Depression

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We all get down from time to time.  We have a concept of how our lives should be which is constantly being juxtaposed with how things actually are.  Sometimes concept and reality match.  Sometimes they don’t.  How we relate to that inconsistency is key.

So then there’s THE BLUES…  A gloomy collection of  melancholic emotions which have been so often portrayed in literature, music and film.  Common symptoms include feelings of low self-worth, sad feelings which occur daily, and pessimism about life in general.  Other symptoms of depression can include significant weight loss or weight gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month according to DSM-5), not getting enough sleep or sleeping too much nearly every day, fatigue or "feeling zapped of energy," difficulty concentrating or thinking straight, and recurrent thoughts of death or even suicidal thoughts.

Dr. Aaron Beck is a superstar in the world of psychotherapy, having helped to found the school of thought we know today as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  Here is a version of the Beck Depression Inventory I found with a Google search that may be of use to you to get an idea as to the severity of your symptoms if you have been feeling depressed.

Though depressed moods can be very hard to bear, there are many ways one can go about lessening the burden:

1. BODY.  There is a great body of research that points to how exercise and spending time in the sun helps our moods.  We get Vitamin D from spending time in the sun, and it has been found statistically that people with low Vitamin D are at a much greater risk for depression (see the British Journal of Psychiatry).  Consulting with your primary care physician about the possibility of a good antidepressant medication is also an option.
2. MIND.  If you have never really thought about thinking, the idea of actually changing your thought patterns might seem daunting – but it can be done.  Toward curtailing depression, the first step is recognizing your own “self-talk”.  This is less about how you might actually verbally talk to yourself and more about the course of things you think to yourself each day.  Events are interpreted as thoughts.  Thoughts over time reverberate as emotions.  Both thoughts and emotions work together to influence behavior.  As the many great psychiatrists and similar professionals that I have worked with have taught me, working with a therapist in addition to some kind of med management has been found to be the most effective treatment over time.
3. SPIRIT.  One does not have to be religious to be spiritual, though of course religion can play a part.  Being spiritual is about finding out what is most important to you.  What do you hold sacred?  Return to this again and again in your life.