Depression Rescue

By Jeanette Raymond, Ph.D.

A few months ago Gillian felt lifeless, dead inside and uninterested in anything. Everything was an effort. She just wanted to sleep. She suffered bouts of constipation. She didn’t want to meet anyone, prepare food for herself or take care of her dog. She couldn’t go to work. Her words came out slow and with long pauses in between. The words were flat, without expression -just like she felt. She couldn’t even cry. Nothing touched her and she moved like a robot from her bed to the shower to a chair and back to bed again. She didn’t care about anything or anyone. This was not the Gillian she knew or wanted to be. She had always been driven to work hard, please those around her and then earn her rest. She had been very sociable and knew how to have a good time.

Now Gillian is very angry and tearful. She cries easily when memories of past hurtful relationships invade her as if from nowhere. She complains of being exhausted and resents having to go to work. She is impatient with herself and others when problems don’t get sorted out quickly. Anything in her immediate environment that has a glitch feels like another burden on her shoulders. Nothing feels right and that makes her furious. She has enough of her own stuff to deal with. When the world outside also has ‘problems’ it makes Gillian want to give up bothering to face the day at all…

Working and being busy no longer protected her from her past wounding experiences. Her back and neck pain interrupted her sleep. Skin eruptions came and went. It was as if she had lost control and is the unwilling victim of her history. She was reliving that history and it was unbearable. She wanted to get back to being in total control and able to glide through life as before. Having to interact with a car that breaks down, a dog that barks to be taken for a walk, and an insurance companies that refuse to reimburse her for necessary expenses made her crazy. She was irritable, short tempered, unable to wait her turn in lines at the bank or supermarkets. Her interface with the world became brittle, drained of any juice and fractured.

As time went on Gillian’s anger seemed to subside. It had robbed her of space to feel any joy, excitement, softness or empathy. As she pushed it down again for the millionth time, she became more able to function in her job and did the bare minimum to take care of herself and her dog. While she slept for longer periods it wasn’t refreshing and didn’t give her the oblivion she wanted.

She felt disenchanted with her colleagues and friends. Even when friends gave her what she wanted it didn’t register. It was as if she was still starving. The only thing that appeared to satisfy her if only temporarily was food. She would eat and eat when she was alone at home. It calmed her from the moment she began to get the food to the last bite. It was the one sure way she could give herself some peace from her disappointment with others, their unreliability, their ingratitude and inability to satisfy her. She began to put on weight and whipped herself with criticism and loathing. When the self-flagellation became too much to endure she would gorge on food and then drink lots of water, stick her fingers down her throat and throw up. If she got most of it out, she could approve of herself and get a break from the harsh judgments. If she couldn’t vomit it up then she would be consumed with guilt. She continued this cycle of emptiness, bingeing, crucifying herself, attempting to vomit, taking pride in herself if it was successful and drowning in guilt if not. Gillian tolerated this life since it was preferable to the risks she had to take if she allowed herself to be open to relationships. At least this cycle was in her control and familiar. She was the slave master and the slave. Better than being someone else’s victim with repercussions that last forever.

Gillian’s depression had at least four heads. It came in waves. From a sense of lifelessness she would shift to being full of uncomfortable emotions like anger. Hair like triggers would set off bouts of crying that would sap her and make her numb again. When the emptiness came she would fill herself with food that put on weight and that set up a binge, guilt and purge rotation. Each head of the depression acted separately with little communication among them. Each head ruled for a time and then relinquished its power to the next head. Gillian finally came to grips with what she wanted from life when all four heads were vying for supremacy at the same time. Each squeaked a little but didn’t get top billing. They were all dying off, and Gillian was challenged to find out what the costs and consequences were for her of accepting empathy, generosity and care without obligation. It wasn’t till all parts of her got ‘sick’ that she was forced to face the inevitable.

Terry thrived on work. He got a buzz from the autonomy his managerial position gave him. He could work when he wanted and felt important taking on extra responsibility. He was always ready to stand in for other colleagues when they were sick or on vacation. He would think nothing of doing his job and that of a sick employee simultaneously. He was well paid and could afford the nice things in life. He had a girlfriend and took satisfaction in being able to buy her expensive gifts. However there were times when he wondered what all this was for. He never had time to enjoy his money in a leisurely way. He never took time off, never got sick and had no long term plans for settling down.

After years of living mostly for the ‘high’ that work gave him, Terry began to feel more tired than usual. He forced himself to continue performing at the same level as before, but his body protested. His concentration span became shorter and he found himself having to ask people to repeat themselves. He read things two or three times before he absorbed the information. He realized he was less alert when driving when he hit a car as he parked near his apartment.

Terry thought this was just a phase and he tried to make sure that he got plenty of sleep. But it made no difference. He was dragging himself up in the morning and falling asleep before he could eat his dinner at night. He would go long periods without eating when he was absorbed in the fast pace of work. He was worried about the difference he noticed in himself and tried working even harder to compensate. He never took breaks and delegated fewer tasks. He had no feeling for the issues his work force brought to him which was unusual for him. He went to a medical doctor to find out why his energy was flagging. All test results were normal, and he was told to ensure a good balanced diet with regular meals.

Terry became alarmed when other people commented on the changes within him. He had no idea that it could be so obvious. He couldn’t bear that his ‘weaknesses’ were visible. His whole image of himself was under threat. The harder he tried to return to his former self, the worse his performance and functioning became. When the first set of wake up calls didn’t lead him to take a good look at what he was doing to himself, the spiral downward came faster and with greater force. He was no longer eager to answer calls from work to bail them out, do shifts for others or sort out difficulties other managers left behind. He didn’t want to have to find time to go out with his girl friend. He didn’t want to deal with paying for the car he hit when he was sleepy at the wheel. When his body demanded extended amounts of sleep, he had to give in and take a few days off work. He had to be ‘sick’ before he felt he could legitimately separate himself from work.

He got angry with his body for failing him. He was disgusted with himself for having to call in sick and for having to rely on others to do his job. He worried that he would have to do it all again since no one could do it like him. He hated depending on his girlfriend for shopping and housecleaning when he was too weak to do it himself. He didn’t answer calls offering comfort or understanding. He hated the time he got to ‘feel’ himself.

Unfortunately for Terry, as soon as he felt a little more energy he went back to his old ways with a stronger sense of fervor. He was determined to compensate for the time off and wanted to prove to himself and everyone else that he was the same reliable superman. He was terrified that if he showed himself to be as human as anyone else, he would be denied promotion and became ordinary, with a non-descript life. That wouldn’t serve the voice inside him that said he had to achieve at the highest levels at all costs or else he was a failure and hence unlovable. The time periods between his normal functioning and depressions became shorter. The depressions themselves became longer, forcing him to examine his life style and what he expected of himself. What he found was that he was terrified that he was really trash, and that he had used the status of work, the money it provided and the time it used up as a costume to hide the garbage.

Terry’s depression had three heads. He catapulted from lack of concentration and sluggishness to self-disgust and anger, followed by being shut down. As in Gillian’s case the heads led independent lives and controlled him. He thought he was in control but it was exactly the opposite.

Having many heads to your depression provides extra places to go when one head is tired and used up. As it replenishes itself with your self-hatred and critical voice you can sap the energy of another head. Eventually none of the heads will have the chance to recover. They will all shrivel up and crumble. You have to feel all the trash, and smell the stink. It is truly awful, but the best news ever. Without feeling, smelling and tasting the parts of yourself you have ignored, you are going to stay depressed – each head waxing and waning through your life.

Depression at its worst is a gift that your are given so that you can be your own master. No more do you have to live according to those voices inside you that won’t allow you to be human, and deprive you of the simple pleasures of life. You get to plan and build in your time, take pleasure and pride in your work and be comfortable in your own skin. For those who need to go through the fires of depression with its many heads, there is a treasure at the end that is not found in any other way. It is the authentic you, that you can accept and be proud of.

Imagine having the chance to build your own self your way. How exciting and thrilling! You can be the architect, give the planning permission, act as your own contractor and inspector, buy your own materials and construct the best you that you want to be. This does not mean that you cannot get relief from medications. If used in conjunction with the work you do to feel all parts of yourself no matter how distasteful, you can construct a stronger and more resilient person. One that you will like and others too.

