Recently I was shocked to hear the news of another young man, a pastor, who had taken his own life, leaving behind a beautiful wife and three gorgeous kids. It is heartbreaking to say the least.

This article could go in many different directions. But I'm choosing the direction that seems to me to be most obvious. The world needs a church where the sick are welcome, and where even the senior leaders are allowed to be sick even in their appointed seasons of ministry.

Why? Because it happens.

The system of church must be able to cope with it, especially given that the church is a hospital for the sick.

What I talk about here is not physical disease, but the mental, emotional, spiritual maladies that so many of us have been dogged by. I have had three major bouts of depression, I have suffered panic attacks, and I have endured enough grief to understand and accept that suffering is endemic to life.

So why is there a perception that those with depression are not welcome in the church?

Why would there not be the appropriate support and counseling and programs of training to help sick people? Well, sometimes there are resource constraints.

Part of the reason, perhaps, is that our modern world is so geared around slick and efficient operations, and pastoral leaders feel driven to replicate that in the church.

This perfectionism that can never be satisfied has become part of modern church culture.

So many young and not-so-young men and women in the church today are under enormous pressure to serve well enough to please the people they serve as well as the church boards they work for.

The church needs to be a place where we can be rewarded for our honesty regarding our weaknesses.

After all, it's a biblical idea that we receive Christ's strength when we admit our weakness. The trouble is we live in a day that has forgotten biblical tradition, and that has bought the lie that successful church must be competitive, and that successful ministry must be both effective and founded in excellence. Church is run like a business, competing for its members, with its sales and marketing strategies, instead of simply rooting itself in living out the gospel.

There are many reasons why churches may not embrace the concept of strength-in-weakness within their ministries. Many forces collide. Part of the issue is the intrusion of prosperity, name-it-claim-it, doctrine.

It seems to me that if we are to improve the acceptance of mental health issues like depression in our churches we need to embrace them across the board. What would Jesus have us do? Deny the reality? By no means!

I cannot think of a better way of doing this than one of the pastors or key leaders being completely transparent about a current struggle. Oh, I know that that used to be a no-no. As a pastor you would not share on anything unless you had overcome it. But pastors also need to lead the way in vulnerability which shows humility.

Pastors need to show courage, ironically in their weakness by being vulnerable, to encourage others in their weakness.

That sort of example of weakness begins with the pastor!

But churches don't seem to like their pastors being weak.

This is because we've fallen for the lie that leaders are strong.

In many things in life, however, 'overcoming' is fanciful, as if we could click our fingers and overcome depression. Anyone who's been depressed knows that is nonsense. We don't have that sort of control over this black dog. And this is entirely biblical. The Bible would lead us to the lament psalms, Ecclesiastes, the book of Job, the prophetic writings, and in the New Testament, Second Corinthians, and specifically, that thorn in Paul's side, among many others. The idea is suffering is central in the Bible. Moses, David, Jonah, Elijah, Jeremiah, the list goes on and on. Can the suffering servant Jesus of Isaiah 45-55 not understand our depression, especially in the light of the cross?

Why is it that pastors need to project the image that they have it all together? None of us do …

Their heroes in the Bible didn't.

There seems to be a system of development for pastors that does not allow much leeway for them to have genuine and ongoing struggles. Like, that kind of weakness counts against them or counts them out. Yet this tradition forgets about some of the best pastors who suffered, like Spurgeon. I know from a writing perspective that I am more deeply connected to God in the words I write when I am struggling. There is a deeper kind of ministry that we may tap into in our depression, so long as we don't feel overwhelmed by it, and so long as a deeper kind of ministry would be allowed. Acceptance is a powerful economy.

Pastors with depression must be embraced all the more! Pastors who have suffered depression are all the better equipped for ministry. And churches need to wrestle more with how effectively they support people in the darkness. Smoke machines, brewed coffee and stealth-like efficiency make a mockery of the tenets of the church with its own book on suffering.

Churches are complex environments for those who work in them, whether they are paid or volunteers. Those who are paid always put in many more hours than they are paid for, and those who are volunteers give hundreds of hours per year for the love of it.

It would be okay if it was satisfying work, but many times it's not worth the conflict, or the constant not meeting of the high standards many churches set, and I'm not meaning standards of holiness, but standards of effectiveness. The workplace environment in churches can be more toxic than the comparative workplace environment in secular workplaces. The sense of inadequacy, the conflicts that don't go away, the pressure from leaders and members, the pressure to lead, and the spiritual warfare that is part of the environment all contribute to the chaos that broods in a pastor or ministry leader and threatens to burn them out in a spirit of despair.

