Beat Depression with Five Blues
Busters
by Jim
Brackin
zone3
It’s perfectly natural for everyone to have periods when they feel
down. Bad moods are simply a part of life and some would say that they
help you to appreciate the good times. But depression is something quite
different. One sign of depression is that your ‘down time’ goes on for
more than a couple of hours per day. The other is if you have two or more
of the symptoms on a consistent or regular basis: Low Self-Esteem,
Fatigue, Sleep Problems, Appetite Changes, Weight Swings, Feelings of
Guilt, Worthlessness, Suicide or a general loss of interest in your normal
activities. Then consider doing something to break the cycle and get out
of it, below are five things you can do right now to effect a change in
how you feel.
Change your posture. There is a definite body posture that
triggers or deepens depression. The signs are, moving slowly or
lethargically, shoulders slumped, head down looking at the ground. These
postures are known to increase negative thoughts and emotions. When you
break out of this posture – even by doing something as simple as looking
up towards the sky or jumping up and down – you interrupt this pattern and
change your way of thinking.
Reduce the sugar in your diet. Just by reducing your intake of
cakes, biscuits, chocolate and processed foods could make you feel better.
In a study at the University of South Alabama, Professor Larry Christenden
found that reducing the sugar levels in the blood helped to lift the mood
of 25% of patients.
Laugh. Laughter is known to increase the levels of endorphins
and stimulate the left frontal lobe of the brain where happy thoughts and
feelings are created. Simply laughing out loud for no good reason,
watching a comedy programme, or being with people who smile will have the
right effect.
Share the problem. A problem shared is a problem halved. Talking
through a problem with someone will help you gain a fresh perspective. If
there’s nobody around then listening to a self-help programme would work
in the same way.
Go for a walk. Studies have proven that exercise is just as
effective as Prozac in reducing the symptoms of depression. In fact
Professor Tylee of Maudsley Hospital, London says “It’s top of the list
of things we’re recommending doctors ‘prescribe’ to patients”. Try it
and you’ll find that three 45-minute sessions every week will work
wonders.
The key here is to take some action to break the pattern. Whilst these
techniques may not necessarily treat the root cause of the problem they
will certainly help to reduce the effect of depression long enough to help
you find a way to beat it long-term.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Brackin contributes tips, help and advice on popular psychology to
variety of magazines like Cosomopolitan and Women's Own. He is the body
language expert for Sky News (UK) and developed http://www.personaliteye.com/ that provides free visually
based personality profiles and contributes to the self-help site http://www.virtual-therapist.com/.
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