Jeanette Raymond, Ph.D., practices counseling and therapy in LA and helps individuals and couples with relationship issues and anger. Jeanette is available here: http://www.goodtherapy.org/San-Jose-therapy.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeanette_Raymond,_Ph.D. http://EzineArticles.com/?How-Many-Heads-Does-Your-Depression-Have?&id=1302602

Tags: depression, mental health, therapy

By Alan B. Densky

Congestive heart failure, or CHF, is among the most commonly found chronic health problems in America. Nearly five million people suffer from this condition, and half a million others are diagnosed with it every year. This illness may be mild, or it may become quite severe and impair normal life.

People with CHF undergo many deviations from their usual daily routines. They must take medications to relieve fluid accumulation and to lessen the exertion of their heart tissue. Several of these cause anxiety and fatigue. These medications may also hinder physical intimacy with a spouse or significant other.

One other problem that people with this disease encounter is the requirement for major dietary adjustments. Many must quit eating red meat, avoid foods with a lot of fats or salt, or limit the amount of liquids they consume every day. These people are instructed to diet and exercise to stay as healthy as they can.

The truth is, however, persons with congestive heart failure do not have as much energy for physical activity as before. Rather, they must stand by while friends and relatives play tennis, run, or work out. This causes isolation and inadequacy. Moreover, many victims grieve losing of physical health and wellness.

The majority of individuals who experience this but are not yet of retirement age also have to quit working. As well as creating financial stress and depression, this can increase feelings of separation and seclusion. They are completely alone. Rather than of bantering with the worker at the neighboring workspace, they watch the television while everyone else continues living.

Occasionally, patients take anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medications to manage these issues. Others opt for counseling or group treatment to help them with meeting belongingness needs and working through the mourning induced through their freshly restricted lifestyles.

A better method of dealing with this type of depression, however, has gained recent attention and achieved almost instant popularity among patients who have trialed it. Additionally, unlike medications or counseling therapies, this technique is quite economical. People can learn to use it without experiencing additional financial hardship.

This technique, which utilizes a combination of Ericksonian hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), assists individuals to begin to become calm and seek harmony and tranquility in the midst of daily life. These therapies teach individuals to acknowledge the new limitations of life with CHF while guiding them to continue living life to the fullest extent that they are able. Even depressed moods that result from drugs can be easily lessened with the proper use of the methods utilized by hypnosis and NLP. Two of these strategies are anchoring and the Flash.

Ericksonian Hypnosis is often known as conversational hypnosis. It includes methods for supplying post-hypnotic suggestions embedded in a discussion or figure of speech. The benefit of this technique is that it eliminates the resistance to directly suggested actions that is almost always included in the use of more traditional forms of hypnotherapy.

With anchoring, hypnotherapists and NLP Practitioners instruct clients to concentrate on positive thoughts and memories where they felt calm and in control. As the individual is progressively absorbed by these recollections, they are able to re-experience those positive feelings. The client then learns to make a physical anchor for these emotions by touching two fingers in contact with one another. The subconscious mind makes a connection between the actual touch of these two fingers, and the positive emotions. Later, upon encountering an anxiety-producing or upsetting moment, an anchor is elicited by touching together the two fingers, re-creating feelings of peace and calm.

The Flash technique is also quite helpful to people who are struggling to conquer depression. This approach programs the brain to automatically utilize the destructive thoughts that are creating anxiety and depression, as triggers for beneficial perspectives that stimulate calm and happiness. Over time, people soon find themselves almost unable to think negative thoughts!

Summary: People with congestive heart failure often experience depression because of grieving over loss of their physical health and well-being. Other components that sometimes help cause depression include medicines and money worries. Both Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP provide superior strategies for assisting individuals to cope with depression without being forced to spend huge amounts of time and money.

Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner. He’s helped thousands of clients since 1978. He offers CDs for [http://www.neuro-vision.us/Products/DepressionTreatmentHypnosisCD.htm]hypnotic therapy for depression. Visit his Neuro-VISION self-hypnosis website for the hypnosis article index, or watch his free videos on hypnosis. http://www.neuro-vision.us/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_B._Densky http://EzineArticles.com/?CHF-and-Depression—Successful-Treatments&id=1316355

Tags: Clinical Depression, depressed, depression, depression symptoms, manic depression, symptoms of depressio

by Stephen Lau

Hormones form the biochemical basis of major depression. Estrogen, a female hormone produced in the ovaries, plays a pivotal role in your brain in that it increases the amount of mood-regulating neurotransmiiters, whose malfunction often triggers depression in an individual. Neurotransmission is the process by which brain chemical impulses are transmitted from one brain cell (neuron) to another. Scientists have identified norepinephrine, serotonin, and acetylcholine as some of the essential brain chemicals requisite for brain health. Mood disorder, including depression and manic depression (also known as bipolar depression), result from an imbalance or deficiency of transmitters to make the right connection between the brain cells. Estrogen increases the ability of neurons for optimum connection or communication within the brain.

In addition, estrogen plays a critical role in the proper flow of blood to different parts of the brain, thereby instrumental in optimizing emotion, memory, and cognitive functions.

Research scientists have conducted various studies, which have indicated the impact of estrogen on the brain with respect to memory function and postmenopausal women.

Prior to the actual onset of menopause, estrogen level in women significantly decreases as much as 50 to 75 percent.

This may explain why women not only experience depression twice as much as men do but also are two times more likely to be hospitalized in their lifetimes. This discrepancy has little to do with the fact that women seek psychiatric help more frequently than men do, or the fact that women are more stressed out than men are.

If hormones have everything to do with depression, then women’s depressive episodes are hormonal.

According to studies, approximately 35 percent of women have mild premenstrual physical and depressive symptoms due to the rapid decline in estrogen level.

Following pregnancy, women also experience a drastic decline in estrogen level. Consequently, 50 to 70 percent women experience postpartum depression within the first 10 days following delivery, and approximately 10 percent may suffer a major depression. According to a study, more than 60 percent with postpartum depression may develop depression later in life.

During menopause and perimenopause, women’s dramatic decline in estrogen level makes them more vulnerable to extreme mood swings. Many studies attest to the close link between estrogen and mood swings.

Hormonal fluctuations in both women and men account for their aberrations in their thinking, behavior, moods, and their sexuality, expressed in the symptoms of depression. It should be noted that decline in testosterone (male hormone) may also result in male aggressive behavior

The crucial question is: Given its close connection with depression, is estrogen an antidepressant?

An NIH (National Institutes of Health) study on the role of estrogen as an antidepressant indicated that women patients receiving high-dose estrogen experienced significant improvement in their symptoms of depression. In addition, their improvement sustained beyond the study period.  Scientists have to believe that estrogen and other hormones may benefit those patients with treatment-resistant depression. The rational is based on the assumption that antidepressants may only boost the “level” of neurotransmitters but without enhancing the “quality” of those transmitters, and therefore may not be efficacious in treating some depression, especially those with low estrogen and testosterone levels.

Studies have also indicated that patients suffering from anxiety, another mood-related disorder attributed to peri- and postmenopausal depression. Symptoms of anxiety, such as dry mouth, waking up in the middle of the night short of breath, excessive sweating,  and nausea, can be relieved with estrogen treatment.

Other hormones that may play havoc with depression are testosterone and the thyroid hormone. Testosterone, which is responsible for energy and sexual function in women as well, has an antidepressant effect on the brain. Therefore, a decline in testosterone may precipitate depressive episodes. Disorder in the thyroid hormone may produce paranoid delusions in patients suffering from bipolar depression.

Of course, mental illness is a complex disease that involves many factors other than just the hormones. The disorder can be due to genetic factors making one susceptible to depression, the unhealthy or wayward lifestyle, the nutrition deficiency, the environmental toxins, and distorted thinking, among others. It is important to identify the cause or causes, and design proper treatment for this debilitating disorder affecting more than 15 American adults.

Copyright (c) 2007 Stephen Lau

Stephen Lau is a researcher, writing synopses of medical research for scientists. His publications include “NO MIRACLE CURES” a book on healing and wellness. He has also created several websites, including “Longevity For You” , “A Healthy Lifestyle Is The Way Of Zen” and “Chinese Natural Healing For Health Rejuvenation.”

http://www.longevityforyou.com

http://www.zenhealthylifestyle.com

http://www.chinesenaturalhealing.com

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Hormones-And-Your-Depression/311021

Tags: bipolar depression, depression, estrogen, hormones, neurotransmitters, testosterone

by Ken Jensen

Bipolar disorder tests your mettle as a human being. It takes you to the utmost limits of your psychic endurance. Oftentimes, your physical parameters are maxed out too. If you are healthy but supporting a sick person you’d do well to understand the depth of agony it brings into that sufferer’s life. This is no small thing and you must respect that. You may find yourself adopting a whole new outlook in caring for your loved one. It’s a “know thine enemy” kind of a thing.

