Depression - Part 4

How Do You Overcome Depression?

         Overcoming depression must be a choice the depressed person makes.  No one will be able to help you out of depression without your willingness to confront the illness and determine you want to get well and move forward with your life. 

A thorough physical checkup is the place to start on your road to happiness.  Medication will be needed if the serotonin in the brain has been depleted.  Often it is necessary to seek professional counseling to get to the root of the depression.  However, there are several guidelines that we all need to learn to live by to have a happier life.  These guidelines are:

·       Commit each day to glorifying Christ and meditating on God’s Word.

·       Get rid of grudges daily, otherwise they fester and begin to control you through anger.

·       Become more intimate with your family members.

·       Have fun with Christian friends.

·       Learn to enjoy your daily routine, or change it so you can enjoy it.

·       Get in the habit of doing special things for other people.  You will feel better, and you will have made their day.

·       Change your self-talk.  Learn to be your own best friend and quit being critical about yourself.

·       Develop a good plan to live life by, and include fun activities.

·       Remember no one is perfect.  Learn to accept that you will make mistakes.

·       Avoid the sin trap and guilt trip.  Make your relationship with Jesus Christ your number one priority.

In Summary

               My mother suffered various bouts with cancer and other illness through the years, but she had never experienced depression.  After talking with her during my parents’ visit, I decided I needed outside help to discover what was wrong inside me. 

I first went to a regular physician who diagnosed me as being clinically depressed and started me on antidepressants.  This helped me to start getting the sleep I needed and accomplish what I needed to during the day.  I tried to turn my life around and get moving forward again, but the heavy cloud still hung over me a year later.  That is when I decided I needed psychotherapy to get at the root of the depression. 

Today I feel very good about myself for being strong enough to seek the professional help I needed to get my life focused again.  I choose to love life and be all that I can be through Jesus Christ.  It is my desire to help others make that same choice by sharing what I have learned about the illness called depression.

­­Resources

• ·       Minirth, Frank B., M.D., and Meier, Paul D., M.D., Happiness Is a Choice, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI.
• ·       Conway, Jim and Sally, Women in Mid-Life Crisis, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL.
• ·       Littauer, Florence, Blow Away the Dark Clouds, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR.
• ·       Smith, Harold Ivan, Life Changing Answers to Depression, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR.