Self Help for # Major Depression.

The word depression is bandied about casually but there is a world of difference between being sad,upset or worried;and being depressed.The first three moods come and go according to specific challenges or situations but depression is longer lasting and mostly unrelated to external stimuli.This post can help you determine whether you are plain sad or depressed,and whether your depression is minor,moderate or major.

Minor or moderate depression can be cured by psychotherapy or lifestyle changes.Major Depressive Disorder is harder to tackle but even here,as found out by Yale psychiatrists Wexler and Cicchetti in a meta-analysis conducted by them,psychotherapy alone should be the initial choice of treatment.Take a look:---

in a hypothetical cohort of 100 patients with major depression, 29 would recover if given pharmacotherapy alone, 47 would recover if given psychotherapy alone, and 47 would recover if given combined treatment. On the other hand, negative outcome (i.e., dropout or poor response) can be expected in 52 pharmacotherapy patients, 30 psychotherapy patients, and 34 combined patients. This meta-analysis suggests that psychotherapy alone should usually be the initial treatment for depression rather than exposing patients to unnecessary costs and side effects of combined treatment (Antonuccio, 1995 [43]).

Deliberate,conscious,lifestyle changes can also play a significant role in alleviating major depression.It asks for tough measures to be got rid of.The repetitive,depressive thoughts which have been assailing the patient's mind for days on end convert into an unconscious habit;the pattern gets grooved into the brain and becomes difficult to dislodge.In order to get better it is incumbent to change that cycle of thinking and the resultant behavior patterns.

This is easier said than done because the patient is extremely apathetic and not at all inclined to take any action;but it is a notable way out of this tunnel.If you feel that severe depression has you in it's tentacles,then you could try the following routine to free yourself.

In order to break the depressive cycle :----

• Throw off your duvet,be thankful that you can move your limbs and are alive despite the oppressing circumstances.
• Compel yourself to leave the bed.It is only the initial resolve to put your feet on the ground which is most difficult.
• Now make your bed.Your room looks better---no?
• Continue with your daily routine.
• Make a cup of your favorite beverage,sit down and enjoy it with a biscuit or two.
• Put on a smart dress,go to a mirror,smile,and observe how much better you look when you wear a smile.Not only look,but you will also feel better when you smile.
• Walk out of your home and into a garden or a public park.
• Greet those you come across,even if you don't know them.If you greet ten persons today,tomorrow ten or more will greet you.Don't you feel nice when a stranger greets you?Give that joy to others and it will come back to you.
• Watch the world around you-- people,flowers,bushes,grass,sky and birds.
• Talk with whosoever is near you.Yes I know,you do not have anything to convey to anyone but initiate small talk anyway.This site tells you how to do it.
• Return home.
• Relax.You are probably tired after having forced yourself to do all the above.Lie down or sprawl in an easy chair.Close your yes.Mentally go over each part of your body and relax the tense ones.Now consider--do you feel a tad better than you did when you opened your eyes?If yes,then resolve to do it again tomorrow. 

The above measures might seem inconsequential at first glance but the benefits will be very restorative.Most importantly,they come without any ill-effects attached to them.As the sufferer makes them a part of her/his daily routine it becomes easier and easier.

Related posts :---
http://jeeteraho.blogspot.in/2013/05/depression-ease-burden.html

http://jeeteraho.blogspot.in/2013/05/treating-depression.html

Source--

http://psychcentral.com/lib/depression-treatment-psychotherapy-medication-or-both/0001521