How to get better What the experts say.

No one's life runs smoothly all the time,

So it helps to know how to combat depression and anxiety.

Hard times at work, relationship difficulties, bereavement or money worries can leave you feeling anxious or depressed. As many as one in four people experience depression at some time in their lives, but if you are affected there are positive steps you can take .

Eat healthily and stay active
Exercise combats stress, so even taking a walk at lunchtime will help. It is also important to relax. Do something that gives you a break from routine, such as joining an evening class. Spend time with friends and family and talk about your feelings. Don't use cigarettes or alcohol to make you feel better. They may seem to help at first, but smoking or drinking too much will make things worse.

Some doctors prescribe exercise therapy – research shows it may be as effective as antidepressants. Being physically active lifts your mood, reduces stress and anxiety, boosts the release of endorphins (your body's feel-good chemicals) and improves self-esteem. In fact, some research has shown that exercise can be as successful in treating depression as psychotherapy and medication. Exercise is thought to help with depression in several ways.

* It leads to an increase in endorphins (chemicals that make us feel better) in the body.
* It makes us more socially active, we meet more people and are more supported and less isolated.
* It gives us new goals and a sense of purpose.
* It improves our self-esteem and makes us look better.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends that exercise is used to treat depression in people of all ages. GPs can prescribe exercise for their patients.A little stress can be good, giving you the drive to cope with life's challenges. Too much can make  you feel overwhelmed and ill. Tell-tale signs are irritability and anxiety, as well as physical symptoms such as headaches, digestive problems and palpitations. If you notice these symptoms, visit your GP or tackle the reasons for your stress yourself. Sharing a problem with someone else can often give you new insight into the reasons for your depression.

What to do if you are depressed

    

• Talk to people about how you feel. Don't bottle things up. It is NOT a sign of weakness to get help for your problems, in the same way that it would not be to get medical help for a broken leg or a chest infection.
  
  
• Although you may not be able to do the things you normally would (such as work), try to keep active as much as you can. Lying in bed or sitting thinking about your problems can make them seem worse. Taking physical exercise can also help depression and keep your mind off your worries.
  
  
• Do not increase your     alcohol intake to try and 'drown your sorrows' or help you sleep better. Alcohol will only make the depression worse and harder to treat.
  
  
•  If you are having problems sleeping, try not to lie in bed thinking about your problems and anxieties. Do something to take your mind off your worries such as reading or listening to the radio.
• Always remember that you are suffering from an illness. It is not you being weak, and you can NOT simply 'pull yourself together'. Your illness is treatable You are also NOT ALONE. Depression is extremely common.

What to do if you know somebody who is depressed

    Sometimes people are not aware that they are depressed. This particularly happens when the depression comes on slowly. In addition many people suffering from depression blame themselves for not coping as they normally would, rather than thinking there might be some illness that has caused them to be this way. The illness can make a person think that it would be a sign of weakness to seek help for their difficulties. If you think that this has happened to somebody, you should try to talk to him or her about it. Also try to remember:

                   Getting help can make a difference! 

Up to half of those affected by depression never seek professional help. Often this is because they do not realise that depression is to blame for how they feel. Depression is also good at sustaining inertia and the all-or-nothing belief that 'nothing can help'.
No one is an island

Depression thrives on isolation and inappropriate 'independence'. It is important, therefore, not only to be self-reliant, but also to rely on others when appropriate. This section looks at how to find the right help and support:
What are the first steps?

    * What to do if you desperate right now and at risk of harming yourself 
    * What to do if you are worried about someone else
    * Think about what's stopping you getting help
    * Evaluate what you might gain from talking to someone

What other options are there?

   

• Evaluate the pros and cons of medication
• Find out more about alternative therapies
• Motivate yourself through books and other inspirations

• Learn more or connect with others via other useful websites

Depression and the Meaning Of Life

   

   

Feeling life is meaningless

   

Depression can make your life seem painful and pointless. It can also make life in general seem empty and meaningless. Simply dismissing these feelings as 'irrational' or a symptom of 'illness' ignores the fact that questions about the meaning of life are profound issues facing humanity in general.

   

Existential questions

   

Some of the big philosophical or existential questions facing each of us include:

   

• Who am I?
• What is the meaning of life?
• Is it possible to make meaningful connections with others or are we all fundamentally alone?
• How can I make sense of life in the face of pain, suffering and inevitable death?
• How can I be sure I am making the right choices for my life?

   

Questions for the human race

   

Global conflict and war, global warming, environmental destruction, devastating natural disasters, famine, genocide, widespread human poverty and other such large-scale issues also challenge the human race in general with difficult questions about our future.

   

No easy answers

   

There are no easy answers to any these questions! Most of the time, we live our lives on the basis of answers and meanings which we have not questioned or considered in detail. We grow up with a view of life learnt implicitly in our family, school and cultural environment. But adolescence and early adulthood is often a time when these questions can become very prominent. Sometimes the assumed meanings and answers no longer feel adequate.

   

Depression as a challenge to make meaning

   

Some people think that the pain of depression can be seen as a kind of 'signal' to ourselves to take stock and reassess our lives. At the very least, we may need to recognise and change unhelpful habits like depressed thinking. It may also be the opportunity to think more deeply about how to make our lives more meaningful.

   

Making sense of suffering

   

The Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, built a philosophy based on his concentration camp experiences which accepts suffering as an "ineradicable part of life"*. He emphasises the responsibility of each human being to stop asking for life's meaning to be provided, but instead to "recognise that it is he or she that is being asked" (see books and other inspirations).

It's up to us!

   

In other words, there is no predetermined meaning to life - it is up to us to try to make our lives meaningful. As individuals we have to find what values or goals or occupations will give our own lives meaning. And as communities and societies we have to find how best to work together to build meaningful futures.

           

Different for everybody

   

The answers will be different for everybody, but the things that have helped many people find meaning in their lives include: feeling that their occupation is worthwhile or helpful to others; having a religious belief or a value system which gives meaning; being in touch with the natural world; or simply each day reminding themselves what they are thankful for...

   

Start small

   

Of course when getting out of bed in the morning is quite enough of a challenge, then this might all seem a bit daunting! Depression works hard to empty our lives of meaning. Tackling depression should start in small steps and should focus on finding the smallest changes that can make the biggest difference first (see finding what works for you). But knowing that there is a way to get meaning back into your life can also be a motivating goal to work towards in the long run.

 

                                          Links

   

    More about critically evaluating depression: ways of seeing depression, a depression-inducing society?, making sense of suicide
    More about making meaning: tackling depression, challenging depressed thinking, finding what works for you, focusing outwar