There is a Light at the End of the Tunnel!
Prologue.
In the wake of “Mental Health Month,” I decided to add my thoughts on the subject of depression. I went through a period of serious depression a few years ago. Unfortunately, as I had left my support system in Europe for my now ex-wife to live her life in the USA, I had to learn the hard way how to heal myself or suffer forever.
Hardest to handle were the feelings of severe loneliness, helpless- and hopelessness. Feelings you haven’t had in your life before, suddenly overwhelm you, making life very difficult to deal with.
My whole life I’d been a very happy and positive person. So what happened and how did I fall into the depression trap? The usual suspects, Money – Family Disagreements – Work Problems.
Having family around at these times is paramount to getting out of this state. Sadly, in my case, not even my then wife (a Medical Doctor) cared to help, only my Mother did. Thank God for Mum’s!
Take these 30 Steps and Beat Depression.
1.Accept your Feelings and be Honest to Yourself.
Recognizing that you are depressed in the first place is the key to getting out of depression. Moping around and
2.
It’s important to vent your feelings to someone you can trust and will listen. It’s not easy as these sessions are too brief to really fix much. But, talking about your problems
3. Don’t see a Doctor.
Primary Care Doctors or GP’s don’t know anything about depression, so don’t look for healing there, as all they will do is give you more meds and load you with chemicals. This is counterproductive.
4. Don’t take Antidepressant Meds.
These meds are short term bandaids, however, they are highly addictive. Soon you won’t be able to leave the house without taking them, and you will want to take a higher dose. So it goes on until you are fully hooked. Coming off these meds is very difficult, so best not to start them.
5. Relocate.
If you can do this, do it. Relocating to a new town, State or even Country opens up new horizons and distracts from the poison in the past. Relocating can also help you start a new life and career more easily. A fresh start so to speak.
6. Learn to Meditate.
Meditation is probably one of the best natural practices to calm your mind and train yourself to think positively. You have to start meditating every day and ask for what you want! The law of attraction is real, you get what you ask for, negative or positive! Try it!
7. Walk a lot.
Walking is therapeutic in itself, for body and mind. Walking relaxes, reduces stress and opens up the creative side of your mind. You can solve many problems the mind creates while walking. Plus you are exercising and connecting with nature. Walk a lot, every day! Oh, and it will increase your longevity, by many years in most cases. So keep those boots walkin’!
8. Get a Dog.
Heard of “Therapy Dogs” right? While this is a relatively new thing, it’s accepted that dogs have always been therapeutic to us humans. Why? They are loving, non-judgemental and always happy to see you! Plus they make you walk more than you would alone! Go for 12000 steps every day!
9. Read Spiritual & Motivational Books.
Reading good motivational and spiritual books frees the mind and gives you hope, plus inspiration. Make an effort to read more.
10. Stop Ruminating.
This is a big problem. Constantly thinking, dissecting and complaining about the past and how unfair it all is is terribly destructive. Stop it, move on and let it go!
11. Get a Hobby.
If you don’t have a hobby, such as a sport or a game, get one. “Playtime” is extremely important for a balanced mind. Play a lot!
12. Join a Gym or Social Club.
Joining a gym or social club is great for, well, exercising regularly and socializing more. Exercise is proven to relieve stress and combat depression, as is socializing as this makes us happy. Adding exercise to your daily routine is really a must!
13. Talk to your Friends and Family Daily.
Make an effort to talk to family and close friends every day by phone or video call. Staying in touch is comforting and helpful to you and others. Be available to others and they will be
14. Spend Time in Nature.
The more time you can spend in nature (forests, beaches, parks, lakes, mountains, etc), the happier you will be. Nature grounds you and helps you see more clearly. Nature boosts your immune system and positivity. Go and connect with nature, daily!
15. Swim.
Swimming is a great exercise for all muscle groups and your cardiovascular system, building a strong heart, body, and mind. Swimming and being in the water is invigorating and stress relieving. The more often you swim, the better you will feel. Water is healing! If you
16. Write.
Writing is a great way to express your feelings and to let things go. Whether you publish what you write or not doesn’t matter. Write down your feelings in a daily journal or start a blog and start writing about what interests you. You may well start to touch and help others with your writing. Writing takes effort, do it!
17. Eat Real Food.
This is one of the most important issues. Eating junk and processed foods, as well as sugars, is destructive to your body and mind! Go back to nature and start eating how we were meant to eat! Eat Primal, eat Keto!
