Do You Know Someone Who Is Depressed?
Do you or anyone you know have been dealing with depression? Depression is very common in the difficult seasons. If you or a friend has had feelings of sadness for extended periods at a time, then this could be more than typical sadness, it could be depression.
Many people are exhibiting many of the signs of depression without even knowing it. Depression can come on suddenly if it is associated with a trauma or overwhelming event, but depression often comes on very subtly; not all at once.
Depression can be paralleled with the same concept behind you not realizing your kids are growing up so fast because what you witness is gradual. A distant relative notices your kids growth and can’t seem to believe it. So it is with depression. Your friends may notice it, but you’ve been gradually becoming more depressed and to you it seems to be just another tough day.
Depression starts with a form of a jolt in your emotions. It can be anxiety, sadness, hurt or fear and then become a consistent sadness or a time of feeling “blue”. It increasingly becomes a more severe feeling of being down and feeling like it is hard to come up. You have interupted sleeping patterns and your eating habits change without notice. You feel numb, out of touch, have trouble focusing and you start to isolate yourself.
Simple tasks become hard to do. Like, opening the mail, bill paying, or answering the phone. Here are some signs of depression that you may recognize.
What does it feel like to be depressed you may wonder. It can be different with everyone since there are many different personalities. Here are some common factors. 1. You are consistently irritable. 2. Activities do not seem interesting to you. 3. You feel like an unworthy person and you don’t like yourself. 4. You lose sleep or sleep all the time. 5. You always seem to hurt physically. 6. You can cry at the drop of a hat. 7. You either gain weight or lose weight but you don’t really notice. 8. You can not concentrate and you can not complete tasks. 9. You feel like there is no way out of what you feel. 10. You may be thinking of a permanent escape. Next, if you have thoughts of suicide or want to escape you can do some things to heal. The thoughts may be overwhelming and it is important that you seek solutions immediately. Even though it may seem impossible to talk to anyone, but a pastor or counselor deals with others having these same symptoms and they will help you work through these feelings. It helps to get a professional opinion.
When you talk to someone that is sworn to silence it can help make you feel better and relieve the tension that comes with the depression. Even though it seems there are no answers, there are.
Start a journal. This is free and it has proven to be a great success. If you write your thought without holding anything back, you will be able to relieve a lot of those thoughts that seem to trap you. If you are afraid someone will read the journal, keep it in a safe place or throw away the writing after it is written. It is still beneficial to get your thoughts out on paper. What a lot of people who have experienced signs of depression say that it helped them see how their thoughts were and helped get them back on track. It helped them also love themselves again for who they were.
One way to help write down your thoughts is by writing down only one issue and then break the issue down into 4 parts.
First, describe the situation. For example, I am angry that my husband is late again for dinner.
Second, write about what happened according to you. For instance, “if he loved you so much then why was he late for this very special dinner?”
Third, write down your true emotions about the issue. I am fearful, I am sad, I am lonely because…etc.
Finally, explain on paper the path you are choosing to act out. For example, I am choosing to isolate myself because it makes me feel better about myself. The honesty in which you do this will unveil a heart you can view and start to heal.
The ones that tried suicide but lived later shared that they are glad they didn’t end their lives after all. They were more hopeful once they were able to share their thoughts and see the problems were only temporary and things were easier to deal with.
You have heard that time heals, but time only heals if you are healing. If you are not healing, time just petrifies and hardens hearts and makes us self-defensive and over protective. Take a step and begin healing today and get ready for a happier and healthier life!
PS. If your depression has gotten to the point where you are having thoughts of ending your life, please call 911 and get some help immediately. Or call a counselor, who will know how to help.
If you need Counseling on depressionfeel free to go to Chuck Sugar.com If you needfree worksheets that help that can help.
categories: depression,christian counselors,dealing with depression,nashville,brentwood tn. tennessee,christian counseling,Family,health
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