seek treatment, although the great majority-even those whose depression is extremely severe-can be helped.

So, what are the common symptoms and signs of depression?
There are various symptoms and signs which may indicate someone is suffering from depression. The following is a list of the most common although the severity and occurrence of any particular symptom will vary between individuals and even within individuals over time. You do not need to experience all of these things to be suffering depression:

•  Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism.
•  You feel that life has/is ‘passing you by’.
•  You don’t want to see people or are scared to be left alone.
•  You experience feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness.
•  Your mood is persistently sad, anxious, or “empty”.
•  You feel exhausted a lot of the time with no energy.
•  You feel as if even the smallest tasks are sometimes impossible.
•  You spend a lot of time thinking about what has or can go wrong.
•  You experience a loss of interest in activities you found previously fun.
•  You think you are a burden to others.
•  You sometimes feel that life isn’t worth living.
•  You feel you have no confidence.
•  You have difficulty sleeping or keep waking up very early.
•  You experience the physical symptoms such as changes in your weight (either a significant weight loss or gain), restlessness or fatigue and physical aches or pains.

Some more Severe Symptoms of Depression include:
•  Thoughts about death or suicide.
•  Increased heart beat
•  Poor concentration, memory or attention.
•  You lose interest in life around you and cannot enjoy anything
•  You find it hard or almost impossible to make decisions
•  Inability to cope with things that you use to
•  Feeling restless and agitated
•  Loss of appetite or you just can’t stop comfort eating
•  Insomnia
•  Loss of interest in sex
•  No self-confidence
•  The feeling of inadequacy and hopelessness
•  Avoiding people in general
•  Feeling irritable and agitated
•  The feeling of despair, especially in the mornings
•  Suicide

Help and Treatments For depression
Depression is the result of a combination of biological, psychological and social factors. Effective help should address the underlying factors which have created and maintain low mood and distorted thinking. Studies show that that some forms of psychological help are just as effective as anti-depressant medication and in the long term is more useful as it enables people to develop life skills which helps them to cope better in the future. Depression affects not just the individual, but also those close to them such as family friends and work colleagues.

How can the Solutions Method help?
The Solutions Method works on the psychological, emotional and behavioral factors which contribute to low mood and depression. The Solutions Method will teach you effective techniques to address the underlying emotional and psychological factors which contribute to your depression. The fact is that if these underlying factors are not addressed you will not be as successful as you could be in solving your problems and changing your mood. The Solutions Method will give you the knowledge and skills need for beating depression and to make the changes you need to make. There is encouraging research which demonstrates that well designed self-help programs are just as effective in helping people to solve their problems as actually seeing a mental health professional and in fact can be more effective as they can be used at home at your own pace.