Surely, we could understand that there are a plethora of precursors that predispose people in the church to suffer depression and anxiety-related disorders.

I suggest that the kind of church that accepts and even embraces those with depression, especially those within the ranks of its pastors, is Christ's church.

Surely it must grieve the Spirit of God that so many pastors, and anyone for that matter, are suffering alone, not to mention the ones that are dying!

Here are some things that the church provided that I found helped me when I suffered depression in ministry:

1. Even more so I was embraced within leadership, as the leadership understood that I needed the support of fellowship. When we are feeling weak we need much encouragement, and the best encouragement comes from those who are most mature in the faith. Leaders who are suffering depression must be around leaders who are compassionate and wise.
2. There was a culture that embraced both weakness and honesty. Both are needed. We are only strong until we become weak, and it is only a matter of time. When we are weak we need to be honest, and the church must build a culture that demands honesty and provides safety for everything that is disclosed.
3. There was a devotion to prayer, which is another way of saying that the ministry of healing is God's business; that those within the Church understood that clichés and advice had limited or even damaging effect.
4. As I shared my burden and my incapacity, I was still allowed to do what I felt I needed to do, but other leaders took on the more onerous responsibilities. This often meant that they would delegate off single tasks to others which was an opportunity to develop them. What I found most encouraging is these other leaders would not make me feel guilty. They simply understood. Churches need to nurture a culture that exemplifies empathy and compassion.

Depression and learning disabilities are frequently misunderstood. Learning disabilities and depression are common mental illnesses that affect millions everyday.

Studies has shown that children suffering with learning disabilities have complexity learning to speak fluently, take care of their health and bodies, and often suffer with the inability to cope with stress and the common pressures of everyday living.

A lot of the patients that suffer depression and learning disabilities are claimed to be borderline retards. Depression is related to emotional scaring, childhood traumas, chemical imbalances, insufficient nutrition’s, and other factors, so therefore it makes sense that it is believed a form of retard ness.

Learning disabilities are often stemmed from lack of education, positive influences, and miscommunications. Often people that suffer from depression and learning disabilities are overwhelmed, and this too creates a problem for the patients.

If you notice anyone around you that is suffering from symptoms of depression and learning disabilities, such as lack of enthusiasms while playing, unhappiness, feelings of despair, suicidal tendencies, and negative thinking then you should immediately contact a professional to avoid risks.

Depression is serious mental health disorder and it should not be taken lightly. Often people that suffer depression or learning disabilities use alcohol and/or drugs as a source for relief. This only creates a bigger problem, and help is needed immediately.

Depression also causes fatigue, lack of interest, and behaviors that could lead to criminal prosecution. Many people that suffer depression are affected by common problems, such as debts, deaths in the family, and so on. They often have the inability to cope with stressors, and often need support as a result.

Doctors often treat such patients with medications, including Prozac, however, recent studies has proven that the many medications used for treating depression and learning abilities have side affects that complicate the diagnose.

It is recently been discovered that depression may be linked to propensity for perception after the fact, for immersion in the mind’s eye, a normal accompanying friend to the restraint, if not antisocial, depressive irritation. I beg to differ with this philosophy, since most encounters I’ve come across with patients that suffer depression and learning abilities, they often strive for attention.

This is a complete contradiction of antisocial, since antisocial is a diagnosis where the patient refuses to associate in society. Commonly depressive maniacs, or handicaps that include depression and learning abilities they often strive to find the answers to their suffering, yet neglect to see the answers when it is in front of them.

The mind is a tricky thing, and when someone tells someone that his or her emotions are not real, it is only denying the true problem. It is important to recognize the problem, without promoting a label on the patient.

Regardless of the many philosophies available to us, one being that when a person is labeled they are often sees as a label by counselors, and other individuals. The key to eliminating any problem is learning to accept your disability. Once you accept and recognize the problem, in my experience it has proven successful in treating the diagnosis.

The problem then is not necessarily on the diagnose itself, rather it is on the many professionals, patients, and others that refuse to accept that the problem exists. Instead of examining the mind, it is also important to examine the diagnosis closely and pay thorough attention to the symptoms.

Once you start dealing with each individual symptom separately, you can then work through the other problems gradually. The problem many times is professionals want to turn to medication verses treating the patients with effective therapy.

Let’s look at a medicine that is given to patients with schizophrenia, antipsychotic, and other related diagnosis. Ziprasidone (ZIH praise ih dohn) for example, has possible risks including Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome, affect on glucose or sugar level, affects blood pressure levels, and promotes involuntary movement disorder.

Now anyone that knows depression and learning disabilities should be wise to avoid risking or promoting such complications. The listed risks are often direct links to the central nervous system, and most people with depression and learning disabilities need to avoid any areas, including medicines that affect the nervous system.

F.Scott Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby can be considered as a sort of prequel to the Great Depression. Its tale of social-climbing Midwesterners, illicit money making activities, lavish parties and economic class distinctions makes the novel appear as a critical study of the wealth and excess that largely defined the 1920s before the infamous stock market crash. For the most part, Fitzgerald’s novel is taught to high schoolers in conjunction or as an introduction to the 1920s and the eventual Great Depression, the US’s biggest economic catastrophe and likely AP Macroeconomics topic of discussion.

The character Jay Gatsby can seen somewhat to be a foreshadowed symbol of the excess that characterized pre-Depression times. Yet, by the time we meet the title character Gatsby-the bootlegging Gatz who builds a illegal bootlegging empire arguably in attempt to win back his true love, the high class but married Daisy-he has already been dead for a while. The narrator Nick Carraway’s purpose in telling this story is largely to admonish high society for its cold cruelty and to ponder the downsides of the mythical American Dream-all told through a post-mortem of the final weeks leading up to Gatsby’s death. Gatsby, with his unbridled affluence and attempt for social ascension, has come to be our tragic hero of 1920s boom and the eventual bust.

We can see this idea in Fitzgerald’s critical construction of the Great Gatsby setting. Set in the wealthy “West Egg” and “East Egg”-respectively, that’s Long Island and New York City to you-we as readers are emerged in a social setting characterized as wealthy, educated and socially exclusive and restrictive. The characters do not dare to associate with others considered to be below them socially, particularly in geographical locations. In fact, social status is everything and that status is usually tied to one’s financial worth. But even then, one’s social status-such as the case for Gatsby-is not as held in much high regard if it’s just money and lavish parties you have. Despite his big bucks, Gatsby lives in the less prestigious West Egg, implying he has not fully ascended to the level of his love Daisy, a distance symbolically and geographically represented in the span water between their respective houses. The novel is obsessed with such rigid class distinctions and the inability for most people in the novel to reach a level of equality with the higher class, making 1920s America almost like feudal Europe. No matter how many colored shirts, champagne-fueled parties or fancy-shmancy, people-killing cars he had, he could never be an equal worthy of Daisy in her eyes, even with his excess. His death is also largely symbolic. The wealthy Gatsby ends up murdered by a blue-collar automechanic while kicking back at his personal pool. This event, interpreted post-Depression, suggest an equalization of classes.

In fact, the status quo represented in this novel was effectively up-ended with the onslaught of the Great Depression. Of course, reading The Great Gatsby today with the hindsight and knowledge that four years after its publication, the world’s economies would implode, certainly colors readers’ interpretations. Yet, if Fitzgerald had been an economist, perhaps The Great Depression may have never happened. He seemed to know what kind of ruin that the extravagance typified by Gatsby was heading to. The Great Gatsby, therefore, becomes this ominous book with impeccable foresight that not only criticizes the stratified society pre-Depression, but in its own way, also argues for the type of equality or equal status that the Depression eventually brings, however destructively.

Openly talking to your doctor about medication and other facts of gout, will help you avoid letting your gout cause other issues in addition to the painful attacks you’re already experiencing. The reason why it is important to be able to freely talk about your gout condition is because gout can cause depression.

Feeling depressed or down is a normal part of life and is experienced by most people from time to time. Everyone goes through bouts of apathy, despair, and exhaustion, a case of the blues that takes hold and doesn’t let go. Depression can occur for many reasons, and poor health is one of the major causes. Therefore, if you’re not careful, you can let your gout get you down.

How can gout cause depression?

– Painful attacks

– Not being able to use the affected joint during an attack

– Not being able to enjoy certain activities

– Avoiding foods you love eating because they can cause gout

– Knowing a gout attack can recur

How will you know if you are depressed? Signs and symptoms of depression include:

– Feeling helpless and/or hopeless – feeling that a situation with never become better or change

– Loss of interest in everyday activities – no longer participating in hobbies and activities once enjoyed

– Significant weight loss or weight gain (a 5% increase or decrease in body weight in one month)

– Insomnia or hypersomnia (oversleeping)

– Feeling restless or sluggish

– Feeling exhausted and physically drained, even when doing simple tasks

– Self-loathing

– Difficulty concentrating

– Irritable – easily frustrated, annoyed or angered

– Feeling aches and pains – having headaches and gastrointestinal complaints (I.E. constipation, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc.)

How can you treat depression related to gout? If you are feeling depressed, the following are a few self-help tips to aid you in eliminating the blues gout cause. Just remember that in order to successfully self-treat depression you need to want to recover from your condition and give it everything you’ve got. Therefore, you need to be practical, open-minded, and above all, be yourself!

Talk to someone supportive – Talk to a good friend, or talk to your doctor about any concerns or questions you may have about your condition.

Research gout – Find out how you can treat and prevent gout attacks so you don’t let gout cause symptoms that are painful or depressing.

Enjoy the food you eat – Just because you have to avoid certain foods rich in purines, doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy eating anymore. Find out what foods are low in purines and are considered gout-friendly. Some examples include, chocolate, carbonated beverages, eggs, sugar, milk products, bread, grains cereals, rice, pasta, cheese, milk products, tomatoes, fruit, and some green vegetables. Use these foods to create healthy new recipes.

Exercise – Exercise helps blood flow thorough your body and improves circulation. Exercise also releases endorphins which make you feel better, improves your sense of well-being, and can help you avoid the negative feelings gout cause.

Take time to relax and avoid stress – You may be overworking yourself and your body. Tell yourself you deserve a break and take the time to do something you enjoy and focus on clearing your mind. For instance:

– Take a hot bath

– Listen to music

– Get a massage

– Spend time with a pet

– Read a book

– Write in a journal

– Take a walk and enjoy nature

– What a comedic movie or T.V. show

Finally, always remember that if you are suffering from prolonged depression (depression that lasts for months) due to a gout cause, or another issue, you should seek immediate medical attention before your depression moves beyond your control. Major depression is a mental illness that needs to be taken serious and treated. Therefore, you may be required to take medication such as antidepressants to help you overcome depression so you can move on with your life.

Depression, anxiety, phobias and mental health feature almost daily in the media and it appears that depression is fast becoming one of the biggest problems experienced within society. These conditions increasingly affect people living in the modern world and research has led to estimates that at least 17% of the adult population have had, or will have, an episode of depression of sufficient clinical severity to warrant treatment. A special national Institute of Mental Health report on Depressive Disorders in 1973 stated that depression accounts for 75% of all psychiatric hospitalisations and that during any given year 15% of all adults between 18 and 74 may suffer significant depressive symptoms. Current studies indicate that the lifetime risk of depression in an adult population could be as high as 30%.

Along with the increased incidence of depression has been an explosion in the use of prescription drugs to treat the condition, but recent reports have questioned whether these are effective or indeed simply create more problems for the patient. Accordingly there is a growing interest in finding a fresh approach to the treatment of these conditions. Having trained in clinical psychology and psychotherapy I am able to incorporate a lot of the accepted practices. However, the more I worked with individuals and with groups I found that by integrating the eastern inspired approaches that I learnt in India, I was able to achieve far more effective and lasting results within a shorter period of time.

Understanding Depression

In Psychiatry depression is referred to as a mood disorder. Mood disorders have been known to man since antiquity; the old Testament describes King Saul as suffering from severe depressive episodes. However, the term encompasses a wide spectrum of emotions ranging from deep depression to unbounded elation and mania and so understanding the behavior of individuals suffering from depression can be very challenging.

All people experience a range of emotions and in general they are a healthy part of life and feeling appropriate emotions contributes positively to our well being. However, emotions are of two main types; firstly affective emotions, in other words a short lived emotional response to an event, and secondly mood, which is a lasting and dominant emotional response which colors the whole psychic life.

More than 90% of depressed people experience prolonged moods of sadness, discouragement or a sense of not caring any more. However, to classify someone with a major depressive episode clinicians look for five or more of the following symptoms to have been present during the preceding two weeks. There should also be a noticeable change in previous functioning with at least one of the symptoms being either a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure.

