Depression: what it is and how to cope with it.

Welcome to my blog. This is where I will talk about anything and everything that is on my mind. This will be my first blog submission, and I'm kicking things off with a bit of a heavy discussion. Today I'm going to be talking about depression. I have seen a few different posts about depression around the internet lately, and my interest has been sparked to talk about it.

I have struggled with depression to varying extents off and on in my life, and what I want to talk about today is what exactly depression is and how to combat it. I don't claim to be an expert on depression, but I have had experience with it and would like to share my thoughts.

First off the word depression has really lost a lot of it's meaning in today's society. The reason for that is we use the word depression to mean two different things, often times with out realizing the difference. There is "I am feeling depressed" and "I have depression". One is describing a mood you are in, and the other is much more complex that can be more closely assimilated to a condition or disease. While a lot of people like to say the latter is a disease and a condition you can't help having, I like to disagree. I'd say it is similar, but not the same. I'll talk about that more later though.

So let's talk about that first use of the word depression: "I am feeling depressed." This can be likened to "I feel sad", but it's not the same. I know a lot of people who severely struggle with depression like to criticize the thought of someone using the word depression in this sense and claim that it doesn't exist. I, however, disagree. While I do acknowledge that many people do incorrectly use this word to simply portray sadness, I do not discount the existence of a lighter form of depression that is not clinical depression.

This lighter form of depression is generally in reaction to an event that happens in your life. A break-up, a death of someone close, or just a bad day are all examples of an event like this. Depression in this sense is a secondary emotion, similar to anger. You feel sad, and then you choose to feel depressed. I know lots of people like to deny depression being a choice, but it, in this sense, is. It's hard to describe depression, but anyone who has experienced it knows what is. The best way to describe it would be a sense of emptiness and purposelessness. The best way to combat this is essentially the same way you battle clinical depression (which will be discussed later in this post). When you are at this lighter stage of depression, you can also just essentially choose not to be depressed.

Now I am getting to that second meaning of depression "I have depression", where you actually have a condition. This is where to main focus of this post is at. What many people don't realize is depression is actually associate with a chemical imbalance in the mind. It is not as simple as choosing to be depressed, and then later saying "jk I don't like being depressed, Imma not do that"

This kind of depression is very hard to escape, and you can very easily feel trapped and boxed in when you are in a stage like this. Now I have to be straight and firm; depression is not final and it is not permanent. I like to point out that no one is born depressed. It is something that happens later on it life and can have many different causes, but it has a lot to do with how you choose to deal with those situations. Now I will say this, some people are definitely more prone to suffering from depression, but that doesn't mean you are doomed to an inescapable life of depression.

Here is my number one point about how to deal with depression: be productive. Generally whenever people are struggling with depression they are in state of being where they aren't really doing anything productive. This is why depression is so prevalent in teenagers. You don't have to be productive as a teen, you can just mope around through life living with your parents and drifting through school. As an adult you have to force yourself to provide for yourself and your family.

Usually depression can be linked to feeling like you don't have a purpose in life. You just feel worthless, and everything feels like it has no meaning. If you force yourself to be productive it will really help combat those feelings. My challenge is to do something productive every single day, htat you don't have to do. Whether it be as simple as cleaning your room or gardening.

One thing I highly recommend is to work out. I know it sounds silly, but it gives you a goal. Especially running, because that is something that you can do every day and can't make excuses for. Push yourself to get better at whatever workout you are doing, whether it be getting more muscular or running that mile faster. Having a workout buddy makes this even more effective.

Have as many hobbies involving other people as possible. Some sort of team sports would be an example of this. Physical stuff is great because it actually pushes your body and forces it to produced more chemicals that will be needed for those physical activities. This is especially easy if you are in school, because their are clubs for just about everything. Join a group that does things that interest you, whether it be the chess club or the wrestling team.

Fill up your day with activities. Try not to leave yourself too much time to sit alone in your room wallowing in sadness. I'm not saying you have to stay out of your house 24/7, but I am saying you should have a plan for how to use your time. 

Most importantly, stay positive. Force yourself to stay positive even if you have to 'lie' to yourself. If you lay around all day thinking about how your life sucks, it will continue to suck. There is power in the mind, and there is power in your thoughts. Keep your thoughts positive, and your life will transform.

I hope what I said made some sense to some people, and hope I may have helped a little for anyone who needs it. The thing about depression is that it basically boils down to not enjoying life, and that's terrible. We all deserve to enjoy life.

If you liked this post please let me know. If you would enjoy reading more stuff I put up let me know. I know this was kind of a serious and almost 'preachy' post, but most of my stuff probably won't be like this. If you add me to your RSS feed I will feel important.