18. Get a new Job.
Work can often be the culprit leading to depression. If you don’t like your job or work, quit and go after what you want to do, what you love. Think about it, make a plan, but get out of the work trap as fast as you can! Work is part of your life and should be fun!
19. Be Kind to Yourself, Love YOU & Others.
Looking after yourself and others is extremely important to your well-being. The more love you pass around, the more you will get back. Don’t talk yourself down, always be nice to yourself and others, stop
20. Positive Self Talk, Always.
You must make a bond with yourself to always be positive, to yourself and others. Your self-talk is the key to success and happiness. If you catch that inner voice moaning about you and what you did, tell it to shut up and immediately talk positively back and think about a beautiful experience in your life, and be grateful for what you have achieved. Positive Thinking is a blessing!
21. Get plenty of Rest and Sleep.
Many people think they can get by on 4 hours of sleep. Well, you can’t and that practice will stress you and send you to your permanent sleeping place much sooner than you think. So rest your body and mind, and get 8 hours of sleep every night! 10 important reasons to have enough quality and quantity sleep!
22. Sun Exposure and Vitamin D.
Vitamin D, actually an essential hormone our body produces through sun exposure. This hormone is also known as the happy hormone. So get your daily dose of sun exposure and don’t worry be happy 🙂
Read more about Vitamin D and sun exposure here.
23. Cut Toxic People from your Life.
This is a biggie. People who bring you down and don’t value you; run for the hills and never look back. Examine your friends and cut the dead wood!
24. Take Weekend Activity Breaks.
Get away from time to time and change the scenery no matter where you live. Go to a city to visit museums or theaters, or go to nature and spend time in the mountains or on the beaches. This frees and resets your mind. Nothing better than a trip once in awhile!
25. Enjoy a little Wine, but stay away from Liquor.
It’s not true that alcohol depresses. It’s only the case if you drink a lot… and also liquors. Liquors are no good for you, as they are too strong and can depress. A couple of glasses of wine every other day or even every day will actually make you happier. Wine also contains healthy antioxidants, which clean free radicals in your bloodstream. Enjoy your Wine!
26. Don’t use Drugs.
With Cannabis being all the rage today I just want to point out that this stuff makes you sluggish and clouds the mind and judgment. It blunts your mind and emotions. I’ve been around plenty of people in my time who smoke daily and I always noticed how slowly they speak… Don’t be blunt, be sharp!
26. Workout 3 Times per Week.
Working out in the form of bodyweight strength training (push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and planks) and occasional sprinting is key to keeping fit and healthy. Working out relieves stress and releases endorphins which make you feel good. Keeping workouts to a maximum of 3 times per week of 30 to 45 minutes each session is important so you don’t suffer burn out or overstress
Read about the right workout plan here.
27. Surround yourself with Positive People.
Being around positive people after getting rid of negative people will boost your positive feelings. What do positive people do? They rub off on you and make you positive too. Stay positive always, with positive people!
28. Lower your Expectations.
Lowering your expectations is the key to Happiness! The lower your expectations, the less you will be disappointed. Keep your mind focused and relaxed, don’t hope for a specific outcome, that’s setting an expectation. Just be positive and ask every day for what you want and it will be given to you.
Read about Expectations by Psychologytoday.com
29. Smile and Laugh.
Make a conscious effort to smile during your day. Many people get stuck in the ultra stern look. The serious look is not natural for us, and it creates a sense of stress in you and projects this on people around you. Smile and laugh and make jokes as often as you can!
30. Confidence and Humility.
Be humble when necessary, but be confident about yourself, your knowledge, know-how, life experiences and don’t be shy about sharing it. Speak up and Step Up! Be Strong!
In Summary:
Don’t let depression get the better of you. You can beat it naturally, you just need to be aware of it and make up your mind to take your own action to fight it and be strong. Believe me, this is the only way to cure depression and to keep it at bay in the future.
Depression can hit anyone at any time in their lives. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, successful or not. It hits 99% of the population at some time in their lives. We are all in this together and helping people in need is a wonderful way to help yourself.
There is nothing worse than people who don’t care and even deny that depression is a problem. Be open to the problem, embrace it and spread this message and as much positivity and love that you can give! It will come back to you.
As always, thanks for reading. Please like, share and comment if you enjoyed this blog.
Rob Hourmont
Health Coach.
“I want to show people how to lose weight effectively, how to build a healthy strong heart, a strong body and mind supporting a longer life. I do this by showing how you should eat in the most natural way and by teaching you my natural fitness and movement methods. I’ll be talking and writing about how you can achieve your best possible health no matter what age, as my absolute passion today is to help as many people in the world regain health!”
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