Symptoms:
1. Depressed mood most of the day.
2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day.
3. Significant weight loss when not dieting, or weight gain eg. A change of more than 5% of body weight in a month. Or a decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day.
4. Insomnia (sleeplessness) or hypersomnia (excessive sleep) nearly everyday.
5. Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day.
6. Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day
7. Feeling of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt
8. Diminished ability to think or concentrate or indecisiveness
9. Recurrent thoughts of death

No single casual factor as to why people get depressed has been identified. Research points to many factors that seem to contribute to its development, including genetics, biochemical changes and personality theories. Several research papers have reported findings which suggest that relatives of patients with major depressive disorders have a higher prevalence of depression than people in the general population. Other research has focussed on biochemical correlates of depression and studied the role of chemicals that transmit nerve impulses from one neuron to another in the brain. Whilst several theories related to depression have been developed regarding personality types.

My experience as a Doctor has led me to view each client as an individual whose requirements need personalized attention. Human beings are a complex creation whose health and wellbeing depends on a balance in all dimensions of their lives, from physical health to behavioural, energy and even environmental aspects.

Treating Depression

Conventional western medicine generally treats depression using medication eg. Tricyclic, heterocyclic anti-depressants and the new SSRT drugs. The commonly used psychological therapies for the treatment of depression are individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy. Eastern Psychotherapy integrates eastern methods, such as meditation, yoga, pranic, or energy, healing, mantra and sound healing, with elements of the traditional psychotherapy developed in the West. When treating depression and other mental health conditions it is vital to look for the causative factors and explore the issues using ayurvedic principles as well as acknowledging the spiritual component. It may sometimes also be appropriate to study the astrological chart of the person being treated to seek a better understanding of the influences affecting the individual and gem therapy, which is a commonly accepted practice in many parts of Asia, may be recommended.

The treatment of conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety is undoubtedly enhanced by the use of complementary techniques. The value of seeking help from professionals who have worked with both approaches is they can select the right choice of treatment for each individual. Orthodox techniques often deal effectively with the symptoms, however eastern practices can be more helpful with the underlying causes. A therapist who understands the personal needs of each individual is more able to provide them with an empowering approach to their illness. For some the focus may be on the traditional Western methods, but for others accelerated and positive results can be achieved by blending the best of East and West in an integrated treatment program.

With an integrated approach to depression most individuals are able to benefit within 3 or 4 sessions, sometimes even less, depending on the nature of their condition. It is important with any therapeutic approach to ensure clients do not develop a dependency on the treatment or only enjoy a temporary respite because the underlying causes have not been addressed.

CASE STUDY

Miss K, a 35 year old female failed to respond to conventional treatment. An holistic approach included energy and environmental assessments as well as her medical background. She had a five year history of depression which had been particularly severe in the preceding six months. She was using anti-depressants and had undergone several sessions of counseling which she did not like.

The assessment on the energetic level revealed some blockages in the heart and solar plexus chakras. The environment at home was dark and sombre with black and gray being her main choice of colors; there was no flow of energy.

She was recommended to try a combination of energy therapies including Reiki and music / mantra treatment along with some suggestions of changes to the home environment. She also used a herbal remedy (St John's Wort), massage and acupuncture and embarked on six sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy. Her program lasted six months, but she responded very well and has been free of depression for more than a year reporting that she feels generally well, is taking an active interest in her life and in her personal development.

TEXT ENDS

November 2008

Teenage depression is a very real issue. According to a report by WHO, teenage depression affects one out of four adolescents in India, making it the highest ranked in suicide rates amongst all South-East Asian countries. Until recently, it was thought that depression does not affect kids and teenagers, but nothing can be far from the truth; depression is one of the leading causes of deaths in teenagers, caused by untreated depression.

Teenage depression can be a difficult condition to recognize as it may display signs similar to normal teenage moodiness. Hence, it can be bothersome to tell a teenager suffering from depression from a teenager who could just be experiencing moodiness. Indeed, most teens feel unhappy and moody at times. Teen years itself is a turbulent time for kids. With all the hormone changes they go through and many other changes happening in their lives, it’s easy to see why they have such acute mood swings. Depression is a very different matter; it is not just simple moodiness. It is a serious mental health condition that can even lead to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It is a serious problem that impacts every aspect of a teenager’s life. Untreated depression can lead to substance abuse (illicit drugs), academic failure, eating disorders, and even suicide.