Here are some aspects of that enemy:

- Stress that cannot be measured. This is how my really active bipolar years started out. I felt stressed. Nothing a toke of weed or a cigarette couldn’t fix in the beginning. But this stress began to grow. It took less and less to annoy me. It took less and less to irritate me. My patience practically bled out before my eyes as I watched.

Every life issue in my world was a now major one to me. Chances were this was not the case prior to my illness kicking in full force. The sources were innumerable: I couldn’t keep a job; I hated any job I currently held; too many bills not enough money; not enough freedom in my life; everyone on the street and in their cars was a dirty word to me; cops bothered me – just their presence.

None of my plans ever worked out; my marriage sucked; I developed health problems that compounded my negative mental state; my meds never helped so all the doctors sucked; my neighbors sucked; the world’s problems felt like they were my own; my erratic behavior upset those close to me causing me even more stress.

The stuff I’d pull when manic would leave a pile of problems in its wake that I could not repair causing double stress – the problem was a nightmare and it was all my fault so now add self hatred to the list; nobody understood me; I was arrested more than once and the legal issues and fines crushed the heart out of me and kept me terminally pissed off; my depression and dissociative symptoms stressed me as well… on and on and on.

This is just some of what your bipolar friend next to you may be feeling. It’s not always visible. We’re good at bottling it all up and cramming it into that little black knot in our guts. And many times the sick person is incapable of translating his or her feelings and emotions into words the non-afflicted would comprehend.

The symptoms get so weird at times that they are new even to the person feeling them. There is no way they’d ever get those around them to understand.This then adds mountains of more stress to the heap they’re already carrying. They are truly alone in this fight and they know it. The isolation is stressful beyond belief. Their own mind is their prison.

- Sleeping disorders. These just come with the package. Panic hits in your sleep and you awaken as if in a mortar attack during war time and with just the same amount of fear. It happens night after night, sometimes more than once each night. Your sleep is never deep. You fear even going to sleep because you know the panic is waiting for you.

The massive depression that hits a bipolar person also messes up your sleep. You sleep but your mind is not reaching that REM zone it needs to repair itself. You sleep 10, 12, 14 hours a night or maybe multiple days at a time only to wake up exhausted. There is no longer any true relief to be had from a night’s sleep.

Mania alone can keep you up for days. You don’t feel any need for sleep or not all that much compared to normal. Your mind runs like a car in first gear with the gas pedal to the floor. You mentally eat yourself alive. Eventually you motor down and if you’re lucky sleep will be had. Then again, maybe you slide the other way into depression and start working the other side of the fence as I wrote above. At the very least, the panic is still lurking nearby. There’s no way to tell. It just comes as it comes.

This then leads to sleep meds. Most of these are addictive and bring their own set of new malfunctions in the making to the mix. Many times they don’t work. I went through every OTC and prescribable drug my doc was willing to give me in an attempt to get a good night’s sleep. Know what happens if you eat too many (because none of them were working as in my case)? Psychosis. You and reality part ways. You’re up and about doing something but nobody’s manning the bridge. And you’re probably not doing a something that would make you proud in your more lucid state.

I experienced this more than once as I sleepwalked through portions of my days. I was pretty damn ashamed of what my family told me I’d done later, too. I remembered nothing.

After a few months of experimentation I never ate sleeping pills again.

But I did find a way out of all this mess. It may seem impossible to you if your life right now matches what mine did then. But believe me. It’s true. I know because I did it. You can too.

Ken Jensen is the author of “It Takes Guts To Be Me: How An Ex-Marine Beat Bipolarism”. Sign up for his free newsletter: www.ittakesgutstobeme.com

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Ya-need-a-challenge?-Try-being-bipolar-for-a-day/312157

Tags: bipolar, depression, disorder, ex, health, jensen, ken, manic, marine, mental