There is Hope - There is Healing
Feeling down? Overwhelmed? Discouraged? Hopeless? Having trouble sleeping? eating? making decisions? finding any joy or real purpose in life?
These are some of the common symptoms of an ever-more common disorder - Depression. If you are struggling with it, you are definitely not alone!
In an age of economic trouble, relationship disruption, wars and conflict, hurry-sickness and constant stress, it is not terribly surprising that more and more people are finding themselves depressed. While depression used to be viewed as a fairly rare affliction experienced mostly by women of child-bearing age, it is now affecting men, women, teenagers, and children - from the very young to the very old, from the very rich to the very poor.
It destroys marriages, hurts children, and is becoming the most common and costly affliction driving up the cost of health care. It interferes with work life, social life, and sex life. In its most serious forms, it can even threaten life itself - as it is closely associated with self-harm behaviors, even suicide.
Depression is a formidable enemy. But it is not an unmanageable one. Learning to heal from depression takes time and effort. But it is effort well-invested.
Healing from Depression: One Step at a Time
There are many practical things you can do to heal from depression, and banish its destructive impact from your life and family - even if it's been in your family for generations. These things all take effort - so you will need to pace yourself.
That probably doesn't come as welcome news. When you're depressed, it's very normal to not want to do anything! But "not doing anything" is most sure-fire way to stay depressed - and to get even more depressed over time.
So - start small. Pace yourself. Take one step at a time. One step - even a small step - is enough for today. Then tomorrow you can take another step, then another, and another, and another, over the process of time - until you reach your goals, and find the joy, healing, and wellness you've been searching for.
4 Practical Steps to Healing from Depression
Healing from depression doesn't happen in a day. Most often, it happens a layer at a time, over the process of time. Each small success can pave the way for bigger ones down the road. Here's a brief "roadmap" of the healing process:
> Step 1: Learn what depression is - and what it isn't.
> Step 2: Understand the individualized causes of your own depression.
> Step 3: Find meaningful solutions to each factor contributing to your depression.
> Step 4: Put these solutions into practice - and build a lifestyle of joy.
Each of these four steps should be tailored to the individual. The causes and solutions for depression have some common factors that affect everyone on some level – but that are uniquely customized according to the background, personality, life history, and characteristics of each individual affected. So the particular way in which you carry out these 4 steps may be different than how someone else would do it. That's not just OK – it's essential for the success of the process.
So - let's now examine each of these four steps in turn, beginning with the first:
Step 1: Learn About Depression