But why do teenagers get depression? There are a multitude of reasons of why a teenager can develop depression. For example, it is easy for teenagers to develop feelings of worthlessness over their grades, academic performance, social status amongst peers, or an unstable family life can each affect how a teen behaves. Teenagers, unlike adults, do not have the ability to seek help on their own. They rely on their parents, teachers, or elders to help recognize their suffering and provide them with the help they need.

How do you spot the warning signs? Some of the prominent signs and symptoms in a teenager suffering from depression include:

· Feelings of sadness or helplessness.

· Low self esteem.

· Difficulty concentrating and making decisions.

· Lack of appetite or overeating resulting in weight loss or weight gain.

· Easy irritability and anger.

· Loss of interest in activities they once used to enjoy.

· Social withdrawal, keeping away from friends and family.

· Poor energy and always feeling fatigued.

· Harsh self-criticism.

· Thoughts of self-harm and suicide.

The signs are not always obvious, but these are the ones to be looked out for as a warning signal. It is important to know what teen depression looks like and what to do if you spot the signs. Your constant support could go a long way towards helping them get back on their feet.

During pregnancy, it’s quite difficult for any woman to confront a treatment for clinical depression. This happens because there’s a high health risk if one consumes antidepressant medicines during pregnancy. However, by visiting the doctor at the right time and with efforts from the patient’s side, this issue can be resolved.

Generally, it has been noticed that women are more emotional and sentimental in the initial couple of days of pregnancy. Around 10% pregnant females require antidepressant treatment prescribed by the doctors. However, the percentage is a lot higher than that since females are approached quite softly during pregnancy and this becomes a neglecting psychological illness.

Women become more emotional and depressed because of the excessive safety measures and over cautious subjective view taken during the pregnancy. This may result in a serious psychiatric effect on a pregnant woman.

There’s a high possibility that the antidepressants can hurt the unborn child of a pregnant lady. However, even excessive stress and depression can hurt the infant. Considering these points, it relies upon the seriousness of the illness, the decision of the guardians of a patient, and the recommendation of the doctors.

Depression in a pregnant lady can result in developing a few issues for the unborn child. Some issues that a child might develop due to the depression of his/her mother are irritability, slowness in activities, and less attentiveness. Short growth period is likewise one of these effects. The consumption of antidepressants can result in some major issues such as pulmonary hypertension, weight loss and cardiovascular deformities in the infant.

Recognizing depression is exceptionally difficult during pregnancy. For the most part, females end up becoming really emotional, homesick and hyperactive during pregnancy. Extra attention and a few physical changes can make them sad or upset. Sudden mood swings, low vitality are normal signs in every pregnant lady.

Those females, who have low clinical depression, can become pregnant. Remember, depression and PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) are connected with each other. PCOS is an illness that causes trouble for women who are trying to become pregnant. However, it can be cured by visiting the best doctor for PCOS

While planning for pregnancy, you should stop all types of antidepressant medicines at least 6 months before. You should consult your psychiatrist or gynaecologist before starting or stopping any type of medicine. If you’ve severe clinical depression, there is no point in taking the risk for both, child and the mother.

In some situations, even serious patients can have kids, however it is quite unsafe. Such women need to be treated with proper medicines, therapies, meetings, and consultations. By and large, it is proposed that those females who are somewhat depressed should stop medicines, and even the individuals who are in medium seriousness level can do so. Visit your psychiatrist and gynaecologist to get more info.

Depression is a debilitating disorder. It affects the suffering person’s normal life, be it work, relationships as well as physical and psychological health. Depression is also a spoiler for sex life as the two do not mix well. It impacts the libido and a depressed partner might have a non-existent sex drive. The orgasms might elude as fatigue and lack of enthusiasm prevail.

However, it is important to understand that with the help of a few strategies, depression can be prevented from obliterating one’s sex life. Some of these steps are as below:

• Putting bedroom myths to rest– It is important to understand that not everybody is having a great sex or having sex every day or having multiple orgasms. Sex is a part of life and one should strive to enjoy it without taking any pressure and believing in things that make it hard to perform. One should also remember that depression is temporary and can be treated well.
• Addressing underlying problem – One can prevent depression from hampering sex life by addressing the root cause. This can be achieved by having a frank communication with the partner. What is it that is causing one of the partner’s depression? Has it got to do something with the partner, or with kids, job, friends, health issue, etc.? One must try to find a solution to the underlying problem as that can be helpful in abating depression.
• Indulging in physical activity – Exercise is known to boost mood. It helps in the release of hormones like serotonin which is a mood enhancer. It also helps to tone the body and this might elevate a person’s self-esteem too. Exercising moderately for even 20 to 30 minutes a day can help relieve the depressive symptoms and rekindle the desire to be intimate.
• Connecting in nonsexual way – One must find time to connect with the partner without the strain of having a sexual encounter. Even simple acts of holding hands, kissing, giving each other bear hugs can help in the release of feel-good hormones. Cooking together, doing the laundry together, giving a back rub and cuddling are some of the ways of connecting deeply with each other which would eventually pave the way for better sex.
• Setting the mood right – Antidepressants can make it harder for a person to hold an erection or orgasm. Therefore, it is prudent to invest in some efforts beforehand for ensuring a satisfactory session. Taking an aroma bath, eating a light dinner, eating some aphrodisiac, listening to some soothing music, installing some dim and romantic lights in the bedroom, using a room freshener, having fresh bed linen are some of the ways that can help one to look forward to the main act.
• Taking care of the self – Depression can be merciless and it is easy to get lost in the complexity of one’s situation. However, it is important to be gentle on self. Unless one takes care of himself/herself and feels good, it is difficult to enjoy intimacy. So, pampering oneself by going for a spa, haircut, manicure, facial or a nail art session, eating a doughnut, reading a cheesy chick flick or watching a rom-com, buying silk negligee, etc. should be helpful.

Depression is treatable

Sometimes, despite trying these tips, the depressive symptoms might still hinder sexual life. In such cases, it is important to speak to a professional. If left unaddressed, depression may prove to be devastating.

When I think of depression, I see it as a murky moat around the castle of joy that is your life.

When you're experiencing depression, you're outside the castle. You're detached from your joy, standing on the other side of the moat. The drawbridge is up. You can see lights on in the castle and hear children laughter. Nevertheless, no matter how much you want to be inside the castle, you can't figure out how to get there. You feel exiled, unable to move, and hesitant to act. Your castle of joy feels far, far away.

Why are so many people experiencing depression?

The drug industry claims that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Psychologists maintain that the causes of depression are unknown.

The antidepressant drug industry is driven by multibillion-dollar sales each year. Since 2008, depression has been on the rise.

What's going on here?

In a nutshell: Drug companies are treating the symptoms, not the person.

As a Certified Holistic Health Consultant, my point of view is from a whole-person perspective. I don't just look at the symptoms. I look at the person.

Let me ask:

Are you feeling sad or depressed?

We all feel sad, from time to time. Feeling sad is a normal part of life and living.

However, if you're experiencing persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, and disinterest in things you once enjoyed, this is not normal.

Depression impacts you and everyone around you.

Whether you observe depression in others or know this about yourself, depression is all-encompassing.

· Depression affects your ability to make healthy decisions.

· It negatively affects all your relationships.

· It affects your ability to love yourself.

· It impedes your ability to maintain healthy habits.

Depression is insidious and keeps you from experiencing joy.

Castle of Joy

If you've been experiencing depression, I have great news for you.

Today, I'm lowering that drawbridge.

I'll help you cross over the moat and enter your castle of joy. I'll show you how to interact with the world better; how to be clear headed when making decisions; and start you on your way to incorporating healthy habits back into your life.

No matter how you're feeling now you deserve joy.

Three Things You Can Do to Lower Your Drawbridge

You can't afford to allow depression to sabotage your professional and personal efforts.

Yet, it does.

According to the National Sleep Foundation: "The relationship between sleep and depressive illness is complex – depression may cause sleep problems and sleep problems may cause or contribute to depressive disorders."

So, the first thing to do is pay attention to your sleep, get it regulated and under control.

Follow these three tips to ease depression:

1. The most important thing is to make sleep a priority.

Why?

Chronic stress elevates your cortisol levels. And since cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, when your cortisol levels are bumped up, day after day, your adrenal glands eventually poop-out. This is called Adrenal Fatigue.

Lack of sleep causes hormonal imbalances that affect brain activity and physiological responses.

Cortisol production should gradually decrease through the day, until it reaches its lowest levels late in the evening, when you're ready for bed.

When cortisol production doesn't get shut off, it leads to serious sleep issues. And when cortisol remains elevated, your body receives an energizing signal that makes it difficult to relax and fall asleep.

There are supplements that help reduce cortisol levels and enable you to sleep better. Supplements vary for each person and depend on other health factors. Excellent choices are:

· Valerian root.

