The 4 Simple Things You Can Do to Get Happy Again - How to Fight Depression and Cure It

By Veronica Carrillo

Contrary to popular belief, beating depression is something that can be done without the aid of medication or psychological treatment. Depression is not an inherited disease, an imbalance of brain chemicals, or the result of circumstances beyond your control. It's a condition that comes about when basic physical and emotional needs are not met, and when we interpret events in a certain way. The key to beating depression, then, is to understand and meet those needs, and to learn a more helpful way of interpreting the things that happen to us.

Basic Physical Needs All human beings need good sleep, good nutrition, and adequate amounts of exercise. These things are the absolute essentials for good physical and emotional health. If you're exhausted, unfit and living on a diet of junk food, caffeine and alcohol, you're far more likely to suffer from depression.

When you do regular exercises, your body tend to release chemicals known as endorphins, which act as analgesics and sedatives. Once released, these chemicals interact with the brain receptors, which then reduce your perception of pain and worries, giving you a more positive feeling and outlook.

Basic Emotional Needs As well as physical needs, all human beings have emotional needs, and it's just as important that these are adequately met if we're to avoid depression. The main thing to remember is that we're social, problem solving animals, and our emotional needs are a result of that. Thus, we all need a sense of connection to other people and to the wider community, a sense of security and safety, and a sense of achievement and healthy challenge. You can go a long way towards beating depression by making a list of these needs, and seeing which ones aren't being met at the moment. Look at ways in which you could improve your scores in each area. If you're feeling socially isolated, for example, is there some way that you could increase your contact with other people, perhaps by joining a club or society.

To fight off the depression through exercise, there is really no need for you to try out high-intensity exercises or sign up for a membership in a fitness gym. You can just do any fun activities that you would usually do on normal days, such as walking, biking, swimming, and even doing household chores like vacuuming or sweeping the floor. But if you plan to do intense exercises, such as weightlifting and jogging, it is important to seek advice from health professionals before doing such physical activities especially if you have pre-existing health conditions like diabetes and heart diseases. And although optional, it will even be more beneficial if you join group exercises where you can get generous support and help from fellow members. This does not only help you overcome the depression. It also improves the way you interact with other people.

I'd like to say that it was my therapeutic intervention--but such was not the case. His doctor had added another drug to his drug cocktail: Abilify. But even he had the sense to know that his improvement was unlikely to be permanent. But for now he does feel good--and there is no need to worry about what God does or does not want.

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