· Magnesium.

Melatonin.

· Magnolia bark.

2. One hour before bedtime, begin powering down.

You can program your smart phone to alert you, get Alexia to set an alarm, or set an alarm clock to notify you when it's one hour before bedtime.

When it goes off, that's the cue for your body and mind to begin to wind down.

Just like when you were a child, you'll create for yourself a bedtime ritual that is soothing, peaceful, and nourishing. You can do that by:

· Quieting your mind with meditation.

· Using relaxing scents in your room.

· Sipping comforting tea.

3. Balance your body with healthy eating throughout the day.

In order to get a good night's sleep, consume protein first thing in the morning.

Eating protein for breakfast or having a protein smoothie in the morning sets your body up for restful sleep in the evening by balancing blood sugar levels.

Next, stop eating carbohydrates three-to-five hours before you go to bed.

Since carbohydrates cause your blood sugar to spike, if you eat carbs right before bed you'll experience low blood sugar during your sleep cycle and that may cause you to get up and eat. Not only will that cause you to gain weight, it throws you out of the deeper sleep that is so needed.

Choose snacks before bed that 'relax' the body rather than stimulate it such as:

A banana protein smoothie made with nut milk, whey or pea protein.

· A bowl of Kiwi.

· Peanut Butter on a spoon.

· Walnuts and Almonds.

· Sugar-free, organic yogurt or Greek yogurt with flaxseeds and oats.

· Hummus.

So, before you go the traditional route and start taking prescription antidepressants or, if you've been prescribed antidepressants and aren't seeing the results you expect, know that there are natural health and healing alternatives to ease depression. And one of the best ways is through sleep.

I'll end with this:

A client of mine who suffered from periodic depression agreed to implement these natural health and healing steps so that she could experience more joy in her life. Several months later she found her professional purpose in life and became engaged to be married. I asked her how she was doing with her sleep cycle and she replied, "I depend on it. I have too many wonderful goals in life now. I want my happy goals, so I make sleep my priority."

My client deserved joy. So do you.

In order to live fully in your castle of joy, you must first love yourself. Love yourself enough to give your body the time it needs to rest. The drawbridge is down. Come in and enjoy your castle of joy!

Aloe Vera And Depression

Depression is quite common in today’s society. Many people often get depressed for various reasons and causes. Note that there is a fine line between real depression and clinical depression. Real depression happens to all individuals like when a loved one passes away or when suffering from a broken relationship.

Depression may happen to people and lead into anxiety attacks. This is because their minds ponder and focus on their worries and problems too much. There are other instances that a person will feel depressed and lack energy because of health, mainly because of nutritional deficiency.

To alleviate depression, it is common practice for people to consume various kinds of food and beverages to get them into a better mood. Many choose to indulge in food that is high in sugar such as cakes, ice cream and chocolate. There are others that opt to drink alcoholic beverages as a suppressant.

Many doctors prescribe anti-depressant medication. There are a lot of different kinds of anti-depressant medication that can even be bought over-the-counter. Numerous people have become dependent on these kinds of medication to enable them to function normally.

If you are one of the many millions of people that are suffering from depression, take the time to assess why you are depressed and where the depression may be coming from. It is very possible that it may be time to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Detoxification is a great way to cleanse the body and get rid of the toxins that have been stored for years. It is a known fact that body cleansing aids in mental health and you can get numerous other benefits from regular detoxification. One of the most common ways to detox is to consume specific kinds of food and beverages made from plants.

You can also get better overall health and eliminate any nutritional deficiency by consuming natural health food products. Since these products are made from plants, when it is consumed, it is easily digested and quickly absorbed by the body, giving almost immediate nutrition.

Thousands of people consume Aloe Vera products daily to aid them keep away depression by giving their body it vital nutrition needs. The amino acid content of Aloe Vera is nearly complete for our daily requirements. One vital amino acid that Aloe Vera contains is tryptophan which is a precursor of serotonin, which is used to as preventive treatment for depression and anxiety.

Some of the other amino acids in Aloe Vera stimulates the production stimulates the production of blood cells that balances our metabolism. Aloe Vera is known as a pure plant-food source and can give a body a natural based detox. Aside from the amino acids, Aloe Vera contains a multitude of vitamins and minerals.

Aloe Vera Plant is a safe, natural alternative to dangerous prescription drugs. As always, seek the advice of a medical doctor for accurate diagnosis and treatment.